Buckeye, AZ [Round 1] 08/24/2012
Fighting the dry heat in a race against time from El Cajon, CA to Buckeye, AZ.
After a wonderful evening the night before in Escondido, CA performing at the Taylor Guitars Summer Concert Series at Westfield North County, I met up for lunch near the Taylor Guitars factory on Friday for some killer Mexican food and conversation before hitting the road east on the 8 towards Arizona and, specifically, Buckeye – just outside of Phoenix. It was REALLY hot, almost all the way there and, man… was it desolate out there! I think my cell phone even thought I was in Mexico at one point (maybe I was?) as I received a text regarding something about international rates applying, etc. Crazy!
My little mobile rig just before cranking it up for a few hours.
I was freaking about my timing, but fortunately made up some ground on the empty road and made it to the venue with about an hour to spare. I was glad I did because, as I pulled up, I had a brief “Spinal Tap” momemt when I read the “Opening Soon” sign adorning the front entrance. (Uh-ooh…) Turns out, the construction was delayed on this new location due to permitting issues and, consequently, the venue wasn’t open yet! Ha! I just laughed, walked inside, figured out who was running the show, found one of the owners, and managed to arrange a solution to play at one of their other locations for the evening. Weird, funny, etc., but everything worked out just fine in the end…
Despite the last minute change of venue, I had a nice crowd, the acoustics were terrific, and the staff was super accommodating. All in all, it was a fun night with just a little misadventure along the way. BIG thanks to the gang at Ground Control for making things work in a pinch and for hosting me amidst the remodeling madness. Thanks, too, to everyone who made the drive to the alternate location and shucked and jived right there with me. You rock!