|
|
|
September 17, 2006 - Chicago, IL Hi folks. Shane (aka "The New Guy") here. I have been assigned the wonderful task of taking over the "road tales" section of the site. But before I start let's give Miche a big hand for the wonderful job he has done over the years. I have mighty big shoes to fill! So this Sunday we were in Chicago at the James C Petrillo Music Shell for "Celtic Fest Chicago". This is a two day event and hosts many bands from around the world on many different stages. Lots of Celtic workshops and some great food as well. So we all flew in from our various locations and pretty much had to go straight to sound check. The stage is in a beautiful park with the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago as the backdrop. Sound check went pretty smoothly and we only had a short time to run around and check a few things out. A quick trip to the hotel to check in and then we headed back a bit early to catch some of the other acts. However halfway to the site the sky's opened up and it poured. People were trying to find shelter where they could but a lot of people ended up cutting their visit short and heading home. The heavy rain didn't let up until just before our show. When we hit the stage we were surprised to see quite a large bunch of "die hard" fans out there in their rain gear! Natalie made sure they were well rewarded for sticking it out through the rough weather by giving them an awesome show. She also treated them to a couple of new tunes that she brought to the band during the previous weeks rehearsals. These are tunes that she wrote for the upcoming DVD special that is being filmed in Cape Breton in October and they went over great. So in appreciation of a great performance the crowd gave Natalie a standing "O" and we headed back out and powered through one last tune and then bid the crowd a fond farewell. Now we all head home for a week or so and then fly out to Cape Breton for the |
|
DVD show... Can't wait! ............................................................................................................................... August 13, 2006 - Albany, NY The last show of the summer tour. Natalie decided to schedule a rehearsal on our night off last night. She's getting quite excited about the upcoming DVD shoot in October, so her mind is going a thousand miles an hour with all kinds of new ideas. We got a lot done at the rehearsal, putting together a new closer for the show. It's pretty complex, and I'm sure when we have it all together it will be quite a piece. Anyway, the show night was...interesting. We only had half a house, which was unusual in itself, especially for this market. But, more to the point, we hadn't done a show by ourselves since France, and even that one wasn't a full on deal. In any case, it all went fine, and we like playing the Egg here, as they call it. The crew are great here, and the food is always good. By and by, it was all done, we had another one of those last-show-of-the-tour packing up scenes backstage, getting all our gear etc ready to fly then and off we went to the hotel to sleep. Tomorrow we all go home for a couple of weeks R & R. Much needed.
This will be
my last road tale post, I'm handing the ropes over to our bass player,
Shane Hendrickson's capable hands. He will be posting the tales from now
on. I've enjoyed doing this for the past 4 years. I hope you have
enjoyed it all as well. ............................................................................................................................... August 11, 2006 - Danbury, CT Another hot steamy day. We were on a stage built like a large gazebo, surrounded by water. The water goes right up to, and under the stage. You just KNOW that someone is going to end up in there, and sure enough, at least 4 people took a dip (and got thrown out) during the show. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Everyone
seems fascinated with the green slime that was floating on the water.
