Preparing for the Gig

I last left you with the band working hard sunning by the pool in a 5 star hotel and I'd promised a few snaps of the outside of the Palace. So here's a picture of me in front of the palace and Mark in the fountains. Keep in mind that this is only the front of the palace

With 2 days before new years eve we started to set up our equipment in the ball room of the Emirates Palace. This was easier said than done when we were being security checked in and out of the Palace all day but eventually we got all our PA, instruments, rig and lights into the room. It was only the case of putting them all together from that point. Easy.

You might have spotted that Nick brought his video Camera (top left). I'm hoping to grab the footage off him to make a short video on Abu Dhabi. I would have taken my stuff but I'd spent 10 days on camera and carrying all the camera stuff for Eurobusk 08 only a few days before and I really didn't feel like it after that.

Here are a couple shots of the stage. You can see the rig has been raised and the last touches have been finished for now. The next time you see this kind of shot the room will be filled with tables and over 1000 seats.

We managed to set up in an evening and the next day we finally got down to doing some playing. I think by this time we were all itching to play together like a bunch of big kids who had set up their toys but then had to wait . I'll finish this post with some photos of our rehearsal, there's not much more to say that you can't see from the pictures. The band goofing around and having a laugh playing

Keep your eye out for the 4th and final part to this series.