Anyhow.
First of the concerts I need to endure this season happened Saturday.
My older brother made a big deal about it, and yet did it half-assed.
Let me back up.
My older brother and I don't get along well, and this is a source of most the consternation with my family and myself. In general, I don't do enough to help out my brother in their eyes. The vituperator he married and I REALLY don't get along, but she's afraid of hEt. Whenever I have to attend a family function without hEt, though, it generally becomes either ignore UnO's family, or dogpile on Uno.
Anyway. Brother owns a music store. Younger brother works there. I'm the odd one who wasn't invited to play at the family business, but have helped over the years with concerts and labor remodeling the store or building rooms, etc. Whatever I do, it's not enough.
Typically, they stick me in charge of the things I'm good at: Staging and lighting. It's not just for Halloween.
So, Brother has gotten real active in TEH CHURCH since he ran the business into bankruptcy. (I can't tell you how they kept it open or how the business is doing now, only that their spending on frivolities far exceeds our own before and after the supposed bankruptcy) So, he decided he was going to do his ward's Christmas party by doing a concert, using
TSO's music. This is borderline sacreligious.
With both brothers playing, parents going, it was more a I better show up or hear about it all winter situation for me. So, I brought my coping mechanism (camera).
THE LIGHTING SCHEME WAS UTTERLY AWFUL. They just put these light bars on random for the show. They are not high enough to do the job either. Anyway, the main narrator/voice. Professional local artist and friend of the store did a fantastic job and filled in for a couple no-shows.
Younger brother on the drums. First time he's really played in public, they did NOT utilize his true talent at all and he was utterly bored.
Older brother at left. Friend of store NOT happy to be there in a church function center. Lead to the right.
Nephew...was showing off for a girlfriend the whole time. (or is just a guitarist in general)
We've done several concerts over the year. Lighting and Staging are fairly critical. But SOUND is crucial. I hand the former, my brother typically handles the latter.
Staging: Couldn't see ANYONE but the guitarists/lead singers. Piano, drum, bass guitar, and backup singers were all hidden to be all but lost. Ironically, in what is supposed to be showcasing the ward talent, these are the positions where various ward members were placed, while friends of the store were put center stage.
Lighting: As mentioned above. Random = awful. Backlit and low = stupid.
Sound: I was actually surprised. Heath makes his living doing sound. He KNOWS he needs to be at the sound board. He chose to put himself as lead guitarist EVERY NUMBER for the duration and have the spotlight instead of making sure it sounded good. Uneven. slapshod. His daughter didn't know how to fix it, and I wasn't about to go rescue anyone. He could have sat for a number or two and got it working properly. Nope.
New SMAC quizzes available.