More of the same stuff today; friendship, a group photo, since this would be our last show as part of the Bela experience, and of course, rehearsal. A lot of cameras were going off during the group shot, my little cam was last in the pile, and people were already getting up to leave.... when my shutter was clicked by whoever was taking all the photos for us. Still, most of us are in there. I'm glad to have the shot in my archives. I like this shot as well, of the three bass players, all sharing an upright during one of the tunes. Way to go boys, looking good. Tonight's show seemed to be a cut above the rest, I thought. Team MacMaster did our thing, to about a 1/3 of a house. People were coming in during our set, which is pretty distracting, but you do what you have to do. We had to work extra hard tonight to get the point across, most people who came to this thing didn't know who Natalie or Del McCoury were. They came for Bela. So, you know...they want Bela and his boys. Still, by the time we finished, we had some new fans. And once again, a spectacular finish with all players present. What a blast. After the show we all said our goodbyes, and went our separate ways. Bela and Del headed south, with Bela continuing his tour. We are heading up to Albany for the final show of this tour, and of the summer. I guess I should mention that aside from playing, managing merch and doing the road tales, I was driving the equipment truck on this tour as well. Just something that needed to be done, so I signed up for it. I didn't have the rest time or free time that the rest of the gang had. So, this run was pretty tiring from my side of things, especially the first run down to Boston (16 hours after all the running around in Ontario getting the gear/van together) and the run home from Albany to Ontario is a pretty good run as well. Not complaining at all though, this tour with Bela and Del was the experience of a lifetime. I am so lucky to be a part of all this. ............................................................................................................................... August 10, 2006 - Shelburne, VT One thing I haven't talked about is the daily rehearsals we have. They are designed to make sure we all know who does what, where, and/or when during the finale of the show. It's a lot of fun, and really quite something to be a part of. Lots of people onstage, for sure. Here's an interesting shot of Futureman (yes, that's what he answers to) on stage during rehearsal. I tell you, he goes off to another world when he plays his instruments. Not sure where he goes, but wow, can he ever lay it down. Check out that instrument. His fingers barely move, and he generates such a tremendous groove. Poor Nat, she's the only woman on the deck during the rehearsals, or the shows for that matter. Must be a bit weird for her. But, she has baby Mary and her nanny along, so she has SOME female energy around! Today's show was pretty much like the last two, seamless transition of bands, great music, and friendships growing all over the place. It was a bit of a rainy day today, and before the show it was raining pretty hard. But, that all stopped by show-time. We had a ball, and so did our lovely audience. They really loved the finale at this show.
And, I have
to say that, after the show, I was walking across the field up to settle
some merch business, and I noticed that there wasn't any garbage on the
grass. Not 20 minutes ago, there were a couple of thousand+ people
there, and now, not a cup or chip wrapper in sight. Yes, they had a
clean up crew there, but they didn't have a whole lot to do. The
audience took all their trash with them. Good bless the people of
Vermont, they "get it". Leave it like you found it, or maybe even a
little better. I love the attitude. August 8, 2006 - Hyannis, MA
Tonight, we
all crammed onto the stage at the Hyannis Melody tent. Its a wonderful
round stage that rotates, so everyone gets a great view. But, it wasn't
made for three bands at once. I think the combined local and traveling
crews did a fantastic job
of making it work for all of us tonight, hats off and cheers, lads and
lassies. So, the show; Team MacMaster start off the evening with a fairly typical Natalie set. We have about 50 minutes to do our thing. At one point, Bela comes out to do a tune with Natalie, which really got folks attention, since a majority of the crowd were there to see Bela, and didn't know who Nat was. But that's why we're here, to open up new audiences to Natalie. Anyway, once we finish our set, a rather interesting thing happens. After our last official tune, we launch into a reel. But, instead of playing along, I get up, wave to the crowd and walk off stage. Then, Del's bass player would walk onstage. When he arrives, Shane would stop playing, wave, and leave the stage. Then, Matt would stop, wave and leave as another one of Del's dudes would come onstage and begin playing. And they WERE dudes, all dressed in beautiful suits. Stylin' men, for sure. So, one by one, we'd leave the stage and they'd come one, so that in a few minutes, we'd all be off the stage, and Team Del were onstage, finishing the song we started. Then they'd finish the "transfer tune" and launch into their own set. What a cool way to get from one act to the next, and all without a break in the music. It took the audience two or three people-switching before they really knew what was going on, and once they figured it out, they loved it. So did we, it was the coolest.
