Ukulele Society of America pulls off two concerts in the same day!...

ricdoug

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http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ukulele_Society_of_America

On this Sunday May 3, 2009, we played two concerts almost back
to back.

"More than 100,000 people will take in the beauty of our seaside
city while browsing through unique booths, indulging in delectable eats
and enjoying family entertainment when the largest one-day street faire
in the nation returns"

http://www.carlsbad.org/products/productList.aspx?uid=27-109

Our first stop was Giacoletti Music in Carlsbad, California. Y'all
can just imagine how hectic traffic and parking were for this
event. There was some parking at the Giacoletti Music Parking
lot, but I parked about a half mile away at the senior center to
leave a space open for others in the group. As we arrived, a
top notch jazz and blues combo was jamming at the store. All
the bands were playing indoors (a BIG plus in the warm weather!)
and the music was being piped outdoors through the P.A.. We
played a total of 8 songs of which Tina Stowe danced 4 hula's!
The audience grew as faire attendees and passers by stopped
in to enjoy the show. As soon as we finished, everyone packed
up to head off to the Oceanside Harbor for our gig for the
Oceanside Outriggers Canoe Club...

As we arrived at the Marina Suites at the harbor, there were
several police wagons working on moving a motor home that
was blocking our staging area. We found another entrance that
was a slightly longer distance from the staging area and brought
the sound equipment to the beach area.

...but wait... NO AC POWER AVAILABLE!... Not to worry. The
Carvin S400D P.A. system (with the second battery) also runs
on battery for 6 hours at full power. The Roland Microcube Bass
RX amp runs on battery for over 10 hours at full power.

We were set up in about a half hour with 4 microphones and a
bass amp. It was a very quick mic check, with the assistance of
Ed F and Margie F. The party was already in progress, so we
did not want to disrupt their ongoing ceremonies with excessive
noise and distractions.

...so we commence to jam and entertain the crowd. Our hula
dancers gave us feedback after the first couple of songs on our
up front sound and we adjusted accordingly.

We invited all the audience to come up and join in on the hula,
to which several did. Tina S and Susan R led several of the
songs in the vocals. Jim S, and Stan the Man and Margie F
gave instructions on dancing the Hukilau and gathered up many
of the audience to join in on the fun. Later, Susan R and Tina S
led One Paddle Two Paddle and Stan the Man taught the hula
for the song to a large group and everyone had a great time
with the song (after all, it was a canoe paddler's party!).

We reached our finale and everyone was invited to join hands,
as we performed To You Sweetheart Aloha/Aloha Oe for the
finale. The audience demanded a hanaho, so we regrouped
and jammed out Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms, which was
received by the audience with many of them kicking the cow
pies off their footwear (and bare feet) and dancing up a storm
hootin' 'n hollerin' like cowboys and cowgirls.

Next time, I'll break out the Crate Taxi TX15 battery powered
monitor/amp. We were playing with our backs to the ocean
with no available backdrop to reflect the sound. It was difficult
to hear ourselves onstage, but the mix came out right up front.

Our thanks go out to Roy Goode from Giacoletti Music and
Mary Brown from the Museum of Making Music for inviting us
to entertain at their events. They were both well coordinated.

I'll post photos as soon as I receive them. We were too busy
with the event setups to have time to take them. If we weren't
driving, parking, setting up and tearing down, we were
performing. It really makes me wonder how YesterUkes can
perform every week and a half all year 'round. Those folks have
extreme endurance!

Next stop:

the Inland Empire Ukulele Festival on Tuesday May 5, 2009. A
few of us are heading up there for the festivities.

Seventh Annual Inland Empire Ukulele Festival
Tuesday May 5, 2009 - 9:30am to 3:30pm
22633 Barton Road
Grand Terrace, California 92313
$10 bucks includes lunch
Bring your ukulele and music stand
Open mic and performances!
Ukulele and Music vendors
Call (909)796-8934 for more information

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_B_bspot09.3f92af5.html

http://www.pe.com/localnews/sanbernardino/stories/PE_News_Local_D_uke05.d642b12.html

InlandEmpireUkuleleFestival.jpg


Ric Douglas
 
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