Just a little side note before I get into talking about my new gig adventure…

I’ve discovered that writing this blog sure opens up your eyes to how wonderful each event is. Writing it all down and stopping to take photo’s really gives me a moment to reflect back on how cool all this is.

Honestly, I used to think, “I can’t wait until I’m done so I can crash on the couch and watch a little TV.” (Weird hey, I guess I’ve done so many of these events it sadly becomes a routine job)

Now I can’t wait to post what’s going to happen or introduce readers to what it’s like playing on a little ship in Vancouver or playing a wedding on the top of Whistler or Grouse Mountain or playing in Japan in the middle of a typhoon. (You can visit my website for that story)

We performers are so busy dreaming about the big world tour and screaming fans that we shrug off these amazing daily events!

Ok… Back to my gig!

So today I’m back on the vessel the “Magic Charm” and I’ll be performing solo guitar for ITA AITES World Tunnel Congress 2010. I usually board the ship at the Westin Bayshore marina however due to another event I’ll be boarding at Harbour Green, a park and dock close to the new Vancouver Trade and Convention centre. I’ll be leaving my home at 3:30pm and hope to arrive at the dock ready to board the ship at 5:30. Finding a reasonably price parking spot close to the dock could be a challenge.

I’m also going to travel light. I’ll use my smallest sound system as I may have to lug everything up and down stairs. I also printed a Google map as this is an unfamiliar location.

What a great way to start the gig; FREE PARKING! It’s not all that often you’ll find a free parking spot on the downtown streets of Vancouver however, today’s the day! Not only did I find a free spot but it’s also right across the street from Harbour Green Park were I’ll board the Magic Charm.

Ok, just when I thought this gig would be a piece of cake, I arrived at the metal walkway that takes me to the dock. As you can see in the photo, the walkway was made out of rectangular expanded metal. Just large enough that the wheels from my PA dolly would fall into each rectangular hole! The system was too heavy to carry so I had to quickly zig zag all the way down the ramp to prevent the wheels from falling into the holes. What a pain in the butt as I kept getting stuck!

Finally I arrived at the dock and the ship pulled up for me to board. Unfortunately I only had 20 minutes to lug all my gear upstairs to the second deck and setup before the client began arriving at 6:30pm! It’s a good thing I’ve played this vessile many times before as I knew exactly were to set up, etc… (BTW… if you are ever playing a small cruise ship, be sure to keep the power off to your gear until the ship has begun running it’s own on board power. Many of my musician friends have had their amps fried by the ship turning on and off it’s power supply while their gear was left on)

The clients arrived right on schedule and I began playing right at 6:30pm (not at 6:45pm, as per my contract) If possible I allways go above and beyond the written contract as I love playing guitar, I’ll there anyways and most of all by making the event as wonderful as I possibly can does come back to you. It may not be that night however it could come back as more work or a great testimonial from the client.

I played for the first 1.5 hours and then was offered dinner. As usual the food was fantastic! The next performance was like a mini private concert. It’s nice to have people in the room intently listening and giving applause after each piece I performed. It’s very unusual on a corporate event as most times people are there to network.

Shortly after 10pm we returned to the dock and I had to scramble around very quickly to pack up and get off the ship as the ships crew had to go right away. Then it was back to zig zagging across the expanded metal walk way to get to my truck to head home.

Another successful event!