Overture, curtain lights

... this is it, we've hit the heights. And oh what heights we've hit, on with the show this is it. Hededededeh, hededededeh, that's all folks! Reminiscent to some of us. Bugs Bunny, Roadrunner, Foghorn Leghorn, the era of Quick Draw NcGraw, maybe?

Will finish off the second part practice of set two before packing up my gear on way to Zihua Bay for 5:45 or so. Doing the Thursday moening bridge game and something so ironic happened. There is a clock running that determines the amount of time left to play before players move to the next round. A chronic slow player today pings me to "complain" that one of the opponents is playing too slowly. Talk about Genevieve calling the toaster orange! I think that's the more politically correct way to say it now.

Dominique has a plan about how we can package up two long and narrow pieces we need to take to the club today. We have a handful of folding high  back chairs that came in a nice strong form-fitting container of material. She will fetch one from the locker and we will try to see if they are long enough to accomodate the mic stand and part of the music stand infrastructure. I decided my first number tonight will be the theme song from the cartoon The Might Hercules. Hope it is familiar to some (all?) of the attendees. It goes something like this ...

   Hercules, hero of song and story.
   Hercules, winner of ancient glory.
   Fighting for the right,
   Fighting with his might,
   With the strength of ten, ordinary men.
   
   Hercules, people are safe when near him.
   Hercules, only the evil fear him.
   Softness in his eyes,
   Iron in his thighs,
   Virtue in his heart,
   Fire in every part,
   Of the Mighty Hercules.
   Victory is here,
   Raise a mighty cheer,
   
   At the side of Hercules!

Once on the topic of Herc, I always wondered how he could hurtle earthward and his miniskirt did not go up in the wind 😎. Newton, affectionately called Newt, always responded to something others said by doubling up his answer, e.g., that's me Herc, that's me. Not to mention Daedalus and Wilhelmine, or the blonde lady friend named Helena.

The bridge game that we scheduled for 12:30pm did not fly. We need a minimum of 12 people registered to carry on and we did not make it. I spent a bit of time finishing off some practicing of my second set for tonight then printed off a checklist. I assembled all the required crap than added a few items that I had not thought of. My wireless guitar apparatus was misbehaving itself as though it was not completely charged. I remembered what I believed to be the sign the units are both charged and that would be no lights on either unit. That was the status when I packed them so we shall see if my assumption is correct. Naturally, I am taking a patch cord in case.

I also grabbed some extra guitar strings that Dominique had stashed in the past. I guess I am a boy scout ... always be prepared. We will head out shortly. There is a lot of crap to carry, mainly the bocina (speaker/guitar amp combo) and the microphone stand. It is always possible that a club has these items BUT one (in my opinion) does not ask. If the owner/manager does not mention, I would not say anything myself.

My plan is to place the microphone in the same field of vision as my computer screen so I do not have far to look away to read what I am performing. It's been about 30 years since I worked in a band and had to use a mic. The best approach is to carry on the way one sings, emphasizes, and verbalizes as it the mic were not there. Thus, the placement of the mic stand and the height and angle/inclination of its boom can be manipulated to place if at the same level as my mouth. I have to be careful not to crowd the mic, not to mention the mist important item ... when I turn my head, I actually turn my shoulders, trying to leave my mouth in the plane directly in front of teh mic. This way the attendees hear ... purple haze all through my brain ... rather than ... purple haze all through my brain.  I can't speak for anyone else, but when listening to vocals I hate it when they fade in and out. Maybe I am taking this to too low a level, but hey, that's me. It's all the way or no way.

The gig at Zihua Bay went well. I agreed to play Thursdays 7-9pm BUT will take a break making it into two sets. I was not 100% happy with the level of volume put out by the bocina through the mic input. I was told after the first few numbers that the vocals needed more volume so I hugged the mic more. Naturally the two meals we had there were excellent, she having shrimp and I had the ribs. I got some nice feedback from our friends who were there and one table in particular paid close attention to what I was performing. At the end of the show, we raised about 1,700 pesos for Por Los Niños which was a nice haul. I am going to have a closer look at how to get more volume out of the bocina.