BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet

Travel day back to Louisiana. Still working out the details for this weekend. JazzFest is always a hard logistics festival, but we'll get through it.

Date: April 29, 2009 11:54 PM Topic: TN Shines, Knoxville, TN The day started with the Blue Plate Special on WDVX in Knoxville. This was a live broadcast both though the radio and on the internet. This was a good show. The DJ took us to lunch before we had to rush to the Bijou Theatre to do a sound check for Jim Lauderdale's TN Shines radio show. The band got a standing ovation after the short set, which means we need to come back to Knoxville for a regular BeauSoleil show sometime soon! Tomorrow we fly home to New Orleans. Big weekend in SE La coming up!

It was a 6+ hour drive from Willesboro to Lexington to do the Woodsongs show. We did drive through Harlan and Hazard, and for a while I was living out Merle Tracis' Nine Pound Hammer. Even saw a 'Fresh Beer' sign: get a little brew. The show was very professional and efficient (it was their 522nd show). The theater was sold out and we did sell a few CDs after the performance. Got a FB comment from some people from Opelousas who were unable to get tickets. Today: driving to Knoxville for the Blue Plate Special and the Bijou Theatre.

Date: April 26, 2009 10:17 AM Topic: Merlefest Day 1 Big day at Merlefest. Way too many groups to see and hear but nonetheless an interesting afternoon. Doc looked great and played wonderfully. I got to hear a bit of the Docabilly set. He really loves rock and roll! Hell, he loves music and likes to pick, simple as that. The workshop was good and well attended. We just played for 50 minutes and there were even a few questions from the audience. Since Tommy had left his snare at the Music Factory, he played a box. I really liked that a lot. The dance set was just that: a straight dance. I think we wore out the crowd, as there was barely 15 seconds between songs. I don't know how you could dance all that much after being at the festival all day, but I guess that's what youth is about. We were done by 12:10 and back at the hotel by 12:45. It was a long day. On Sunday, most of the big acts had left, and some of the vendors had gone as well.  We played on the Watson stag...

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Date: April 24, 2009 5:50 AM Topic: La Music Factory Part 2 You can tell it's Jazz Fest time: The Factory was packed with fest goers listening to the Zydepunks before we got to set up and play. We had a good crowd for being the last act, and I'm always surprised by our fans. It seems that this year's Jazz Fest will be a big one. Today's plan: heading to Wilkesboro for Merlefest.

We played the Houston International Festival on the Louisiana stage. The featured country was Ireland. Not a huge attendance but we played well. Now we're driving back home, late night.

Saturday we did an outdoor instore at End of an Ear records in Austin on South 1st St. Though it threatened to rain, we were lucky. I'd say about 100 people showed up for our one hour set. It was, after all, Record Store Day!! Good show. Later a few in the band went to the Continental Club to see James Burton. Easy day!

Another trip to Austin! This time it rained like you wouldn't believe. The site was a muddy place, but that didn't seem to keep the fans away. We had a good set, and it was recorded for Armed Forces radio. Also worthy of note was the food for the staff and performers: very good!

Good, long show last night. It was a blowout of sorts, last date on tour and last date with Lindley and Norm. "it's all good, my brothers!" There was a good crowd, despite the promoter's fears, 352, or about 80%. Early day today: 7:45 hotel departure, 11:55 flight from SMF. Next up: Austin & Houston.

Big show last night, probably the best one of the tour so far. Lindley was hyped and ready to go, urged on by Norm, his road manager. The crowd (351) was very enthusiastic and attentative; in fact, there was little room for dancing, as the dance floor was jammed with listeners. Tonight's the Raven Theatre in Healdsburg, last show on this tour.

Date: April 10, 2009 11:14 AM Topic: State Theatre, Modesto, CA Good show last night at the State Theatre. We all reduced the set lengths and as a result the show was tighter. Also, I think there were a few walk ups, as the theatre had about 250 or so in attendance. Those who came were definitely entertained. Lindley played a bunch of tunes with us, including Jolie Blond and another song I just can't remember right now! Today we're doing an instore at Down Home in El Cerrito and then a show at the Great American Music Hall tonight. Long trip almost done!

