“My good friend and keys-man Richie Lawrence and I played recently played the newly renovated Bay Theater in Seal Beach California. We had been on a tour that had begun to go south on us for a number of reasons, and we were shaken. This show, an anchor date for us, had almost been canceled a week or so earlier due to an uncalled for technicality related to some city ordinance.
I didn’t know its owner Paul Dunlap, but for a few texts and emails , so I wasn’t sure what to expect when we pulled up to the loading door in the alley at the back of the theater.
The sound crew had the door open, and we could see directly onto the stage and beyond it to the elegant seating area. “wow check this place out!” I said to Richie, “ this’ll be the easiest load in ever!”
Paul came up to me and we shook hands. He told me he’d been listening to my songs for years, naming a few which I would included in my show. He looked me in the eye as I did into his, and a solid, mutual trust was established.
The sincere and friendly sound crew dialed us in smoothly into what I can only describe as a deep and gorgeous sound, both in the monitors and the front of house. All we had to do was say what we wanted and there it was within seconds.
After sound check, Paul took the entire crew down the street to a soulful, no-nonsense restaurant for supper. The staff all knew Paul, kidding around with him as they served us the fine dishes.
As an intro to the newly rebuilt theater, a few movie trailers were shown on
the screen to demonstrate the theater’s visual and audio prowess. The sound quality took my breath away, simply amazing, and we hadn’t started playing yet!
Paul introduced us and we started playing under the rich yet subtle lugging.
Now I’ve been around the world doing all kinds of shows for many years, but please allow me to tell you that the sound in this place is clean out of this world!
I give this versatile venue an outstanding A+, and we look forward to the next time we play there!”
Ray Bonneville