In however many years of gigging, I can only remember playing the Eastside maybe once or twice. Make it three times after last night, when the Sunset Grooves played the Lime in Kirkland. Even having lived on the Eastside for so long, I had never been inside the Lime.
We were asked by our friend, Ric, who fronts the excellent Prince tribute band, DMSR. This has been on the calendar for only a bit, but we were excited for it and it was our last show of the year. Added bonus was that Marci and Alison were going to be in the crowd, as Ali is visiting from out of town for work.
 |
| Alison, me, Marci. |
I have been practicing our tunes for a bit now, as we had some new ones to debut (Orleans - Still The One and Styx - Too Much Time On My Hands), as well as some others that we've had some struggles with (Jay Ferguson - Thunder Island and America - You Can Do Magic). I brought both G&L L-1000s and my pedalboard and that was that.
 |
| Inside the Lime, stage is behind me. |
I was surprised at how big the Lime was when I got there. Walk in the double doors and it's pretty dang big. Bar, kitchen, bathrooms on wall opposite doors, pool tables, pull tabs, dart boards to the left, stage, dance floor and tables to the right. Unfortunately, with all the room, there is no band staging area/green room, so I stood there in front of the stage while Dusty set up his drums. DMSR was on stage prepping for soundcheck and there literally was nowhere else to be, as there were a lot of people in the club.
Dennis (aka Unc) was doing double duty, playing guitar in both bands. He's been such a solid addition to the band, really nailing his guitar parts, solos and vocals and elevating our overall performance. Plus, he looks great on stage. DMSR did a quick run-through of 1999 for sound check and then tore down for us to set up. There was no drum sharing as their drummer had a full electronic kit and more wires than a server room. Pretty crazy.
 |
| Quick snap of DMSR getting set up. |
 |
| Robert on bass for DMSR. He is wicked! |
We got setup and ran through Player's Baby Come Back for sound check. It was a little awkward for me as I couldn't hear my bass or vocals very well and we hadn't played that song for a few weeks, so it was rough. Not a great selling point for those in the audience, but I think they understood we were simply checking levels.
Even so, for whatever reason, I felt like I was hearing my bass from the wedges and not through my IEMs. I had the sound guy turn it up and then it was too loud. I was able to manage, though I didn't have the optimal mix. My vocals were up front and I could hear just enough of everyone else to make it work.
Marci and Ali asked if I had earplugs, which I didn't but Unc had some, so after sound check, I handed them some. We took a quick picture, and then a woman asked if she could take our picture for us, so she did. And then she asked me if I was giving out "happy pills." I wasn't sure what she meant as I walked away and got a glass of water. A few moments later, I realized that she thought I was giving out those "happy pills," which were the earplugs. I told her that and she seemed a little bummed out. Go Kirkland!
Speaking of Kirkland, the draw at the Lime was pretty great. Lots of people, very diverse and eclectic, but so Eastside. I feel like there were all ages there; it didn't skew young or old, but there was definitely representation from all generations. Though, being more used to crowds at Seattle shows, this crowd was definitely more cringey at times, if that makes sense.
Anyway, we got on stage and got on with the show. We started with Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac and I was pleased to see dancers right from the jump. Sound was good enough, but my bass felt super boomy and I couldn't determine if it was the IEMs or the monitors on the floor or the FOH speakers. Nevertheless, I could at least hear, so that's good.
We continued with Brandy, and that was fine. I'm trying a different "oooh" backing vocal in the bridge and hit it wrong at first, but adjusted. I'll get it eventually. Next up was Still The One, and we had tried that way back when, but never worked on it much. With Dennis shoring up the guitars, though, we gave it a try and found we were pretty close. That song has so many guitars in it, and vocals, so we do what we can and I thought it ended up great.
We had something like 20 songs to get through and I feel like we did a great job overall, maybe our best performance yet. Another song we had shelved, Reelin' in the Years, we brought back. The high part in the chorus was tough for Jen, so I took it over and she did the middle harmony and we are finally doing that song justice. Plus, Dennis is nailing the solos, which makes a huge difference.
 |
| There were more people on the floor, I promise! |
Oh! We had a sax for Maneater! DMSR has a multi-instrumentalist and Unc asked him to play on Maneater. He didn't rehearse with us but he knew the part and jumped on stage and killed it. It was so cool to hear that iconic solo during that song, I loved it.
For the whole set, we had dancers. Marci and Ali were dragged on the floor by various gentlemen. I had a great time watching the crowd. The girls got absorbed by some Lime locals and had some hilarious stories to tell at the end of the night.
We ended up cutting the set short by about 3 songs due to time. We had a great reception and I felt super happy about our performance, we all played really well. We did the awkward teardown of our gear and got off the stage. DMSR got up there and tore it up. They are fantastic and the crowd was extra lubed up for them.
 |
| DMSR! |
Overall a great night and a really fun way to wrap up my year in live shows. I can't wait to do it again.
Next up, Planets at the Tractor, 1/3/2024.