Once Del's
set was done, the same thing would happen again; Del's bass player would
walk off, and Victor would come onstage. That's when the crowd really
started to go wild. He's a hero to thousands of people all over the
world. Then, as before one by one, the McCoury band would leave, and the
mighty Flecktones would appear. Again, a seamless transition to the next
act, no waiting. After Bela's mind-bending set, for the encore,
ALL bands would be on-stage. We'd all play a tune together, then Nat and
band would start a reel and do 3 rounds, then, Bela's team would take
over for 3, then Del's team would take 3, then we'd ALL play twice
through. Big sound! It was a riot, I can tell you, and the crowd went
nuts. It was smiles all around. August 7, 2006 - Boston, MA Day one of our mini-tour with Del McCoury and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones. We are really excited to be along on this one, and to be hanging out with the level of musicianship those people bring to the stage. Today, Boston was hotter than Hades, and very humid. Fortunately for us, all the dressing rooms were air conditioned. The BOA Pavilion is quite a facility, with a large amount of seating, and a big stage. So there was lots of room for everyone to set up the gear. And gear there was indeed. All our regular stuff, and Bela's gang had some pretty nifty gear. The most interesting part of this (to me and many others apparently) is Futureman's drumatar. It's a pseudo-guitar shaped block of wood, that is covered in touch-pads. The touch pads are routed through into various electronic samplers and such, and what comes out it simply incredible. Close your eyes, you'd swear he's playing a real drum set. He actually HAS most of a real drumset that he plays along with this rig, and I have never seen or heard anything like it in my life. His musicality and skill are beyond anything I have ever witnessed, and he did it almost effortlessly. He's also a really nice man, and spends at least an hour after the show talking to his fans. Actually, they all do. It's the Flecktones way. They pretty much blew all our minds in one way or the other. Futureman's brother, Victor Wooten is over on the other side of the stage playing bass. Every single bass player on the planet knows this man. He is pretty much IT for bass players down here on Earth. And there he was, playing like he was born with the instrument in his hand. Effortless. You could see that anything he could possibly dream of, he could have come out his hands, through his bass, and into the air. Incredible. It certainly shows what is possible in the world of music. Very inspirational to all of us. And like his brother, very nice, easy to approach, and willing to talk, share and he never stops learning. Pretty much ego-less. I think every musician on the planet could take a lesson from the Wooten's; If you think you are so hot, go see these guys. You'll head home to practice for 10 years with your tail between your legs. They just show you what it's like to have complete and total command of your instrument in ANY style, all ego- ree. I think they are just fantastic people and the absolute top of the heap in the world of musicians. Bela is the same, and so is Jeff Coffin, the wind instrument player. All mind blowingly great musicians, and lovely people. What a treat to be around them for a few days. That's enough for today, I'll describe how the stage show all works tomorrow, it's unique, and kinda slick. ............................................................................................................................... August 1, 2006 - Lorient, Brittany, France It seemed like the traveling would never end getting here over the last 24 hours. But, despite the mounds of gear, dashing for trains with babies in arms, loaded carts and battling for luggage space on the train, we eventually made it to the hotel in Lorient. I myself went right to bed, and slept til the evening hours. others went out to explore, since for some it was their first time in France, or Europe for that matter. Now, Shane's travel adventures worked out, but with a few snags. I'll let him tell his tale on his own site. The only guy left to arrive was Mac. He made it, but it wasn't a smooth trip for him either, he hadn't slept at all in 36 hours and was in fairly rugged shape when I saw him. Anyway, all that aside, here we were in France doing a show as part of the Inter-Celtic Festival, which was a pretty large and well organized event, it seems. The whole city was geared up for it, with loads of music at a wide variety of venues sprinkled about the area. Our venue was a large sort of hangar type building in an industrial area on the outskirts. But it was set up very well, with nice dressing rooms, complete facility in every way. There was one other band on the bill, I can't remember their name. At 11 pm, we hit the stage to about a half house of Celtic music fans, who were very appreciative, and since we'd come all this way, we figured we'd better let them have the full deal. It was a decent show, the notable thing for me was the quality of the local crew, and the sounds they were getting in our monitors. Certainly the best I have ever heard a Yamaha drumset sound. Can ya tell I'm not a big fan of Yamaha drums? I face that a lot, rental kits not exactly as I asked for. Yamaha's are nice drums, just not my sound. Whatever, all eyes and ears are on Natalie anyway. Even when one of the guys are doing a solo, most people are watching Natalie stand there while the solo happens. They came to see her, and see her they will. Seemed like in a flash our 75 minute set was done. We hung around a bit, had a couple of drinks and some (more) of the ubiquitous bread and cheese, and went back to the hotel to sleep. Tomorrow we head back to the Paris area, and await our flights home. But, Nat, Mac and Brad et al head straight out to L.A. to play 2 nights with the LA Symphony at the Hollywood bowl. Shane and I go home for 2 days, then head back down to Boston to begin the Bela Fleck tour. What a life.
|
