Detroit, MI

I'm sitting on the bus writing and watching it snow after our daily ritual of 5:00 sound check followed by dinner. Yanni complimented everyone on last night's Chicago performance. I think his words were "You guys were great, you really won Chicago!"

Those of you who've seen the show may have noticed that all the musicians are wearing ear pieces. The old way of doing things was to have speakers on the stage so the players could hear each other. The in-ear monitors allow better microphones to be used with the acoustic instruments, which of course means better sound for the audience. The one disadvantage of the in-ear system is it makes it very difficult for the performers to hear the audience. I usually pull my monitors out a couple of times during the show to get a better feel for the audience. Last night's crowd was so loud that I quickly put the monitors back in because it actually hurt my ears!
The news is in on Charlie's toe (see Friday's post), it is broken. But don't worry, he's a pro and it won't effect his performance - it certainly didn't last night. Yanni jokingly reminded us again that no one else is allowed to get injured or sick. Someone chimed in that the common pre-show good luck phrase "Break a leg," is now also banned. Ironically and prophetically, yesterday's 'quote of the day', which is printed on our daily itinerary, was taken from our own David Hudson. It said, "Better to stumble with one's toe, than with one's mouth." Oops.

Last night's bus trip from Chicago to Detroit was long and bumpy. We arrived around 6:15, and after breakfast everyone disappeared to their rooms to try and catch up on sleep. I tried to catch up on a few email messages but kept dozing off and didn't get much done.

I'm looking forward to seeing my son in Rochester, not just because I miss him, but because he is bringing me a digital camera which will mean I won't have to borrow David's all the time. The camera belongs to my daughter so thank you missy for letting me borrow it until our Easter Break.

If you've been able to get your camera into a show and get some decent shots, please drop me an email if you're willing to send me some photos. I'll post them on this site for all to see, but please don't send any photos without emailing me first. I don't want to jam my mailbox. I'd love to get copies of pictures I've had made with fans in various cities. Same rule applies though, please email me first.

My email address is dan@danlandrum.com.

We're about 45 minutes away from showtime here in Detroit, I can see long lines of cars snaking through the parking lot outside my bus window and the sun has set. I think it is time to go get ready to play. ¶ 6:15 PM