
Marilyn's on K Street: an awesome sounding stage that seems just a bit like The Bitter End in New York, NY. Lovin' it!
After a wonderful evening up in Cottonwood, CA, I slept in, took care of some e-mails, then got back in the truck and started my drive south to the California State Capitol – Sacramento, CA. It occurred to me that, while I’ve played here before, I hadn’t really spent much time in or around the area. On the way in, there were tons of great, sweeping views of open space, farmland, and just the most gorgeous sunset you could imagine. When I rolled into town, I made a quick pass by the capitol building (Actually, I got lost and found it by mistake, but I’m glad I did!) before parking and finding my way to sound check.

The capitol building in all its glory.
When I finally found my way to the load-in entrance for the club, I was met by a life-long veteran drummer and sound man who seemed a little less than enthusiastic about a solo acoustic act playing his rock club. We got to sound checking and things took a turn for the worse when the floor wedge sounded like crud and, exercising as much diplomacy as I could, I suggested that he change the EQ or get a new floor wedge. We had a little back and forth and I’m sure he was thinking I was a bit of pain in the arse until he finally realized that the horn was blown! (And my night was saved!) We switched out the floor wedge and, man… things starting sounding pretty darned sweet.

Tour posters up? Check! Front and center on the marquis at Marilyn's on K Street in Sacramento, CA.
Just before I started, some good friends from nearby Elk Grove, CA showed up and we had a great time catching up, shootin’ the breeze, and talking about my new acoustic release. These guys had been working/raging in New York, NY for the last few days and were a little haggard, so it was a treat and a privilege to have them there in attendance along with the rest of the crew that night. After catching up, I hit the stage and played my heart out for about an hour and, to my great satisfaction, noticed the sound man, booking manager, bartender, door man, and the rest of the venue staff nodding along and applauding loudly; it was settled, then – the liked me! After my set, a great jazz/fusion trio (Glimpse Trio) followed up and absolutely blew my mind. I wish I took a photo of the lead guitarist so you could see it for yourself. The guy absolutely burned that guitar down… he was so fast! Even the fastest exposure setting on a great camera couldn’t have captured a still frame without a little blurriness. Fast or not, the guy had feeling and played with his heart. It’s rare to hear that combo these days. Man… that dude could PLAY!

Oops... I did it again! Denny's on I-80 West from Sacramento, CA.
After those guys wrapped up and broke down their gear, I stuck around and traded stories with the club staff and got to know those guys a little better. We had a great time and, suddenly, I realized that it was about 1:00am, and with a long drive towards Half Moon Bay, CA for my show the next day, I figured it was time to go. So, I packed up my gear, said my goodbyes, and hit the road headed west. About 40 minutes outside of Sacramento, I felt my eyelids closing and my energy level draining when I realized that I had eaten only one meal earlier in the day (a late breakfast), so I found a Denny’s somewhere past Davis, CA, saddled up to the bar, ordered up an American Grand Slam breakfast pictured above. Yep… my body hates me!

Uh, there's nothing to see here, folks. Move along... Yeah. Let's pretend this never happened.
That meal didn’t have a chance. If I ate it any faster, I would have inhaled the poor thing. So, fueled by grease, eggs, hash browns, melted cheese, sausages, bacon, and several Cokes, I climbed back into my rig and set off toward the Bay Area. I’m glad I stopped as the night turned into a marathon drive and hotel search that didn’t get me checked in and into bed until about 5:00am. (Oops) Wearily, I crawled into bed somewhere in Marin County, CA having put some miles behind me with just a few more to go the following day, and then closed my eyes for a few hours before check-out. Zzzz….
BIG THANKS to the crew at Marilyn’s on K Street for hosting me that night. I had a ton of fun, you treated me like royalty, and made the show sound really smooth. RAWK! Hope to hang with you guys again soon!