Post by simmo123 on Feb 12, 2014 14:53:32 GMT
Hi Folks, just a little rundown on my first real gig.
Hi folks, thankfully all went well with the country gig on Saturday down at a vineyard around 20kms from the country town of Nannup, the gig was to support the local “Darradup volunteer Bush Fire Brigade”, it was in a beautiful setting at the Jalbarragup Estate Vineyard, which lies approx 300km south of Perth.
I drove down arriving in good time which also gave me the opportunity to suss out the facilities etc. Being in a large clearing in a bush setting alongside the Vineyard all of the power was being supplied by a fairly big generator supplied by the local council which was all set up away from the main stage area.
Being something completely new to me I arrived with my car full of my own PA system plus all of the various leads etc that I thought I may need and of course my faithful old Ovation Ac guitar. Needn’t have bothered ...everything was there..big stuff too...plus a foldback system bigger than my feeble little Yamaha 500 system which serves me well in all of the gigs I do.
There were four acts on the programme with Ole Simmo at no, 3
First act kicking off at 7.30 was a local trio followed by a solo guitarist who was full on into the Shadows stuff
Ole Simmo was starting at 9.00pm then a short break while they shuffled a lot of the gear around in prep for the main group who had flown in from Melbourne “The Tiger and I” they were a five piece band with three of the members able to play several instruments including Banjo accordion, ,violin keyboards Uke . & guitar,they have also released two albums as well...I certainly felt well & truly out of my depth.
The other factor which hit me a bit was the fact that once the sun got low it turned really cold.
Around 6.30 the folks started to arrive in everything from mostly 4 wheel drives,a few farm trucks /utes ( utilities) with also a couple of locals on tractors made an appearance, they sat in chairs but mostly on the ground on tarps,rugs etc. Probably around 250 attended
Once it got dark the music kicked off with the local boys, they got plenty of support as they worked their way through the set the crowd really got behind them, a couple of small adjustments from the fella that was running the sound system gave them a really good sound. Next came the guitarist doing all Shadows stuff
Ok Ole Simmo has made a couple of visits to the makeshift toilets most likely a bit of nerves was kicking in...my time had almost arrived, a quick tune up then step up on the stage, plug the lead in the guitar, turn on my backing track player which is already hooked into the main PA ,adjust the mic stand & I’m ready to go. As I look to where the crowd is gathered I was taken aback by the fact that I couldn’t see them owing to the large lights which were sitting a few metres from the front of the stage and directed straight on to the stage, I thought that I would be able to see everyone but it wasn’t to be.
I had my song list set up in the order that I was going to play them, also my backing tracks as well. Once I got through the first number I felt a little more relaxed so I just carried on as if I was at one of my normal gigs, I was more than happy with the response I got from the folks to the point where It actually seemed to lift me...Ole Simmo was on a roll !!!.
Ok kept going until I finished my set and then was called upon to draw the raffle...guess what ...Simmo actually pulled out he’s own ticket...no way was I going to take the prize so I drew another one straight away.
Next came the band from Melbourne “The Tiger and me” who played until around midnight...Top Band...very professional, after that all the muso’s finished up in the winery until the early hours...all in all a great night.
Finished up with around $5000 profit on the night which will go to the local Volunteer Bush fire Brigade and a request for Ole Simmo ..same time next year.
Stayed overnight.. looked after like a king..headed back to Baldivis next day.
Hope I haven’t rambled on to long but it was a great weekend for a great cause
