Recap: "Rockin' Around the Town Square" 2009
It is difficult to believe that Christmas is only 4 days away, the New Year is only 11 days away, and that after approximately 2 months of planning, the 3 nights of this year's "Rockin' Around the Town Square" concerts have already passed. Time has a way of slipping by very quickly, especially when having fun.
This past weekend was both a lot of fun, and yet also frustrating in several aspects. Overall, the "Rockin' Around the Town Square" holiday concerts were a BLAST and went over well with the audiences. Comments and reviews have begun pouring in, and they have all been very positive thus far.
Friday evening's show began with the Crestview High School's band, who performed a nice selection of holiday classics. We then took to the stage and the performance went pretty well. The audience consisted of approximately 120 people. Following the performance, however, we were dismayed to find out that the driver in one of the main house speakers had been fried. It was replaced and we were ready to go for Saturday.
Saturday's special guest was the Columbiana High School choir, who did an excellent job. A few minutes into our set, however, the driver in the other main house speaker melted. As if that weren't bad enough, a few minutes after that, the newly replaced driver (from the night before) also blew. For the most part, the audience only heard the band's monitor mixes. Nonetheless, the crowd of approximately 220 people was very energetic and screamed for more at the end. Following the performance, both drivers were replaced, and it was later discovered that one of the crossovers was also blown. At this point, several of us were discouraged by the problems that seemed to be plaguing our performances until that point. It seemed as if voltage spikes were passing through the line and melting the copper windings on the coils, so a few power amplifiers were also switched around. Technical difficulties notwithstanding, Saturday evening's performance felt to be more solid than Friday night.
Approximately 310 people attended on Sunday evening, which began with a small group of musicians and vocalists from Heartland Christian School. The students sang several popular carols and performed a few familiar Trans-Siberian Orchestra arrangements, including "Christmas Canon in Rock." We then took to the stage and played through our set for one final time. Sunday's crowd was the most energetic, and the band's performance was the tightest of all 3 evenings. On another positive note, Sunday evening's show was not plagued by any major technical difficulties, which came as a huge relief to all of those involved with the performance.
I'd like to again thank everyone involved this year's "Rockin' Around the Town Square," beginning with the Arthurs family and Main Street Theater. Thanks for hosting the event again this year, and for being extremely accomodating to all of our needs! Special thanks are due to each of the performers (my partners in crime!) - Greg & Natalie Sprouse, Don & Dawn Arthurs, Dave Arthurs, Nick Rupert, Martha Rogowsky, and Roger Lewis - without your help, it could not have been possible. Each of you should be very proud of your involvement in this year's program - you all did an EXCELLENT job! It was a special treat and a personal pleasure to watch you breathe fresh life into my arrangements - I hope to work with all of you again soon! Thanks also to Amy Arthurs and the staff at Main Street Theater for the awesome food and service - I ate better backstage this past weekend than I have over the past couple months - perhaps it's a sign that I should perform more concerts! Thanks to Sean Kapp, Jim Couchenour, Jim Klemann, and Rob Wichert for your invaluable assistance with the lighting, sound, and other technical needs. I'd also like to thank the Way Station for their involvement again with this year's performances. And thanks to Terry Kilbourne, Tim Pool, Kelley Moran, and the staff of Tec, Inc. Engineering & Design for their support for the shows! Thanks also to John Benson of the Vindicator and Katie Libecco with Valley24.com for their support and coverage of the performances. A special mention is also due to the music students and staff of Crestview High School, Columbiana High School, and Heartland Christian School - thanks for participating in this year's "Rockin' Around the Town Square" performances. I hope to work with all of you again!
On a lighter note, thanks are also in order to Melanie, Malory, and Natalie Sprouse for the new hairstyling!
To everyone who attended one or more shows this year - thanks for your support! I hope you enjoyed the performances, and that it brought a smile to your face and some rockin' holiday cheer to your hearts.
In conclusion, it was a total blast this year thanks to everyone's involvement and participation. Let's hope for another "Rockin' Around the Town Square" holiday concert event in 2010!