Kris Kristofferson, Joss Stone and Toots and the Maytals last night.
03/20/2004
What a good crowd, it was packed by the time Joss got on stage. The day started out with a small crowd for Kris Kristofferson. It kept growing as he was on stage, folks were trying to park and get into the venue. It was Friday night traffic, SXSW traffic and the festival converging all at once.
I enjoyed the Kris set, it was just him on the acoustic guitar. No back up band, no one else just him, a guitar, a harmonica and a microphone. The crowd was a bit small 2,500 or so. Watching from the back of the stage, it seemed that every one was singing along. Once the set was complete, it was time for the meet and greet. We had the backstage tent shut down and let him get settled from the set. Then the madness started. I swear there were folks that claimed everything to try to get an autograph. “I was his kids babysitter, I know him from XXX and so on the stories went. Well, working with his manager, we sorted through the requests and we may have missed a few folks but those who were suppose to be in got in. He was very kind to the fans, lots of photos and autographs but no press interviews. Kris decided after a bit that he wanted to see his real fans. Off to the fence line to sign the crowds stuff. Not everyone had something for him to sign, some folks were pulling dollar bills out of their pockets. I lent Kris my Sharpie since he was struggling with something to sign all the stuff with, pens just don’t cut it. It was then time for him to go, his manager ushered him along to get in the limo bus. Well I did manage to get my Sharpie back from him, but I never got an autograph. Dam, some times when you’re working you get left behind.
Toots and the Maytals had a great set, I just love Reggie music. I was up on the stage dancing and enjoying myself. I have worked with them at a bunch of Reggie Festivals over the years and I know they are low maintenance. That was good because our headliner had lots of gear to be moved onto the stage. I had to clear the back of the stage before the Maytals set was done and move folks over to the VIP stage. Most went with out a problem.
Joss Stone has an awesome road manager. He is a no nonsense kind of guy. I like that in a manager, it makes my life a lot easier. He set the no one on stage rule, keeps me from having to deal with drinking VIP’s on the back of the stage. Only working crew and band members were allowed up. That included me and my little group of volunteers. I had to tell some SXSW staff that they weren’t allowed up either, not the most glamorous part of the job, but rules are rules.
What a nice young lady Joss is. I gave her a little pep talk as she was waiting for her introduction. I could sense she was nervous; it was a huge crowd by then maybe 14,000. I let her know that the Austin crowd is a bit different. Austin fans are generally quiet during the performance, they listen or sing along. If you are not used to them, it can seem you are not connecting with them from the stage. It can be a bit intimidating. We are just a bit different than the rest of the country, we listen to the music. What a voice that girl has, it is powerful, it is sweet and she has a fabulous stage presence. She will be one to watch in the industry. Oh, one cute thing, she goes on stage barefoot. I had to watch out for her sneakers. They were just placed by the stairs to the stage before she went on. They kept getting moved and kicked around. Oh, I guess I can say I was on Joss sneaker duty. I did get a photo of them. I will post it once I get the film developed. I was using a regular camera instead of the digital yesterday.
She had a very small meet and greet after the set, just a few friends and some of the SXSW sponsors. This time I did manage to keep my Sharpie and get her autograph. I ended my evening after the show. I had thought about heading out to the clubs after but I was a tad tired and I have a full day today at the stage.
We are starting the day with the kiddie bands at noon until 3:30 then we get to the good line up. Guy Forsyth at 4:00, I just love him, he is a musicians musician. Next will be Grupo Fantasma, Junior Brown, the Dirty Dozen Brass band and then the Band of the Year, Los Lonely Boys. I have worked with 5 of the 8 bands before so it should be a good day.
