JEFF PIKE - MANIA - FALL 2022 TOUR BLOG - DAY 19

​MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
November 8, 2022
Jo Ann Davidson Theatre
www.capa.com/venues/detail/riffe-center-theatre-complex
Columbus, Ohio

Sleep was again not my friend, and I was by far the last to leave the bus this morning. Well, early afternoon is more the truth. Tonight's Theatre was in a large, beautiful complex called The Riffe Center. Getting there required a stage pass, an escort, an elevator, and a long walk. It was freezing outside, and I was nearly frostbitten when I figured it out. 

Upon disembarking the elevator, I grabbed a few unhealthy snacks from the ample-sized green room and located my dressing room. By this stage of the game, getting ready musically for the show takes very little time. I set up my iPad, which I use to control my In-ear monitor mix, tape my piano foot pedal to the floor, make sure everything is working, and then I am good to go until sound check. Soundcheck also, by now, takes very little time. Our very talented FOH Soundman, Jake, has everything dialed in quickly, and we usually run one song, maybe two at the most, and then we are finished. We are generally quite fortunate, and rarely anything goes wrong that cannot be handled and fixed quickly. But then, once in a blue moon, there is "that day." So, today ended up being that day. 

The venue had mistakenly not provided us with enough sound reinforcement production gear to adequately do our show, which meant the show was almost canceled. This took a while to remedy and was a great concern for most of the afternoon. 

In other news of the day, Brad, our relatively new, young bass player, was quite late in showing up. Brad is a great guy, a good bass player, and eager to please, but this was his first time on the road, so things were a bit rocky from time to time. It turns out that Brad had decided to take an Uber to this evening's show, for he wanted to sleep in on his day off. Nothing wrong with that, except that he took an Uber to the wrong town and the wrong gig. :-) He went to Cincinnati instead of Colombus! Once we found out, naturally, we ribbed him about it, gave him some money to help him out, and at soundcheck, gave him a T-shirt that bore his new nickname, The Cincinnati Kid. Brad was embarrassed but a good sport, and we all had a good laugh. 

However, the worst part of the day was that Hana was getting sick. She was worried about getting through the show, perhaps a bit too much. But she proactively did all she could to take care of her voice, and while not 100% on her game, Hana still did an incredible job. Nobody in the audience could have known she was sick, and the show, from their perspective, seemed very enjoyable. 

When we left that evening, nerves were a little raw, but like the pros we all are, we managed to come together and put on a fantastic show. Being on the road is very tough, and every show is different in its own way. You will get thrown curve balls from time to time, but with experience and professionalism, your team is better equipped to knock them out of the park as opposed to striking out. On to the next show!