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Got
up around 9 am, had some food, and made it over to an 11
am rehearsal. We finalized our set for the evening performance
and we headed out to the Krannert Center to see the Jake
Hertzog Trio at 1 pm and Bill Frisell at 2 pm.
When we get to the Krannert Center, Jake and his trio are
in full swing. Jake's band plays progressive jazz
music, and I find it quite enjoyable. Harvie S, who has
played with many of the greats, was on bass. He was playing
a Czech bass, which is made by David Gage in New York. It
has a box like an upright bass but the body is reduced just
below the bridge. With amplification it is loud enough for
most bands and it has a good upright sound. This whole design
makes it easier to travel with than a full upright, except
Harvie said the airlines make him check in the end pins
for the bass as they could be used as a weapon. Harvie sounded
great and I enjoyed their final number which was in 5/4.
Bill Frisell's set was in one of the big theaters.
The music was very somber with only a guitar, bass, violin,
and pedal steel guitar. This set was very artsy with photographs
being displayed while the group played. Though they played
very well the set was very long. The music was based on
the photography of Mike Disfarmer. Disfarmer was a portrait
photographer that lived in Arkansas during the 1930's.
He was a very eclectic photographer and Bill Frisell is
a very eclectic musician, so I guess it made sense. I enjoyed
it but I got restless during the performance. Perhaps I
was just anxious about our evening concert.
We then made it back to the hotel for some rest and preparation
for our 11 pm set. The wonderful people at the Krannert
Center picked us up at around 8:45 to go to the lobby area
at the Krannert for our sound check. These guys were really
organized as they had been all weekend. We did our sound
check where we got a rousing round of applause. We went
down stairs to the "green" room (it really wasn't
green) to warm up, eat some snacks and relax before our
set. A little before eleven we went up to the stage, plugged
in, and let it rip. It was a great set and Laurie was rippin'.
Bob, from WEFT community radio, was there; our good friend
Lloyd from California was also there; as well as many other
good friends. The crowd, which was sizable, hung with us
throughout the set and we had a great time playing for fans
and making new ones. After our set we signed CD's
and programs and then headed back to the hotel exhausted
but happy.
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