B.B. King in Ottawa
On Sunday, May 13th, I had the privilege of adding yet another living legend to my resume as I mixed B.B. King at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. It's the first time in a loooong time that I actually felt a little nervous, for obvious reasons.
We started our setup at 2:30pm, everything was smooth, a couple of the band members showed up to set up their gear and we were ready for soundcheck. And then the band left. Apparently soundchecks take 3rd place on the priority list, after sleep and dinner. So, after making sure they were in fact skipping the soundcheck, we had an extended dinner break and headed back for 7:30pm, when doors were to open. They ended up holding doors for about 15 mins, so the band could do a quick check for their monitors, and at 8pm the show started. A couple minor tweaks at the start and I was pretty much set.
The band played about 4 songs before BB came out and took his seat at centre stage. Though a little older, maybe a little slower, he still knows how to put on a show. The man has lots of stories to tell, everything from growing up in racial segregation to living in Vegas today, and you hang on every word of it. After about 2 hrs of playing and story telling, he decided to call it a night. On his way off stage, surrounded by his 5 bodyguards, he pointed right at me and took a few steps towards my world. I wasn't sure what to think, he didn't have much of a facial expression, and quite frankly, he looked like a mafia boss with all his people around him... Then he gave me the thumbs up, a nod of approval and he was on his way.
We started our setup at 2:30pm, everything was smooth, a couple of the band members showed up to set up their gear and we were ready for soundcheck. And then the band left. Apparently soundchecks take 3rd place on the priority list, after sleep and dinner. So, after making sure they were in fact skipping the soundcheck, we had an extended dinner break and headed back for 7:30pm, when doors were to open. They ended up holding doors for about 15 mins, so the band could do a quick check for their monitors, and at 8pm the show started. A couple minor tweaks at the start and I was pretty much set.
The band played about 4 songs before BB came out and took his seat at centre stage. Though a little older, maybe a little slower, he still knows how to put on a show. The man has lots of stories to tell, everything from growing up in racial segregation to living in Vegas today, and you hang on every word of it. After about 2 hrs of playing and story telling, he decided to call it a night. On his way off stage, surrounded by his 5 bodyguards, he pointed right at me and took a few steps towards my world. I wasn't sure what to think, he didn't have much of a facial expression, and quite frankly, he looked like a mafia boss with all his people around him... Then he gave me the thumbs up, a nod of approval and he was on his way.
posted by t. at 5:08 PM
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