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BRENT'S DIARY
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Memorial
Day Weekend, 2005
Sorry I
haven't updated the diary for a while. Its been a busy month or
so, so I've been slacking.
This
weekend marked the first outdoor Rhythm Method and Light Up
performances of the 2005 festival season at the annual
Immaculate Heart of Mary church festival. This has become
a tradition for many Light Up fans because we've been playing
this particular event on the Sunday of Memorial weekend for 4
years. This year, the festival decided to try Rhythm
Method on Friday night and Light Up for the usual Sunday.
We were pretty confident that if the weather was decent we'd
have a good crowd for Sunday (even though it's rained (like...torrential
downpour) every other year we've played it) but weren't really
sure how RM would do since we would be there two nights later.
Well, we
were pleased to see that the Friday crowd was at least as big as
the usual Sunday Light Up crowd. The tent was packed and
our summer tour kicked off with a display of debauchery. I
think folks sometimes forget that some of these events are
CHURCH festivals and not Las Vegas rave parties...but its fun to
watch and I'll be last to try to stop them:) Despite a few
technical problems causing our lighting to go down a few times,
the show went off well and the crowd had tons of energy.
They were loud and apparently the beer was very tasty because
the bartenders made a point of telling us that they sold 32 half
barrels. That's ALOT of beer.
We took
Saturday off and gathered again at 11am on Sunday to set up and
sound check for the Light Up set. Let me tell ya, there's
nothing stranger than setting your alarm clock to wake up so you
aren't LATE for soundcheck. Its times like this where we
all wish we were lead singers. As the rest of us carry in
truckloads of Keyboards, Amps, Drums and Guitars, Bobby strolls
in with his cup of Starbucks coffee. He sure must have been
sleepy after all that lifting, but then, the coffee probably
sparked him up a bit.
Later that
evening we all made our way back to the venue (or..ummm..tent)
to get ready for the show. I mentioned earlier that it's
rained every year we've played this festival. Not this
year. The weather was perfect! We talked backstage
about how the nice weather may actually keep some people home by
their grills this year instead of coming to hear the Styx
stuff. WRONG! This was the busiest it's been in four
years - 48 half barrels sold. That's ALOT MORE beer than
Friday. Maybe that should be the Light Up slogan: "Light
Up: We sell a shitload of beer." After having not
played the Styx material since March, we had a little but of
rust built up, but for the most part, a great show and a simply
awesome crowd.
Thanks to
everyone who made it out. Thanks to Immaculate Heart of
Mary for bringing us back again, and a special thanks to Glenn O
from Eliminator Audio. Glenn is probably the hardest
working guy any of us in the band have ever met. He sets
up the sound system by himself, runs our monitors on most
nights, and then tears it down as well. Just want to give
a little credit where credit is due.
Also
thanks to Brian Blankenheim for the light show. We give
you a lot of crap, but we do appreciate the efforts.
Last, but
not least, thanks to Mike Miley who shops for alcohol, repairs
holes in stages, takes pictures, loads and unloads gear.
Thanks Bro-
Brent
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