Many owners of music clubs make short cuts or fail to spend enough money when it comes to bettering the sound of the venue. The Nightlite in Bellingham is no different. The stage is in the corner which is usually a bad idea only made worse by the surrounding stone walls. Instead of draping a curtain across the back of the stage to prevent the sound from bouncing all around, they’ve hung foot-and-a-half wide burgundy curtains at intervals. Not only is this pointless sound reinforcement, but it gives off a Medieval Times vibe. An incompetent monitor engineer didn’t help matters but we put our heads down and powered through. Jay worked out some of his frustrations by going into a spontaneous take on The Stooges “TV Eye” at the end of the set. At least I think that’s what we attempted. I couldn’t really hear. Before the show, I went to the massive Fred Meyer store across from our hotel to get some coffee. I walked what seemed like 300 yards to the other side of the store only to find the Starbucks closed. All was made right, however, when I turned around and saw a vision in blue coming from the opposite end. As she neared, I realized that this woman was wearing a Snuggie. You know, just throw on a Snuggie and hit the Fred Meyer on a Saturday night for some holiday shopping. Weird.
Fantastic show at The Fillmore last night. You can read my review here, if you’d like: http://ccsbandwagon.blogspot.com/2009/12/son-volt-fillmore-san-francisco-12909.html
About the Bellingham club owners, agreed. Music doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves. We are constantly playing in a corner surrounded by glass and brick, with a sound man that, to say the least, could used some work. Some clubs seem to be making an effort to change the venues, but change is slow in coming. Maybe it’s money, maybe it’s lack of knowledge. (naw, it’s money).