The Rio is a renovated theatre in downtown Santa Cruz. It's a nice venue with good sound. Lindley jammed with the band on 'Laissez les bons temps rouler' and 'Rollin' and tumblin'. It was a good show. Today we're driving to Modesto for the show at the State Theatre, also with Lindley. The weather's crappy, with an intermittent drizzle. Three days left for the tour.

The day started with JB needing some medicine; big D and nausia keeping him up. We left Solana Beach around 10:30 and now (4:09) we're just getting out of Los Angeles. The traffic through the LA area has been just awful, creeping most of the way so far. We won't get to the hotel until after 9. A very long day, indeed. We lunched at the Daily Grill in the Marriott across from the Burbank airport. Now the traffic has thinned and hopefully there won't be any more major delays.

Date: April 7, 2009 2:25 AM Topic: Belly Up Belly Up in Solano Beach is a nice place. We were treated nicely, and the crowd that was there was very enthusiastic. There were dancers for every song. Playing on Mondays, from my experience, isn't always easy, but I guess we got about 100 people there tonight. Tomorrow's the long drive to Santa Cruz, about 7+ hours. I think the weather is going to change, probably starting to rain mid-afternoon or so. It's been an interesting if not hard trip: playing 5 dates in a row is unusual for BeauSoleil. I think tonight we were on auto pilot and played very well, considering how tired we all are. I'm looking forward to a 'day off' in the van! I see that the Dirty Dozens are now following my tweets. Amazing thing this technology thing.

Date: April 6, 2009 11:23 AM Topic: Coach House Short drive yesterday, from Santa Monica to San Juan Capistrano. The Coach House, which really looks like a Rock N Roll kind of place, was not very full last night! Because the economy has tanked out or we charged too much probably was the cause. We did play well and played the Alligator Purse set for 1.25 hrs. Also, there were two opening groups, which I know made the audience tire a lot faster than if we had been the only group. But we were treated nicely and in fact those who stayed bought CDs. Today we're heading to Solano Beach, to Belly Up, a place we've never played before.

Date: April 4, 2009 11:28 AM Topic: McCabe's McCabe's is a cool and interesting venue. During the day it's a music/ guitar store, and at night it's a concert hall, seating about 150 people. On the walls are a bunch of odd and old instruments, and the place is just jam packed with old guitars, new guitars, mandolins, ukes, miscellaneous musical stuff, etc. And they sell a lot of instructional books and CDs. It's a great place, and in fact, it's the most fun place I've performed at in LA. We did two sets, and the sound was great. The audience was extremely attentive, and by far this was one of the top shows we've done on this trip. Staying at the Travelodge across the street made the entire experience easy, from our viewpoint.

What a strange place Chandler is: a made up resort on the edge of the desert. We were treated quite well by the promoter; everything was well done, from the accommodatios to the dinner to the venue. We also sold a box of CDs, so it was all good. Heading to LAX right now, and it's a beautiful day out there. I'm looking forward to playing at McCabe's: I've heard about for so long that it's somewhat of an icon to me.

Date: April 3, 2009 12:15 PM Topic: Tucson We arrived at Phoenix from Albuquerque on Wednesday and drove straight to Tucson. That night Jeb and Paul (the promoters) took some of us out to eat at El Churro, which was very good. On Thursday Jimmy, Mitch, Michael and I did a radio show at KXCI before the sound check. Nice station!  After sound check, we ate at El Indita, another very good restaurant. David Lindley opened the set, playing a different instrument for every song. He is amazing. Then we took the stage around 9:30 and played for an hour and fifteen. Today we're going to Chandler, AZ for the Chandler Jazz Festival. The hard part of the tour is beginning....

The show at Santa Fe Brewing Co was fun. There were lots of people; we must a lot of fans in New Mexico. Also the food was really tasty. I think I've almost got my fill of Green Chili sauce. The Hotel Santa Fe was also wonderful and comfortable. I'm glad we were able to stay there. Today's a travel day: fly to Phoenix and then drive to Tucson. Got the rest of the day off.