Up early to make a 7 hour drive to Utah. We get off around
8 am and drive through the plateau lands of Wyoming which
are part of the Rocky Mountains. After several stops for
fuel and food we make it to our hotel in Salt Lake City
at around 3 pm. We go over to the club which is a mile
away and set up our gear. Pat is not there but everyone
else who works there is real nice. The soundman who shows
up looks like he is fifteen, and we let him know what
we need and head back to the hotel to get ready for our
performance.
Pat's BBQ was reviewed on Diners, Drive-ins, and
Dives on the Food Network by Guy Fieri. It was reported
as being one of the best BBQ places even though it is
in Utah. It is a funky place that looks like an old industrial
shop. Blues paintings and memorabilia are everywhere.
There is an outdoor eating area with picnic tables and
benches and next to this is a room with sound system,
stage, and the same kind of picnic tables and benches.
We get back to Pat's BBQ and there is a small crowd
that has come to hear the Laurie Morvan Band. My old guitar
playing friend, Marc Ybaben, has come with his son Connor.
It is good to see him and his son and everyone in the
band says hello. We make plans to have dinner with them
before tomorrow night's gig. We also see that Justin
Vestman is here with his friend. Justin is the son of
John Vestman who has mastered and helped with our CDs.
We start our set and despite the muffled sound in the
room the audience is enjoying the music. We are to play
from7 to 9 pm and we plan to play straight through for
the entire two hours. At one point, after one of Laurie's
face melting solos, someone shouts out something like,
"You are better than Eric Clapton" and Laurie,
without missing a beat says, "Thanks, man. Here's
the 5 dollars I was going to give you." Well, the
guy is pretty quick and he comes back with, "You
promised me twenty." This was really funny and we
all have a good laugh.
Toward the end of our set I see that Pat of 'Pat's
BBQ' is checking out the band as well as Brian Kelm,
who is a local DJ in the area and who hosts for the Blues
Cruises. We finish at 9 pm and we have all had a good
time. I'm glad that these folks have come out to
see us on a Monday night. As I am preparing to load out
I am stopped by Pat and, after introductions, he tells
me he has some things for the band. I get Big Mama ready
to load up and he brings out bananas, grapes, oranges,
apples, bottled waters, cereal bars, and cinnamon rolls
for the band to take on our travels. Wow. This is very
thoughtful and shows that Pat really understands that
a band on the road is always in need of good wholesome
food. Thanks, Pat. He also tells me that he has just shot
a pilot for The Learning Channel (TLC) called "Extreme
Parties" which will be aired on TLC in the fall.
We'll be checking this out.
We say our goodbyes and head back to the hotel with Lisa's
brother, Karl, in tow. We ordered a bunch of food from
Pat's BBQ and we all convene in the dining area
of the hotel. Everyone enjoys this delicious food and
we now understand why it was profiled on the Food Network
by Guy Fieri.
We say our goodnights and Lisa plans to get off early
with Karl to go visit their mom here in Utah. The rest
of us get to sleep in and have a nice leisurely morning
as we do not have to check out until noon. We have a short
2 ½ hour drive to Ogden tomorrow. Off to bed.
