Pensacola, Florida

We arrived at the club in Pensacola to see a band from Portland, OR was on the bill and playing before us. They had a trailer full of equipment including their own PA and light system. They were called The Listening and were by far the most polished and professional band we have played with all tour. With their own soundman running their gear the sound was perfectly tuned to their material. Their live drum sound was better than anything I have heard in a long while. Although they did not play my type of music, I always deeply respect and appreciate a band that goes through so much effort to nail their sound and performance.

The fun part of the evening was when we got to play through The Listening’s equipment. The sound on stage was as good as it was out in front of the PA. It was a real pleasure to have the opportunity to play through this gear. I believe it was the best we have sounded since I have been playing bass for At the Spine.

Although I was a bit jealous of their professionalism on stage, I lost any feeling of the sort while I watched them load all their equipment out at the end of the night. Their things were laid in a 50-foot circle on the sidewalk and it took them and hour and a half to get the entire job done. And since these guys are not rock stars, they were doing a lot of the work themselves (and I though we had it tough). I guess that is the price you pay for a custom sound.