9/27/25, Sunset Grooves at the Old Stove Brewery

This one was a private party for a 40th birthday. We had never played the Old Stove (didn't even know what it was). The husband hired us for an 80's themed party so we tried to dial up our 80's tunes. Left the house at 2:40 and headed to Jen's to load out.

We had to provide a PA and lights since this brewery didn't offer either, so we had to load out all the stuff. It's a pain, but it's what we do. Our sound guy also bailed at the last minute, so luckily Dennis was able to handle the duties.

The Old Stove is only about 5 minutes from Jen's so we got there and loaded in. The place was ENORMOUS! They had the brewery/event space where we were playing, a more proper bar/restaurant, and then on the other side of that, a outdoor garden/patio space. The host had rented the event space and that's where we set up.

Halfway through setup.

Once we got the gear ready, Dennis dialed us in. Since the place was all hard surfaces and concrete, it was SUPER BOOMY. I really had to dial back the bass frequencies on my guitar. I cranked the bass knob to about 10% and just trusted the FOH sound. Sounded fine through my IEMs so I just went with it.

L-1000s for daysss.

As we were handling that, people started showing up. Lots of kids. The party planner had put out a tub of inflatable musical instruments (guitars, saxophones, mics, etc) and before long, these kids started running around and smacking each other with them. It was quite hectic, but they had nothing else to do while they waited for the party to start.

Madness.

We planned 2 sets, as well as throwing in "Birthday" by the Beatles. We've played a few birthday parties and never had a birthday song set, so we learned this one a few weeks ago.

Set one we played in full. I felt pretty good about the performance overall. For some weird reason, though it wasn't hot out (mid-70s) and indoors wasn't bad, I was roasting. Sweating like crazy. And my hair was all in my face, so that was annoying as well.

The Hog sounded fine in the IEMs. I had single-coil switch on the whole time to reduce some of the bass tones. It seemed thin at times, but I just worked with it. Everything else was fine, it was all fine.

We took a quick break, hit some of the buffet food (mac n cheese, nachos, chili, cornbread), grabbed a drink, and then back to work with "Birthday." As we played more and more, it was pretty clear people were leaving as it had been a few hours by now. Kids were still running around and going nuts, so we cut a few songs from set 2 and then ended it.

The husband and wife (her birthday) who hired us were super stoked for us and it was nice to celebrate with them. Overall, it was a nice night, but they never get any shorter, do they? Another 7.5 hour event, from leaving the house to getting back home.

After load out.

Next up, Monday Night Football with the Sunset Grooves at the Central, 10/20. Stay tuned.

9/11/2025 Planets in the Ocean at the Sunset

Not much of a poster but it's what I got

Another Thursday gig, another complaint about Seattle traffic. It took me 45 minutes to get home from work, a quick make of dinner, and then out the door to get to the Sunset by 6:30 or so. That ride took me another 45 minutes or so, but I found a decent parking spot, so I guess it paid off.

My old pal, Corey, from the Navins, plays in a couple bands and asked us to be a part of this bill. He's plays keys and guitar in Trances and it's always cool seeing him. I reached out a little too late to see if bands wanted to share gear, and by the time I heard back, no one replied, so I packed up the Orange Terror Bass, the Avatar 212 and Goldie the Bass just in case.

Showing up, the headliner, Sam Cobra, was soundchecking and after they were done, the nice, huge-handed bassist, Jensen, offered me the use of his Bergantino 212 and ThunderFunk amp. He played a Serek bass and after looking it up, it is a custom model and let's just say his gear is all boutique and very nice. I ended up using his amp after hearing how nice his bass sounded through it all. Here's how it looked after sound check with the G&L L-1000.

Sweet little setup!

Last show we played at the Central didn't go exactly like we wanted. There were errors and mistakes all over. The stage audio wasn't great and we were all annoyed with ourselves afterward. Last night, we played like we know how we can play. Maybe it's having good sound on stage, who knows? But it certainly doesn't hurt!

There were just a few people when we started at 8. Kim was there, Robb's friend Chris, and then, of all people Tim! Robb and Tim bumped into each other before the show (Tim was seeing Spinal Tap nearby) and he ended up coming in for the show. No one came for me, but it's Ballard and it's a Thursday, so I wasn't too worried about it.

It also helped that I ran through the songs the night before. I don't think Cass did; he was traveling since the week before, seeing Oasis in Pasadena over the weekend, then in Chicago since Monday for work. He flew in Thursday morning and was on fumes by the time we started. He was a trouper, though and played solid as always.

Robb really came through clutch. He didn't feel great about the Central show, but he showed out for the Sunset. Singing was on point, guitaring was definitely improved. I gave him a vocal suggestion to simplify a few lines on a few songs. He was really oversinging on a tune and throwing off the harmony part for me. He reigned it in and it made a difference.

I felt like I played pretty well. With the great bass tone and stage sound, it just felt comfortable. I'd like to feel that good at any gig. I think my backing vox were decent and for the most part, they worked. Maybe a touch more in the wedge for next time we're there.

After we finished, Jensen and his cousin, Carl, came up to say hi. Carl did most of the talking, a large, long-bearded dude. Nice guy, made interesting comments about the veins on my arms poppin' on stage. Tim also was very complimentary, saying Cass and I were locked in and that it was the best he'd ever seen me play. Really great to see him and chat, even if just for a moment.

Next up was Trances. When I played with Corey in the Navins, he played drums and sang backing vocals. In Trances, he was one of 4 dudes across the front of the stage. He had nice stage presence and was great on keys and guitar. I do wish his vocals and keys were mixed a little hotter, but it was a nice show. They were heavier than I expected; I thought they'd be more keys oriented, but it was definitely all guitars.

Trances

Last up was Sam Cobra. They were interesting at sound check. When I talked to Carl, he said Jensen picked up bass because of him. That implied he was a relatively new bassist? It seemed to be when I heard him play as there were parts he was missing, but then I learned he'd only been with Sam Cobra for two rehearsals or something like that.

He played uniquely as well; he was solid enough but his fretting hand was really energetic and all over the place. Maybe it was because of his huge hands; they looked like big white spiders on the bass.

Jensen with the big hands

Musically, SC was OK. The singer had a really pure and pretty voice, but it was just too much of a contrast with the guitars, bass and drums. Even though the music wasn't overly heavy, it was just loud enough that her voice couldn't really shine. They were also pretty bland on stage, not a lot of energy or presence, which didn't help.

Sam Cobra

Cass and I powered through the entire night, despite him stretching his day by 2 hours by heading home from Chicago. We loaded out and that was that. 6 hours later, it was back home and back at it another day.

Next up, Sunset Grooves on 9/27 for a private party. Stay tuned.