Gig report! 4/9/22 at the Sunset Tavern, Seattle WA (pix)

Welp, that's a wrap. Just after 4 years of joining my band, we called it a day last night at the Sunset.

There are some dynamics involved as to why the band is no more, but to me, it had run its course and the pandemic and lockdown certainly didn't help. But this is about the gig, not why we stopped.

We had this gig planned for March of '20, and then it got put on pause, and then the Sunset remodeled and then pushed us back from December until last night. I showed up at load in time (5:30) as we were backlining our gear and wanted a sound check as well. We were headlining and had a solo act (Caleb Thompson) and band (Kathy Moore Super Power Trio) playing before us.

Setup was pretty breezy. I brought my usual rig and my black P and L1K. I learned the night before that I'd be sharing my rig with a local bassist named Julie Slick. The regular bassist in KMSPT was out sick and Julie was called upon to play. I looked her up and, guys, she's what I call a "professional musician." She has gigs and plays with artists we've all heard of. I searched her here and she's been mentioned a few times on this site. I also checked her on YouTube and was floored by how she played. Pickstyle on a Lakland DD (I think) and just shredding that thing to bits. Super technical and fast and wow, just great.

After setup, it was to a burger joint down the street (Great State Burgers). Very good and greasy. I added the caramelized onions for .50, no pictures, though.

Back to the club and a nice turnout was happening as it was our last show. And maybe first show since the lockdown for many clubgoers. We had some old friends fly in from as far as Tennessee and Arizona to see us play, that was pretty cool. The opener was an old soul; it looked like he rode in on a horse-drawn carriage. Sadly, no pix of him, but if you saw The Power of the Dog, imagine someone from that era. Voice as clear as a bell, effortless fingerstyle on acoustic guitar. Really excellent.

Following Caleb came KMSPT. We have played with them several times and they never fail to excite. As mentioned earlier, their usual excellent bassist had to sit out and, well Julie just killed it. Seriously, look her up.

As my drummer, Cass, and I watched them, their drummer, Faith, kept looking over and shrugging and mouthing, "I'm sorry," about something. After all, she was playing Cass' kit. Once they were done, I helped her off the stage as her hands were full and she mentioned that she had hit her finger on a drum and cut it, which caused her to splatter blood all over the snare and floor tom. It was pretty epic, not gonna lie. No pictures of that, sadly.

I had a friend come out who records some shows, and has recorded some of ours as well. What bass is to us, videography appears to be to him. He brought something like 8 GoPros, stands, clamps, etc. He had a little rig to clip on the end of my P bass. Due to that, I ended up opening the show with the P and swapping to my L1K a few songs in. The camera really messed up the balance of the P, but it was manageable. I just had to make sure not to whack anyone or anything with it.

People were super excited to see/hear us. The new stage at the Sunset is bigger and sounds fantastic. We played SUPER LOUD and it was almost too much (even with earplugs), but we soldiered on. Literally the 3rd note I played was wrong and overall, it was a pretty sloppy night, despite practicing twice this week. I really amp up the physicality of playing when I'm on stage and that can cause some problems at times. Also, my hair gets in my face and makes it hard to see, but overall, I think the performance was pretty solid.

We played 16 songs, which is the most we've ever done. Even that amount makes me realize what a marathon it would be for bands doing sets that last a couple hours. Gotta pace yourself!

The videos I've seen from the crowd made me feel good about the bass sounds I got from my stuff. Signed a few posters after the show (always weird to me), talked to a lot of friends old and new, and made a few bucks too.

Onto the pictures!

Outside the Sunset.

Fresh new green room at the Sunset.


My stuff and setup.

Merch stand.

KMSPT

Julie Slick and her matching white Lakland.

 

Yeah, she's crazy good. Pick skills are no joke!

 

Well, hell, this is a great early birthday present, multicam from Saturday's show. My kingdom for a nightclub that doesn't only have colored lighting!

Please click and enjoy!

 

There's a local artist/fan named Jeff who goes by @drawitin1 on IG. He starts drawing when the song starts, he stops when it's over. The drawings are abstract, but he gets the essence down. Check these out from last week's gig. Give him a follow if you so wish: Jeff 'One Song' Barlow (@drawitin1) • Instagram photos and videos