So, to recap:
This year's GearFest was a blast. Although the discounts were a bit lower across the board (generally 15%), there were some other really good deals to be had, like a Fender Torino Red DuoSonic for $350, Gibson Firebird Studio T for $799...the "open box" tent was again geared more toward the higher-end guitars, and they were very few amps in there. Also, it seemed that the booths themselves had a lot less swag than last year - hardly any picks, strings, lanyards, stickers and the like to be found (I was really disappointed that Martin had no soundhole cutouts like last year - I coulda used some more coasters...). That all being said, the overall vibe, and the number of name players there more than made up for it.
As it turned out, I went on both days - I had only intended to go for the first day, taking my SIL with as is now a ritual. She likes to hang out with her "bro", and she enjoys this almost more than I do, and it's a nice treat for her. Then, Mrs. CBH, who usually has NO interest in tagging along with me for these kind of jaunts (plus, her overall health usually kind of hinders her a bit), wanted to go with me on Saturday, and she genuinely enjoyed it. She sat for awhile in a chair at the Wampler booth and told me to go look around
- I can't say I blame her, because there were a couple of dudes demoing the pedals that just
killed with some awesome country pickin'
Back to Friday, the main reason I wanted to go was to see Andy Timmons play. Prior to the show, he was out and mingling, with a quick conversation with one Greg Koch (I didn't realize that in this pic it looks like they were having a heated discussion
- they were actually yukking it up with plenty of giggles):
Then later, we went to the AT performance. As I said above, he was terrific - both as a player, and interacting with the audience. He opened with "Deliver US", which was THE tune I wanted to hear. I WILL catch him the next time I have the opportunity:
Later that evening, the second annual Sweetwater All-Star Jam kicked in, and they started with the Chicago Public Schools "Little Kids Rock" performance. - basically a "School of Rock" thing. They did a great job all things considered, and played some usual suspects - "Back In Black", "Purple Haze", "Sweet Child O' Mine", and "Welcome To The Jungle". In the pic, you will note the girl wearing the sunglasses and Slash-ish hat; she was the lead guitarist and was TOTALLY into it, and played the solos very well:
The Sweetwater All-Stars are a band consisting a employees, and had two guitarists, keyboardists, a three-piece horn section, drummer and a singer. They played a few covers, then started bringing up special guests one-at-a-time - we saw Greg Koch, Steve Stevens, Andy Timmons, and Jennifer Batten up there before needing to head back (we missed Dweezil and EJ joingng later).
Then on to Saturday. We got there early in the afternoon, as I know where I was pretty much going to be headed to pull a trigger or two, then catch the Eric Johnson performance at the end. His trio was rounded out by two of the Sweetwater Employees "all-stars", so it was a bit disjointed. I am not familiar with his entire catalog, but the first four tunes were a jazz-fusiony thing, "The Wind Cries Mary", another jazz-fusiony thing (where he and the bass player had a fantastic interaction), and "Proud Mary"
. Hard to see clearly in the pic, but he was playing his prototype of his new sig semi-hollow Strat:
He then dismissed the band, and pulled out a Maton acoustic and played a blistering original of some sort:
After this tune, he opened the floor to Q & A, where he graciously answered questions from the insightful to the inane - for about 30 minutes rolleyes1. I was getting a bit antsy, and even though he was putting his Strat back on toward the end, I told the wife that I was going to pick up my purchases (!), and bring the car around. I believe he ended with a solo electric version of "Cliffs" while I was away, and that was about it.
This was the fourth or fifth time I have attended over the last seven years or so, and was a great time. The bad weather early on Friday pretty much was gone by the time the fest got rolling, and the weather was a bit cooler than usual, and frankly about perfect. I will be going back next year, and the wife says she thinks she wants to go with again for both days and get a hotel room...oy