Singing Sign
‘There are three things you don’t want on the road…Head ache, Stomach ache and Greg Lake’ goes the ancient rock’n’roll joke but today, one of them got me. Most likely it was an over-indulgence in the Clam Chowder department on the bus last night that left my stomach in turmoil. An hour before the show, the cramps were intense but thankfully short lived. By the time we took to the stage I was fine, adrenaline working its magic. Even though there are NO nerves when we take to the stage, you’d have to be made of wood to remain unaffected by our audiences. The atmosphere in these halls is always fabulous and it seems even the die-hard Bob fans who have absolutely no idea who the hell we all are, are won over in the end. Certainly judging by the posts and emails I receive. Our day in Philadelphia was quiet but the gig was a raucous and exciting as any we’ve done.
Something interesting was bought to my attention in the forum this morning. At our last show in Boston, there was a couple in the audience who were performing sign language for a group of disabled concert-goers. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires concert venues in the US to provide sign language interpreters to deaf concert-goers on request. Those interpreters are faced with the daunting task of conveying to their clients not just a song’s words, but also its metaphors, symbolism, rhythms and mood. It is necessary for two performers to do this as it is deemed too exhausting for a single person to cover a whole concert. This is Aaron Malgeri who is based in Boston. I wonder if it was Aaron who attended our show?
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Tim O’Brien was in town after finishing up a tour on the North East Coast, he realized he could drop by on his way home. Of the other guests this evening we saw Dick Boek from Martin guitars, always good to hear his thoughts on the sound of the acoustic guitars…as he supplied them! Ironically, tonight we had an issue with Mark’s Ragpicker. It sounded strangely thin, in a subtle way. No-one in the audience would have noticed as Dave Dixon will have compensated with appropriate EQ. Most likely a defective DI box. The crew boys will have that sorted by tomorrow, as is their way. David Conrad, Mark’s old publisher flew in from Nashville along with Chuck Ainlay, our ninth band member, with his wife Jo. For those of you who are unaware, Chuck is the reason that every MK solo record sounds so good. A truly world class engineer, Chuck, Mark and I make up the current record production team. Chuck was impressed with our show although the cavernous sports arena wasn’t exactly his idea of a good place to listen to music. It’s odd that some of them work but not many.
After our show, Mark did his stint with Bob, joining the band for three tunes. Then we assembled in our dressing room and all headed back to the vast Four Seasons bar for drinks with our guests. Sadly, I didn’t last long, said my goodbyes to all who’d made the trip and was happy to retire to an early bed.
