Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Show Day in Orlando

Wake up on the outskirts of Orlando because the driver stopped at a tollbooth. I thought we were at the venue, so I practically jumped out of my bunk. Kenny, the driver, tells me that we've still got about 30-40 minutes before we arrive. Sit up front with him and read yesterday's paper. Finish just as we're pulling in. It's now 10:15, whereas we normally start loading in at 8, so the crew is behind the 8-ball and really hustling. Me, I go take a leisurely shower in my private office's bathroom.

Another average day for me, just doing my gig.

The thought occurs to me that I'm not taking very many pictures on this tour. Certainly not like I was doing in Europe. But over there the venues are always in interesting places, with lots to do and see nearby. In America, it seems that the venues are always in stupid places. For example, the RBC Center in Raleigh. Now where the hell am I gonna walk to from there to take a picture on something cool during one of my little get-out-of-the-building breaks.

I promise I'll try to get some new photos on my days off…

My friend Lauren comes to visit tonight with her friend Kim. I've known Lauren since she was 15 years old and worked at Radio Disney here in Orlando. She's now 21 and just back from spending a few months in New York interning at Rolling Stone magazine. Don't get to spend much time with her because I get crazy busy after the doors are open. I get one of the band assistants to take Lauren & Kim out to watch the show from a primo spot onstage. The promoter's really late coming to do settlement because the building took so long in doing their part of the settlement with him. Lauren can't stick around and tries to call my mobile to say goodbye just as I'm knee-deep in settling with the promoter. I won't answer calls at that time unless it's a band member or the band's manager. As soon as we're done and he leaves, I call her. They've already taken off. Oh, well, she's coming to the show in Miami tomorrow. I told her that if she would get up early (late riser), she could come by and I'd make time to have lunch with her.

I decide to sit in my office and listen to music while catching up on my blog. A few crew guys come by to hang out. David Coyle (audio tech) comes in to invite me out for a drink at the bar his wife bartends at. it's only 5 minutes away, but by this time it's 1:10 and I just wanna get this thing caught up, so I beg off.

Finally pack up my stuff and head out to the bus around 1:45 for a 2:00 bus call. 200 miles to Miami, do it all over again. Can't wait until Thursday – we've got a day off in Atlanta with a mall within walking distance of the hotel. I wanna go see a movie! I don't even know what's out. Still haven't seen War Of The Worlds, so maybe that'll be the choice. Of course, that's assuming that this mall even HAS a theater. I better get online tomorrow and check it out.

Bobzilla – out!

Follow the Bobzilla's Photos link at the right to see photos from my travels.

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