When you pull up at the Metro, they meet you outside, just to that alley off the side. They help you unload your gear. I met guys named Cash and Tex. RL was our stage manager and Justin was maybe an intern of some sort. They were all very professional, but also much MUCH more friendly than I expected. I kinda expected to get treated like we weren’t important, but it sure felt like they rolled out the red carpet.
Kevin checked our IDs, Matt ran the door…..it was just cool to meet all these people. It really is a large operation they run their.
You carry your stuff upstairs and set it on the floor, and wait to load onto the stage. I’ve never been there before a show before…it’s a very different atmosphere, but I really like it. It’s calm- almost cozy. Odd for such a large venue.
The sound guys recognized my amp. Apparently Cash has almost the same one. That’s happened never times before. Rusty, the sound guy…..was amazing. I mean wow. He works so fast- it was just excellent. Justin did monitors and he was really attentive too. Honestly, I’m blown away by the professionalism of that whole crew.
The back stage area….Jeff (our tenor player, who by the way, is awesome.) says they’ve redone it. it’s sweet. My voice wasn’t feeling great before the show so i packed a mug, my water boiler, and some tea and honey- unnecessary. They have set. AMAZING. There are 3 rooms, a big common area with leather couches….but the wall is the best part. They have a wall that’s covered with a bunch of posters from previous shows there. It’s pretty sweet to see what excellent company you’re in, and it makes for come cool collage art too.
But on to the good stuff, right? You walk up the stairs around the back and up onto the stage. I’ve been to the Metro a LOT of times. I grew up literally 4 blocks south of there. It is way, way different from the stage. That stage is HIGH. Well, tall. It’s amazing how well you can see the faces of people in the crowd when you play. The back lighting truss lights them up. And it was amazing to see our friends and family and fans singing along to almost every song.
The Metro has such a pretty stage, and it was awesome to be up there with 7 other people. We’re finally living up to our “& the Hired Guns” name. And I’m loving the way it sounds. Jeff Brown of Goodbyehome came and guested with us on accordion, and it was lovely. Amanda Raber is indispensable as our alto player. Larry even hopped up to join us for Secrets of the Burgh.
The band was really tight, considering the circumstances (Mike had just gotten back into town). I think the stellar monitors really helped a lot.
It was very cool to be playing with our friend’s I Fight Dragons. They’re such friendly nice people.
Ultimately, this was maybe the coolest musical experiene of my life. I’m having trouble finding the right words, but if you were there, you saw me smile, and I think that basically summed it up. Thanks again so much to all of you that came out. It made the evening very special for me.
