Gig Report - Ugoddawanna Harrahs Casino Joliet

This past Saturday I played at Harrahs Casino in Joliet IL with the band Ugoddawanna. I played here back on 5/2/09 so I knew the drill this time. Dress nice, no swearing, no drinking etc. When I got to security to get my badge they asked me which band I was with and when I told them he exclaimed that “I know you guys, you're really good and the crowd really loves you guys.” SWEET!!! I hope that Harrahs continues to call us in the future. Even though the band is “disbanding” after our 8/15 gig the band leader reiterated that he wanted me on board if he gets some “choice” gigs in the future…Harrahs being one of them. I said I'm absolutely on board with that.

The last time I played I had equipment issues and this time was no exception. During our 2nd song “Gimme 3 Steps” the power to my effects unit fell out of the power strip in the back of my rig causing my guitar to stop working. So the other guitar player played the first solo as I walked back and plugged it back in. That was the only equipment issue I had all night and other than not playing well due to tension/nerves, the crowd really loved us again. I find I always play better if I have a beer before we go on and 1 during each set. I don't know but it just helps me play smoother/better.

This time around the crowd was a bit thinner. Back in May you couldn't find a seat and we hadn't even started playing yet. This time it was ¾ full when we started and finally filled in during our second set. The crowd also took longer to get things going this time. The last time there was some dancing towards the end of the 1st set. This time around it took well towards the end of the 2nd set for the liquor to finally kick in and the 3rd set again was just pandemonium. My friend said that one of the dealers was playing air guitar with me on Sweet Child ‘O Mine. We even got a huge response to play an encore which didn't happen last time so we played ZZ Top's “Tush” and ended the night. By the time I broke down my gear and I walked out of the stage area the casino crowd was sparse in the slot/table area. When we were playing the gaming area was full and brimming with activity. It does seem that the summer crowds tend to gravitate more towards the festivals creating thinner crowds at the bars/clubs.

Next gig: 8/15/09, Ugoddawanna at 115 Bourbon St (FINAL SHOW)…with this lineup anyway. I'm hoping that some of us will continue on with at least a couple of shows a year, but we'll see.

I'll post pix at a later date.