This weekend was really grueling. It took about half an hour to load the drums, (quick by usual standards, but it was a small set). We then had to drive 5 hours to the border. We got to the hotel around midnight to find out that the client wanted to see us at 7am, (which meant missing breakfast!). In the morning we found out the client was meeting is us at 8am, so that wasn't quite so bad. Still very tired though.

We drove to the venue and set up (an hour or two) then had a sound-check, which involved standing around for what seemed like an eternity. I noticed during the check that we were on an elevated stage with crawlspace and that the drums lacked any resonance. The sound just died. I didn't dwell on it too much though, as I assumed the professionals would fix that. We came back to the hotel to freshen up and a quick card game before heading back.

We got lunch, we changed, we hung around a bit more. The show was running late (Let's face it, when have you ever known a show to run to schedule?) A decision was made by the organizer to cut our first performance and go straight for the 20min slot. We had to do some very quick, last minute workarounds. Rework the songs to fit the slot and incorporate the big drum in there somewhere!

The performance went OK (I think), but (at least to my ears) the sound was horrible. It was also really hard for me to hear the other drums (I never thought I'd ever hear myself saying that). We played in a dark hall with computer-controlled spots and floods flashing on and off at intervals. It looked kinda swish! For the first song I had a videographer in my face... lovely!

Then it was back to the changing room and wait for the show to finish so we could pack up the drums. 5 road hours later we get back to base and unload. One of the drum containers was broken in transit. Should be an easy fix though. Nothing major.
At least no smashed thumb this time and I managed to hang onto my drumsticks!

The show went quite well considering. The rain was perfectly timed to coincide with our performance. Despite having a cover on stage this year, the rain came down at 45° from the rear, soaking the back line. No one slipped on stage, that was a blessing too. We played four numbers and it was over in a flash. It was a long, fifteen-hour day, even though it was relatively "local".

Both my PCs are getting a little long in the tooth, so I am currently putting together an action plan. This includes a hardware list, purchasing of a backup drive, more software and an index of everything I currently have installed. 

I've found a new, local PC supply shop and although I haven't visited yet, it's had some great reviews and the tech I spoke to yesterday was extremely helpful. As a former tech myself, I am very wary of dealing with PC shops staffed by snotty teens who have been gone through the company sales training, but know little about their inventory. I get a little irritated by salespeople who assume I know next to nothing about their products and have just come to buy something off the shelf purely based on their enthusiasm and recommendation.

Well, here we are. I've finally picked up one of my long-neglected domains and attempted to do something interesting with it! I've had this domain for about 10 years or more and have scandalously allowed it to collect dust. (Well, that's not strictly true, there was a website here, but it was little more than a placeholder pointing to a very old CafePress site!) I have sold some stuff on there, so I guess the website wasn't a total waste!