Nixdad with The Fab 8, The Shoppes at Chino Hills 9/22/18

Hi Everyone!

The is the 2nd time we've performed at The Shoppes at Chino Hills, and we'll be back again on Saturday, October 27th. Our first time was November 11th when it was about 57 degrees, but no such nonsense this time as temps were in the mid-90's during setup. Gig time was 5-8 pm.

Chino Hills is a nice community about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. It's nestled between several So Cal Freeways; it's south of the 60, north of the 91, and the 71 runs right through it.



The Shoppes at Chino Hills is a nice open air-type mall with all kinds of retail stores and restaurants, and features a nice fountain. It's been 2 months since our last gig, so we were chomping at the bit to play again.

We had our 2nd rehearsal of the year just a few days prior to the gig. All of our gigs had gone very well this year on just 1 rehearsal, so we were feeling pretty good about this gig as well. We added 3 new tunes including "Rain," "The Fool On the Hill" & "Sgt. Pepper's Reprise" (which leads into "A Day In the Life," which we've been performing since 2016.) We also brought back "Because" which we have not performed since 2017. As you can tell, most of the tunes are very harmony heavy. I was especially looking forward to performing "Rain" for obvious reasons.

BIG THANKS to @McG for making the trip north from Costa Mesa to see us. He's also responsible for most of the photos. Thanks Grant!

Since it was a Saturday afternoon, the commute for me was a breeze. It's less than a 30 minute drive from my house.
http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg595/cmaury61/IMG_2637_zpsbinkpkef.jp
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The 24'x12' stage (perfect for us) is covered this time of year, which provided some welcome shelter from the heat. Here's Martie & Dale during set up.


Hai wonders why it's taking so long for us to set up - he's ready to play.


Here's a shot of the fountain. It was packed with kids a short time before this picture was taken.


This is Doug. Instead of wearing matching black or white shirts as we've done for the past 2 years, we had discussed a plan a few months ago for everyone to wear something non-matching and colorful before our big summer concert show in July. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. So, at this show Doug decided to go rogue and wear his new "groovy" shirt (the call for the day was the white shirts.) Let me know what you think about this potential new look!


The Shoppes host a Summer Concert Series with Tribute Bands in the middle of the summer which is well promoted, and probably draw 1,000 or more people. The fountain is off during those shows, as the entire area is packed with people. The Saturday shows (like this one) appear on their calendar, but that's about all the promotion they provide.

Out of nowhere, this handsome man showed up. I was truly honored. Here's Grant and I just prior to the show.


Grant, about 30 minutes before showtime. We drew a decent crowd as time went on. They appreciated the music and we appreciated that they were there!


My new bowler. I'm typically not a hat guy, so we'll see how it works out. I was inspired by the stylish @McG! I bought it a few months ago, but it was too hot to wear it in the middle of summer:


Stage shot:


And it's time to play!




The crowd began to grow as the evening drew near:


Pat during the break:


This couple was really cute. They really enjoyed themselves, and we enjoyed their presence!


Although fuzzy, here's a night shot with our Chauvet lights:


We took one break after a long first set, and then played through sets 2 & 3 with no additional break. Although we had a blast as always, unfortunately, this was not our best show. There were by no means any train wrecks, it was just a show with a number of mistakes (I contributed plenty.) Some were on the new material which we'd only played a few times at rehearsal, and others on songs we've performed for years. Oh well. On the other hand, most of the songs came off beautifully with some real high points, and several of the new songs went well. We look forward to getting back on track this weekend!

This Saturday (9/29) we'll be at the inaugural La Verne On Tap Beer Walk in downtown La Verne from 5-8:30 pm. Lots of great craft beers, food and music. It should be fun! If you're in the area, please come join us!

Until next time,
Chris

 

Thanks @Bassed in NZ! Right back atcha! Let us all know if you have any plans to come to California. I appreciate the vote for the bowler as well!

Anytime, @Spidey2112!

Thanks @JRA!

I appreciate your comments, @buldog5151bass - that may be an approach we'll consider. Thanks for checking out the post!

Thanks Dan! I appreciate the comments about Doug's shirt as well. If we go down that road, everyone would choose their own shirts. I've already purchased several Robert Graham shirts, but have yet to wear one at a gig.

Hi Bill. No CD's at this point, but I'll certainly let you know if that changes!

Hi @G19Tony, it was fun, and I appreciate the vote of confidence on the bowler.
I've seen the Yellow Submarine bass - it's a cool novelty.


However, I'll stick with my Ric 4003 and Fender Starcaster!

It was fun, Nate! Luckily we have 4 more to go this year, and hopefully we'll add more.