Danny; Tula Russia, 7/5/13 Don't be scared, this is what Brian's bass looks like when he first takes it out of the travel case. It's a specially designed upright bass with a removable neck. He has to put it together before the performance. It usually takes about 10-15 minutes.
The gear on this tour has been very good, I brought my own cymbals which are old K's from Istanbul. A lot less to carry than our first Dept of State Tour to South East Asia, when I brought a drum kit also.
The sound has also been fantastic in these old theaters like this one in Tula.
From the moment we arrived in Tula, we were cared for by a team of women that had more energy than a formula one racer. We were fed and housed near the Tula Philharmonics hall in the most interesting hotel/lodge. They let me ring the intermission bell and thought it was funny how exited I was to do the three bells for each lobby.
There's a saying in Russia; " Don't bring a Samovar to Tula", they are famous for making them in this city. It's a teapot.
They are also famous for making these special cakes called Pryanik. There is a factory there that produces them en masse.
The concert was wonderful and the audience had as much energy as everyone else we met in Tula. I think there's something in those Pryanik cakes;) There was a couple who got up and danced in the aisle for most of the concert, the lighting guys put a follow spot on them and we introduced them as the JRB dancers.
They presented us with a flower at the end of the concert and then we stayed to sign CDs etc. They also gave us a CD of their local folk group.
We have been received so well over here and have made so many new friends at our concerts.
When the concert reception dinner was done, we got back in the van and drove 4 hrs back to Moscow. We had a 10 AM pickup for our 4th of July performance at the Ambassador's residence for 3000 guests.
