We stayed the night in Rochester before the show in Canandaigua, leaving a 25-mile drive to the venue. I went jogging in the morning, returning to the hotel at 8am to see the crew bus departing as expected. Unexpectedly, however, this was immediately followed out of the hotel car park by my bus – which also drove off down the road towards Rochester...
Was I late? Had I misread the day sheet? Had I missed the bus? A hasty dash up to my room revealed that, as I thought, I was not due to leave until 12.45. The bus was doing a double trip, taking some of the crew on the early run.
That just left a shower, breakfast, and then the various 10 am announcements about the cancelled show in New York. Given the current climate, we are perhaps fortunate that this is the only show that promoters have chosen to cancel – hopefully the rescheduled show at The Beacon, a happy stomping ground for King Crimson, will make up for it. There will be some nervous glances at sales figures in the coming days.
Meanwhile the shows continue to be remarkable. I have also been lucky enough to begin to spend time with some of the Zappa band. I sat with Mike Keneally through a KC sound check – at the end, he turned and said “when Mel Collins plays he elevates everything he plays on”. And, given the benefit of a brief conversation at Canandaigua, I suspect Ray White similarly elevates everything he touches. An astonishing person.
