First thing's first. I echo Swan's joy at sharing Haley with a fan base that was in full force last night. I saw familiar faces from last time we were in Vegas, Swan, Yanni, Bluesman, Greg and Mona. We also met new faces, Tim had brought his wife and daughter, we met ISCAT and airhigh, Rachel brought her friend Hannah who were both dressed to the nines, it was a very friendly and enthusiastic group.
I met Pat first and enjoyed lunch where we got better acquainted and shared our anticipation for what was to come this night.
Just before the show, Keith came out to greet a bunch of us who were there early. I chatted about the iTunes release, today, and that we wanted to do a toast for him on Friday to mark the occasion (I don't think Keith drinks, so I said, we need to toast anyways to celebrate and told him to let us know when the best time to do that will be. The guy took two flights to get here hours before the show, on fumes, yet he was smiling and congenial. He agreed to take a picture with us, there was clearly a lot of excitement and, dare I say it, 'love' in the air. As Swan said, there was almost family feel to the gathering, a celebration.
Not getting into too many specifics, but, for the first time in awhile, I felt that I could sit back and just enjoy the show, I saw others videoing and was able to relax and soak it all in. Thank you, guys for giving me the ability to not feel that self imposed 'mission' to video everything. I finally gave myself to enjoy
Greg, the resident "photographer supreme" helped me set up my new camera for low light photography. Setting it on automatic popped up the flash that, image wise, killed any sense of character, flattened out the image. I did video here and there, but for the most part I enjoyed the show and took some great pics, because of Greg's help putting the right iso, aperture and shutter speed. Turning off the automatic setting and therefore the flash. I promised myself I needed to take a few classes in photography to learn more about my new toy, which took some great pics.
Did I mention Greg brought a bunch of his photographs on matt boards of varying sizes to pass out to fans? Unlike last time, we were more familiar with each other and conversation flowed more freely in anticipation to the show.
Regarding the band, it must be understood that Keith and the new bass player (from CityWalk) probably had not performed together at all so 'rough patches' are expected. The main difference, obviously, is familiarity, that doesn't 'just happen'. IMO, Courtney's friendly, laid back demeanor was reflected in his playing style and we grew familiar with how he meshed with Haley and Keith.
Brandon's (thx F8) style, felt more...'aggressive'? I described it as 'attacking' style of bass playing, which obviously, is different from Courtney's laid back rhythm.
That is not necessarily a bad thing, as far as potential for this combination of players, moving forward. Into the set, because of Brandon's forceful bass playing, I felt that Keith accepted the challenge and changed his style to match Brandon's 'ferocity', Keith took on a more forceful playing style, which ended up 'working' in a different way. If they get the chance to learn each other through performance, I can see this working, perhaps leading to unexpected and artful outcomes. (Like Haley, Keith can play anything, and I imagine he would welcome the challenge)
Then there's Haley..... Chiara said they drove to Vegas, and as my encounter earlier showed, even that long trip in those kind of temperatures, Haley was still the sweet heart, the professional, the entertainer. There was no indication of fatigue or let down as she put on a show. She was more animated this go around, on stage, dancing and grooving... We were treated to new song, Red Hot Chilli Pepper's "Roller Coaster of Love" (the first song from the second break, started by Brandon and Keith with Haley off stage. It took many off guard to the show's beginning, just like All Blues did last time. She sang Blondie, and at least a couple other songs, I admit, I didn't know the name. She performed "Deedles Blues', so that was new.
Mona told me, that Chiara confirmed Haley would be performing "My Cake" which I then told Rachel, which Haley performed a couple songs later. What a rousing performance, and MY goodness, Keith's keys were blazing and funky, all sorts of 'tude... We applauded with appreciation at the performance. I wonder if she will release it as a single, since she has performed it in back to back appearance? It's obvious she likes it, the way she get's behind it and has fun with it.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to be with Pat, Swan and Yanni as they had an extended discussion with Haley because I wanted to spend time with Keith, Greg and Mona as they spoke about where he wanted to be headed. Today is a big day for this talent as his iTunes drops today. I told him I don't have an iTunes acct (I buy from Amazon, mostly cause it's familiar), but I got Pat to get it for me. This man is talented, and spending the $10 to support him is no big thing for the hours of enjoyment I've gained from listening to and being convinced of his talent as Haley's main keyboard man.
I soon broke off and joined the other's. I still couldn't hear very well the topics of discussions, especially since I essentially walked into the middle of a conversation. I kind of stayed on the periphery, trying to catch up with the discussion, but was mostly unsuccessful due to the noise of the Casino's music and ambient chatter. Haley, sensing I was hanging outside of the discussion, made a motion towards me, and looked and smiled, as if to indicate, 'join in'.... She is such an adept 'people person', so aware of the situation, and she does it with such ease. Before I left to join other Haliens for desert, I told Haley, we were excited for Keith's iTunes release, (she brightened when I mentioned it) and hope that she can join us ....
I apologize for the disjointed nature of my posting, but so much was going on and fatigue is setting in (Tim and I enjoyed a rousing and interesting discussion that went longer than either of us anticipated, after the show).... I'll post what pics I can. I will have to wake in a few hours to have breakfast with Greg and Mona (and Pat) who were only hear for Thusday's show. Greg insisted I bring pad and paper to take notes as he'd like to give me some insight into the mechanics of photography
I know each night will grow smoother and freer and by Saturday Haley's trio will be knocking off some serious socks and drawing larger and larger crowds.
