Day 22: Atlanta
Welcome
Yesterday we traveled southwest into the Peach State for a show in Atlanta.
Gabe’s mother Izy performed a great service to the blog, the band, and to me personally by bringing a frittata to the show in Asheville. It traveled all the way from Raleigh in the back of her car, wrapped up in a cooler bag to keep the cooked eggs at a food-safe temperature. Upon receipt of this frittata I transferred it immediately to the bus fridge where it lay dormant until the next morning.
Yesterday we awoke in Atlanta, after a drive that took us out of the Blue Ridge Mountains, through South Carolina and then across the great Savannah River into Georgia. It was another beautiful and warm day, perfectly suited to the consumption of a frittata. I spun up our GE® 1.7 Cu. Ft. Over-the-Range Sensor Microwave Oven and after selecting potato mode I put in my two slices of frittata and hit start. After a minute I was hit with a steam sensor error. I performed a bypass and inputted a manual cook time and finally was able to get my frittata up to a decent temperature.
Tristan, Liz, and I headed out after breakfast for a climbing session. It was a half hour walk which took us right through downtown Atlanta and its many tall buildings. My favourite was Peachtree Summit, the 125m triangular skyscraper that houses federal services like Social Security, and IRS.
On our walk back we stopped to take a look at the iconic Woodruff Park Fountain, rated 4.3 from 36 google reviews. One of the greatest things about writing the blog is that in an effort to create engaging and enjoyable content I often end up accidentally learning things. For instance I learned today that this fountain I was photographed in front of is the International Peace Fountain that commemorates Atlanta’s role in the Civil Rights movement. I also learned that Woodruff Park was named for Robert Woodruff, the president of the Coca-Cola company from 1923 until 1985. He was the richest man in Georgia for a large part of his life and exercised considerable control over political decision making both at the city and state level.
The author and his friend pose in front of Woodruff Park Fountain.
By mid-afternoon we were back at the bus which was parked in the kind of dumpstery air-con zone behind the venue. Masquerade is a triple venue. Three rooms, each with a cool name. We had played here in one of the smaller rooms last year and this time we were in the big one, called Heaven. It is quite a long push to get to the stage; probably a class 7 load-in but they have about a dozen trolleys on hand to make it a bit easier. And of course there are the creepy dolls that you have to walk past in the access corridor.
Liz wearing her loading outfit.
It was a difficult soundcheck thanks to a troublesome mixing desk who wished to remain unnamed. Gabe and the venue technician had to get Midas technical support on the phone to make some of the basic functions work, and even then some of the other features went a bit rogue during the show. For displaying great courage in this highly stressful situation I have awarded Gabe 350 boints.
Atlanta had some great hecklers. I would just like to clarify that we in The Beths love a heckle, and when I mention hecklers in one of my blog posts it is because I appreciated their contribution to the gig. The intuition it takes to grab the perfect moment at a rock show, that fine gap between applause and banter, projecting sometimes from the back of the room in a voice that is both audible and comprehensible. It is an important connection between band and audience that we embrace and treasure.
The primary and secondary mezzanines are visible in this shot from Sidney’s set.
We completed our evening with a screening of The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford. The main lounge aboard Tennis Ball allows for a rather wonderful viewing experience where the two couches and two TVs both face in toward each other allowing you to enjoy not just the movie, but the enjoyment of your friends.
I have been a bit slack with publishing the updated boints scores but I have been keeping track. Here are the latest numbers:
