t_ross33
June 17th, 2007, 12:07 AM
The Barley Boys opened/closed for The Poverty Plainsmen (http://www.thepovertyplainsmen.com/pages/main.htm) last night, 2007 recipients of the Saskatchewan Country Music Association Band of the Year Award. These guys have been around for awhile and are one of the top touring country acts in Canada.
Things started out a bit frantic. We found out yesterday morning that The Poverty Plainsmen would be leaving immediately following their set, not packing out the following morning as initially planned. As we had made arrangements to use their PA, closing the night would be impossible unless we provided our own PA, drum kit etc.
Let me go on record here: these guys are some of the best people I've had the pleasure to meet and work with. When they arrived to set up, they were so accomodating, willing to come up with a solution that would suit everyone and do everything they could to make our night easier and a success. And this is the HEADLINING act!! After seeing what we had available for PA, they felt it would be more than adequate for the venue so we set up our gear and they just patched in. When it was time for them to go they pulled the plug, loaded out and headed down the road.
Next problem... half way through our second song, we tripped a breaker for the PA :o We moved some power around, started over and almost got through the whole song before it tripped again. Okay, sort that out skip to the next song - tripped again :eek: We finally figured out that one of the outlets in the kitchen was on the same circuit as we were using and a coffee urn was overloading the circuit. We need a good break-out box. Good thing my brother in-law is an electrician! All the starts and stops stole some momentum, but we recovered and had a pretty good opening set.
The Poverty Plainsmen were, of course, fantastic. Very professional, very tight. By the end of their second and final set, the crowd of about 300 was up and ready to party.
EDIT: It was mentioned in a previous thread that their guitar player uses a POD XT Live board, which he does - but he also uses Variax 700 guitars. Very cool. I was impressed with the live application of this technology. It really helped replicate their studio recordings in a live setting.
We took the stage and picked up where they left off and dug into our bag of rock & roll party tunes. We finished up an absolutely rockin' set around 3:30 AM, packed up and drove the 2 blocks to our drummer's house (I love small town gigs!) to sit on his deck, drink a few well deserved refreshments and watch the morning sun come up.
We got along with the boys in the band quite well and I think we impressed them - enough so that we've been invited to play one of biggest country bars in the province, owned by their lead singer/bandleader. We may also have a shot at getting on the bill to play the beergardens at the Craven Country Jamboree (http://www.cravencountryjamboree.com/) next year, a huge 4 day festival featuring top Canadian and International acts. This year's headliners include Reba McIntire, Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood and Big & Rich. It may be a long shot, but at least we have made the connections necessary to get in contact with the right people.
We offered to do this gig for free, just to get our foot in the door and meet some guys who are very well connected in the entertainment industry in Western Canada. I think we accomplished what we set out to do, and we had a blast. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is only a HOBBY! :D
Pictures to follow.
Trev
Things started out a bit frantic. We found out yesterday morning that The Poverty Plainsmen would be leaving immediately following their set, not packing out the following morning as initially planned. As we had made arrangements to use their PA, closing the night would be impossible unless we provided our own PA, drum kit etc.
Let me go on record here: these guys are some of the best people I've had the pleasure to meet and work with. When they arrived to set up, they were so accomodating, willing to come up with a solution that would suit everyone and do everything they could to make our night easier and a success. And this is the HEADLINING act!! After seeing what we had available for PA, they felt it would be more than adequate for the venue so we set up our gear and they just patched in. When it was time for them to go they pulled the plug, loaded out and headed down the road.
Next problem... half way through our second song, we tripped a breaker for the PA :o We moved some power around, started over and almost got through the whole song before it tripped again. Okay, sort that out skip to the next song - tripped again :eek: We finally figured out that one of the outlets in the kitchen was on the same circuit as we were using and a coffee urn was overloading the circuit. We need a good break-out box. Good thing my brother in-law is an electrician! All the starts and stops stole some momentum, but we recovered and had a pretty good opening set.
The Poverty Plainsmen were, of course, fantastic. Very professional, very tight. By the end of their second and final set, the crowd of about 300 was up and ready to party.
EDIT: It was mentioned in a previous thread that their guitar player uses a POD XT Live board, which he does - but he also uses Variax 700 guitars. Very cool. I was impressed with the live application of this technology. It really helped replicate their studio recordings in a live setting.
We took the stage and picked up where they left off and dug into our bag of rock & roll party tunes. We finished up an absolutely rockin' set around 3:30 AM, packed up and drove the 2 blocks to our drummer's house (I love small town gigs!) to sit on his deck, drink a few well deserved refreshments and watch the morning sun come up.
We got along with the boys in the band quite well and I think we impressed them - enough so that we've been invited to play one of biggest country bars in the province, owned by their lead singer/bandleader. We may also have a shot at getting on the bill to play the beergardens at the Craven Country Jamboree (http://www.cravencountryjamboree.com/) next year, a huge 4 day festival featuring top Canadian and International acts. This year's headliners include Reba McIntire, Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood and Big & Rich. It may be a long shot, but at least we have made the connections necessary to get in contact with the right people.
We offered to do this gig for free, just to get our foot in the door and meet some guys who are very well connected in the entertainment industry in Western Canada. I think we accomplished what we set out to do, and we had a blast. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is only a HOBBY! :D
Pictures to follow.
Trev