"THE NEAR-NIGHTMARE GIG"
February 19, 2010:
*All times approximate, but you get the idea...
3:20pm - Leave “day job,” have to go home and get ready for show. The plan is to hang out for a little bit, change clothes, load gear in car, and be on the road to Key Largo by 4:45pm.
4:50pm - On Florida Turnpike heading south. Have amp, cables, pedals, and everything else...or so I thought...
5:45pm - Arrive at gig, unload cables, lights, pedals, and that’s when I realize that I have everything I need for the gig....EXCEPT FOR MY BASSES....#$%$$^^$$^^#$$^#$@%#$#%%$%#&#^%(^$&$@&^!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5:50pm - Get back in car, head back to house to get basses, calling myself an idiot for not double and triple checking that you have everything with you like you usually do...Thankfully band doesn’t want to kill me...
6:43pm - Back at house, grab basses
6:45pm - Back on road, hoping for no heavy traffic (so of course there’s a backup on the Turnpike...)
7:40pm - Get back to gig, plug into amp (I’ll deal with my pedalboard later), and start show, get ribbed the rest of the night by bandmates (I deserved it!)...
Here is a very good real life lesson for all musicians. Make sure to double check that you have everything before you leave for a gig! I’m usually very good about making sure I have everything, but for whatever reason I didn’t think about it this time. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a major brain freeze like this, and will also be the last one!