cactus out the window
I haven't posted in two days... and I don't even have a good excuse. Thus, I begin with the recaps...
Thursday's show in San Jose went well. We nailed most of our shots and cues and all. The excitement surrounding the first show was so big. There were several cheers going up beforehand from the cast, dancers and hangers-on. I formally met Corbin and Lucas and gave Vanessa's puppy a pat. There are at least two dogs running around backstage most of the time. Ashley's mom carries around a pup and Vanessa's little sister walks a little dog that's about the size of my foot. Accessory dogs.
We finished the show around 9:30 and started into load-out. As this was my first real load-out, I didn't really understand how things came together. I was in charge of cables. I had a few stagehands under my watch, too. Stagehands will only do what you tell them. Since I wasn't too comfortable yet, I was having a hard time keeping control of everything. I ran around a lot and lost track of how many cables were still out and about. Lesson learned, though.
Video finishes load-out pretty quick, so Arnold and I hopped in with the LED wall guys to help them case their pieces. Soon after that, we were on the bus. I had a few Tecates, ate some In-n-Out burgers and celebrated with my crew. We partied in the back lounge until the bus started up. We left San Diego between 2:30 and 3 in the morning. I hit the bunk when we started moving and slept like a baby. Like a baby in a slightly bouncy, swaying, vibrating bus. I sure didn't set an alarm. I woke up when we stopped in San Jose around noon.
Our hotel was the Crowne Plaza in downtown San Jose. My room was super nice, in the corner of the top floor. I unloaded some of my luggage and took a shower. We had load-in at 3 that afternoon. The arena was where the San Jose Sharks play. They certainly weren't going to lose their ice, so huge insulated floor pieces were laid in over the ice rink. The perimeter of the rink stayed uncovered and a little slippery all the time we were there. We finished load-in at 11 Thursday night. A couple of guys went looking for bars but I went back to the hotel. I'm still a bit leery about staying out too late. I want to be at my prime operating level for a while. It'll become second nature soon and I'll give myself more party time later.
The show in San Jose was nuts. 12,408 was the paid attendance. The kids were screaming way before the concert even began. Disney videos were playing on our sidescreens for walk-in. Anytime a HS Musical-related item popped up, the kids went crazy. The show ran without any major glitches and I did a lot more crowd shots. I keep trying to catch the kids when they're dancing, but everytime they see the camera pointed in their direction, they stop what they're doing and just smile and wave. Ugh. I don't need smiles and waves! I need action! DANCE!
Load-out went super smooth. I had better control over stagehands and a much clearer vision of my responsibilities. We were way ahead of schedule all night long. Pizza on the bus and I hit the hay when we left out.
We're on our way to Glendale now. I woke up around noon and straggled my way to the front of the bus. Kevin was watching Deadwood on a huge flatscreen and I ate some yogurt. Which brings us to now.
Here's some random thoughts:
*It's kinda funny that Lucas and I are on some sort of buddy basis now. He always says hi and calls me by name and such. Of course, I do the same. It must have something to do with my attitude towards the kids. I haven't really been starstruck since I was young and learned pretty early how to talk to people in somewhat exalted positions. If you're a jerk when I treat you like a regular person, you can have fun being alone. I get along with anyone that responds to ordinary conversation.
*The load-out is making for a great workout. I just keep running and lifting.
*We have a list on the bus for runners to get us food and stuff. S'kinda neat. I shouldn't have to spend too much on food. I just write it down and it magically appears a day or two later.
*My bunk is small but it feels like an escape cave.
*I saw my first huge cactus (cactii) out the windows today. Lots of crazy rock formations. Lots and lots of nothing.
More later. Plus I have a lot of pictures I haven't uploaded to my computer yet. Steve is taking a lot of pics, too. He was able to take a lot of great production shots that I can't wait for you to see.
Thursday's show in San Jose went well. We nailed most of our shots and cues and all. The excitement surrounding the first show was so big. There were several cheers going up beforehand from the cast, dancers and hangers-on. I formally met Corbin and Lucas and gave Vanessa's puppy a pat. There are at least two dogs running around backstage most of the time. Ashley's mom carries around a pup and Vanessa's little sister walks a little dog that's about the size of my foot. Accessory dogs.
We finished the show around 9:30 and started into load-out. As this was my first real load-out, I didn't really understand how things came together. I was in charge of cables. I had a few stagehands under my watch, too. Stagehands will only do what you tell them. Since I wasn't too comfortable yet, I was having a hard time keeping control of everything. I ran around a lot and lost track of how many cables were still out and about. Lesson learned, though.
Video finishes load-out pretty quick, so Arnold and I hopped in with the LED wall guys to help them case their pieces. Soon after that, we were on the bus. I had a few Tecates, ate some In-n-Out burgers and celebrated with my crew. We partied in the back lounge until the bus started up. We left San Diego between 2:30 and 3 in the morning. I hit the bunk when we started moving and slept like a baby. Like a baby in a slightly bouncy, swaying, vibrating bus. I sure didn't set an alarm. I woke up when we stopped in San Jose around noon.
Our hotel was the Crowne Plaza in downtown San Jose. My room was super nice, in the corner of the top floor. I unloaded some of my luggage and took a shower. We had load-in at 3 that afternoon. The arena was where the San Jose Sharks play. They certainly weren't going to lose their ice, so huge insulated floor pieces were laid in over the ice rink. The perimeter of the rink stayed uncovered and a little slippery all the time we were there. We finished load-in at 11 Thursday night. A couple of guys went looking for bars but I went back to the hotel. I'm still a bit leery about staying out too late. I want to be at my prime operating level for a while. It'll become second nature soon and I'll give myself more party time later.
The show in San Jose was nuts. 12,408 was the paid attendance. The kids were screaming way before the concert even began. Disney videos were playing on our sidescreens for walk-in. Anytime a HS Musical-related item popped up, the kids went crazy. The show ran without any major glitches and I did a lot more crowd shots. I keep trying to catch the kids when they're dancing, but everytime they see the camera pointed in their direction, they stop what they're doing and just smile and wave. Ugh. I don't need smiles and waves! I need action! DANCE!
Load-out went super smooth. I had better control over stagehands and a much clearer vision of my responsibilities. We were way ahead of schedule all night long. Pizza on the bus and I hit the hay when we left out.
We're on our way to Glendale now. I woke up around noon and straggled my way to the front of the bus. Kevin was watching Deadwood on a huge flatscreen and I ate some yogurt. Which brings us to now.
Here's some random thoughts:
*It's kinda funny that Lucas and I are on some sort of buddy basis now. He always says hi and calls me by name and such. Of course, I do the same. It must have something to do with my attitude towards the kids. I haven't really been starstruck since I was young and learned pretty early how to talk to people in somewhat exalted positions. If you're a jerk when I treat you like a regular person, you can have fun being alone. I get along with anyone that responds to ordinary conversation.
*The load-out is making for a great workout. I just keep running and lifting.
*We have a list on the bus for runners to get us food and stuff. S'kinda neat. I shouldn't have to spend too much on food. I just write it down and it magically appears a day or two later.
*My bunk is small but it feels like an escape cave.
*I saw my first huge cactus (cactii) out the windows today. Lots of crazy rock formations. Lots and lots of nothing.
More later. Plus I have a lot of pictures I haven't uploaded to my computer yet. Steve is taking a lot of pics, too. He was able to take a lot of great production shots that I can't wait for you to see.
posted by Josh at 12:19 PM
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