Friday May 19 2023

 

Waking up late enough at 11:20 a.m. It’s a brand new day with fingers crossed. The hotel is mad at us though cause we can’t park the bus and trailer in their parking lot – so now we’re rushing to get out of there.

 

We all pile in and drive 10 minutes up the road into Rolling Hills Estate – playing an outside show Palos Verdes Performing Arts Center. Nearby, is corporate city with a Target, Starbucks, banks, etc. I run some errands on foot.

 

It’s actually a kind of cool temperature out so it’s nice. People seem in higher spirits today.

 

Loading in and setting up the stage. It’s really high up with a big ramp. We’ve gotten really good at setting everything up pretty quickly. Meanwhile, in the green room area venue crew people are perpetually moving panels and things around from room to room.

 

Sound check goes smoothly – Edwin isn’t last minute doing front of house this time and has more time to figure it out.

 

 

I head over to a Pho Noodle place for dinner. Enjoying Chicken Noodle and Kimchi Pancakes. Eavesdropping on these couples next to me discussing the daily struggle of raising kids. Meanwhile, I hear an ABBA song playing softly on the radio.

 

 

Getting ready and hopping on the stage. My voice is still completely useless so I’m essentially miming my vocal parts. It’s still believable and I put my heart into the piano. The crowd makes use of the open dance floor and looks like they’re having a great time.

 

 

Packing up and loading out. It’s nice not having to drive somewhere other than the hotel tonight.

 

Snacking up and settling in for the night.