Well, we seem to be off to a pretty good start with the show. I suddenly wish this tour was longer, and not just for financial reasons. The cast is really strong this year, as is the band, so it would be nice if we had a heavier performance schedule with this ensemble. That's not to say there aren't problems. Two of the new cast members seems to have trouble memorizing his lines, although they pulled it together pretty well in the first show last night, with only a couple of flubs. On the last dress rehearsal they had tripped on their lines numerous times, so we were all a bit worried going into the show. The band had it's share of little flubs too, though probably less obvious to the average audience member. Still, the overall playing is strong and the details should come together pretty quickly as we get more performances under our belts.
Went out with part of the group last night to celebrate opening night. There was a Dave & Busters across the street so we had a few drinks and played skeeball, video games, etc. I invited our cute, 24 year-old hotel clerk to join us, and she accepted, so that made things a bit more fun as well. We moved to a pub across the way when D&B closed. The music was incredibly loud there, and there was a large crowd... so large in fact, that it took us five minutes to realize that the music was so loud because it was a live band playing on the other side of the bar. With all the meaningless "genres" music gets labeled with these days, I couldn't even tell you what "type" of band they were, other than rock-oriented and very, very loud. All in all a fun evening.
We're headed from Utica, Michigan to Appleton, Wisconsin at the moment, which is our first full day of travel, and actually our first day being on the bus. We have a different bus company this year, and thus a different style of bus and a new driver. The driver (Tom) is apparently a former sniper from a special ops unit... interesting as one of our previous drivers was a former Navy SEAL. I'm wondering if there's something I'm not realizing which attracts these type of people to driving buses. Tom also said he's never lived in one place for more than 4 years, which is one sure-fire way to see a lot of places in your lifetime, I suppose.
And now for the bad news... last night, my horn took a tumble out of one of the vans we were using to get to and from the theater in Utica. It was loaded on top of other horns in the back, and when one of our sax players opened the back door (which swings up, so there's no way to easily guard the contents inside as it's opened), my gig bag fell out and onto the asphalt. I think the damage is only cosmetic, but my bell does have a couple of good-sized ripples and creases in it. Kind of a bummer, since the bell had been in near-mint condition since it was made in 1969, and it's near-impossible to get replacement parts for this model of horn (they were only made ~69-72). Oh well, I'm trying to not worry about it, and I'm sure when I get the dents removed it will play just the same as it always has. A lot of people really get caught up that damage/repair of a brass instrument vastly changes how it plays, but I don't really buy into that.... I hope that I'll still hold that opinion in the near future.
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