Unfortunately, I forget to take my digital camera with my on this trip--too many other things on my mind. However, my wife says another trip will take place sometime in the near future and the camera will definitely be in the van.
As for being a guest performer, I never do that--it's just not something I'm comfortable doing, plus I learn a lot more by watching and listening than I would by performing. So, my 2000 stayed home as well.
The first leg of the trip was a 3 hour drive, that went quite smoothly. Nice sunny day and traffic was surprisingly light.
The Italian restaurant Dave played was very nice, divided into three rooms and the food was excellent. Dave is working in a very tight space, just a few feet between the front of the keyboard and the bar. The room has standard 8-foot ceilings, which meant the top of the sound colum was just a foot from the ceiling. The entire rig is quite compact and perfect for this venue. The 250-watt, powered sub was placed on the floor to Dave's right, while the Bose was on his left.
When he first fired it up, I was really impressed with the clarity. The sounds were incredibly crisp, clear and distinct. The sub was not overbearing, but instead provided excellent bass that could be felt throughout the entire restaurant.
The Bose tower, however, was unbelievable. I walked throughout the restaurant, around corners, behind particians, behind walls, and even into the rest-room and there was absolute no change in volume. The sound was the same no matter where you were. It didn't make any difference if you were 2 feet from the colum or 40 feet away and behind a wall, the sound was the same. I was almost as if Dave were hooked into a house sound system, but this was not the case. I even put my ear right against the colum and the volume was the same as it was across the room. Both Ray Bastianelli and myself were absolutely amazed it how the Bose was able to fill the entire room with sound equally.
I would love to hear this system in a large venue with 300 to 500 people, a gig the size that Donny plays on Thursday nights. Dave was using his KN-7000, and he has added a brand new laptop with a bright, vivid screen.
Also met up with Fran Carango and family at the Italian restaurant where Dave was performing. Fran's wife and daughter look like they could be sisters.
Next, we were off to Brick to meet up with Donny at the VFW for his usual Thursday night gig. Despite dire warnings of 6 to 10 inches of snow, the place was packed, the dancefloor was alive with throngs of people having lots of fun and those Barbetta's were pumping and thumping.
Donny is performing with the PSR-2000, a pair of Barbetta Sona 32-C's and all vocals are now fired directly through the 2K, using the onboard vocal processor. Everything was superb, the audience response was beyond your wildest dreams, and as usual, Donny's performance was top-drawer. Ray was thoroughly impressed with Donny's performance and said he'll probably return to see Donny sometime in the near future with his girlfriend and spend more time enjoying the music.
More to come...
Gary
[This message has been edited by travlin'easy (edited 03-19-2004).]
and maybe we should start with just the two of US !!! (sounds like a song title in there somewhere ...) 
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