David Bruce Murray
Sep 09, 2008
NQC
NQC 2008: Tuesday
Today I arrived in Louisville. I can’t connect to the internet from my hotel room, so I’m sitting in the hotel lobby to type this…which is just <sarcasm>GREAT</sarcasm>.
I saw a number of friends and met a few people for the first time. I met SGHistory.com contributor Steve Eaton who happened to be chatting with David Stuart. I saw David a few more times early in the evening. He watched me eat $8 worth of pork BBQ and bottled water…it was just one sandwich.
I met Les Butler for the first time. I talked with Judy Brannin, Marlin Taylor, and Daniel Britt, plus a host of people from my native Rutherford County who came up here on a bus.
I talked with a number of group members…Lauren Talley, McCray Dove, Arthur Rice, Sheri Vestal, Jamey Lutz, Ben Harris, all of Mercy’s Well, all of Triumphant, Phillip Hughes, Bryan Hutson, Jodi Hosterman, Bob Nitz, and others. I met Marty Raybon, which was cool.
On the main stage, the most memorable performances of the evening for me came from three trios in a row. The Talley Trio, Greater Vision, and Karen Peck & New River were scheduled back to back. I also caught songs by the Reggie Saddler Family, Jeff & Sheri Easter, Brian Free & Assurance, the Whisnants, and a few others. The only set I really wanted to see, but missed, was by the Hoppers. I heard snatches from monitors in the Exhibit Hall.
By the way, the new Exhibit Hall is much nicer than the old exhibit hall…conveniently located again just across from Freedom Hall, which now looks REALLY dated in comparison.
Now for the cons. The sound in Freedom Hall this year is atrocious for anyone sitting near the stage. There’s no shield around the drums. Some drummers use brushes, which helps. Of course, there aren’t that many drummers, so it’s not a huge deal. The Brian Free & Assurance set from my seat sounded like drums with quartet accompaniment…except for one song that only had a couple of cymbal rolls. Speaking of Free’s set, Roy Webb sat in on piano.
The greater issue regarding the sound from all I could observe was the positioning of the speaker cabinets. There are no speakers pointed toward anyone seated near the stage that I could see or hear. Everything we’re hearing is bouncing off the back wall behind us first…not too good.
I sure hope it sounds better in other areas of the arena
