I would love to say that the 30,000 women at the What Women Want Convention Concert gave us an uproarious welcome, but the truth is, tradeshows and conventions are a challenging market for any artist. In this case, the expo attendees were there primarily to to find cheaper pedicures, home decor items, tanning coupons, and the latest in tooth whitening technology. So, for the most part, they were not particularly concerned with the music that was going on just outside the front doors. In spite of challenges, we still sold a decent amount of merchandise and had a number of people come back by for a second listen. Mostly our crowd was transient as many just stopped by our outdoor stage for a couple songs at a time before shuffling back indoors. I guess what women really want is air conditioning, and unfortunately that was not something we could provide no matter how cool we were.
For this show, Brad Verrier (Bass), Chris Doucet (Guitars, Back-up Vocals), and Danny Huntsman (Drums) were my on-stage soldiers as we performed eight 30-minute sets over the two days. We had a blast playing together and when it seemed that the crowd had dwindled, we began to play improv songs that we crafted together on the spot. A tribute song to the Utah Jazz and a birthday song to Brad Verrier were among our better ones – improv is always a challenge when you have to keep it “family friendly” and so some songs were definitely stunted. I almost rhymed the words “best and breasts” in one improv tune, but thought better of it considering the audience.
After day 1, we were treated to a steak dinner at Ruby River Steak House. Our sponsors for the event really did treat us like kings – I couldn’t have asked for better hosts. Afterwords, I took the crew bowling to help us unwind and relax. Doucet nursed his sunburns (he apparently didn’t use the right amount of sunscreen), while my superstar business manager, Ken Gray, abused us all on the lanes – he won all three games. I guess he didn’t get the memo that the business manager is supposed to let the artist win once-in-a-while. Ha-ha.
We got a little smarter on Day 2 and used the canopy we’d brought. It made playing a lot easier, especially on the noon and 2 PM shows. Doucet was especially greatful for the shade, though he did wear pantyhose to cover his lobster red arms. Later that night we headed off to In-and-Out Burger for our end-of-show dinner and then drove the hour and a half to Las Vegas to celebrate bass phenom and all-around-great guy Brad Verrier’s birthday.
A big thanks to the band for playing and being so patient with me, Ben for selling merch for us, and Jennifer and Tracy for being our awesome local support on the show and for treating us so well during our stay there.
Show Photos:
To see our initial warm-up and sound check at the What Women Want Concert, see the Youtube video below:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpU9M1vwChQ]
