GALLERY OF THE THIRD ANNUAL
CROSSWICKS CONCERT
It happened on the Green behind the Community House
in Crosswicks, New Jersey, on Saturday, August 3rd, 2002, at 6pm
...okay, so it was 6:30...
This was our biggest show to date, with the group swelling to FOUR members: Rob and Ken were joined by drummer John Fair, and 2000 concert vet Christine Uberti .Unfortunately, 2001 concert vet George Mahlberg was MIA... but that's another story. We were blessed with an actual professional sound system for this show too, courtesy of engineer Tom Seeland (if he had a Web site, we'd link it here!), so we were ready to break the record for most electronic gear ever assembled in Crosswicks!
But the band would soon find out the consequences for consuming too much electricity at one time!
Give me some kind of sign...
As in previous years, we encouraged everyone to bring blankets, chairs, and a picnic dinner. Snacks and refreshment sales went to benefit the Crosswicks Community Association, which sponsors the Music on the Green summer concert series every year.
There was a lot of press and publicity leading up to this show, so we were anticipating a record crowd... which for us would have been anything over 150 people! What we were not prepared for was the incredible heat that everyone had to endure. The turnout for the show was not as high as in previous years, but we appreciated that about 75 people braved temperatures in the high 90s just to come hear us play. At least the band was under the shade of the tent.
(Note to selves: Next year, plan concerts for May or October only!)
Wayne and Tom setting up the sound system. Okay...mostly Tom.
Rob tuning up.
Christine booting up the trusty PowerBook.
"Geez, it's hot! Who's idea was this?!"
We don't really care about the heat, as long as we can play in front of our favorite fans.
"What was that sound? Oh... it was me!"
John is slowly being assimilated into the tangle of gear...
...but he hasn't even broken a sweat!
Uh oh... Rob (left) looks up as the bands plays on despite loss of PA power midway through the set.
"Whew, I'm glad I charged that battery pack this morning..."
"Power's back.Yeah, everything's still on line. Thanks, Apple! Thanks Tom!"
Note #1: In background, actual people actually listening.
Note #2: Tom the Sound Guy now back at the sound booth, relaxing (legs outstretched) after defeating the rogue Community House refrigerator that dared steal our electricity!!
Note #3: As per our contract, a 100-foot perimeter is established around the band, keeping the audience at a safe distance.
As night falls, the second set builds in intensity...
...mainly because the temperature dropped 10 degrees!
And then it was over.
"We're Brainstatik. Thanks for coming out in this heat, and thanks for listening! Good night!"
Special new CD for sale at the show:
A brand new promotional cd, "A Brainstatik Sampler," was available for sale at this concert. 21 tracks of specially remixed excerpts from 1997 to the present make this the perfect introduction to the band's unique musical perspectives. Many of the previously unreleased tracks on this cd were performed live for the first time at the Crosswicks show. We even signed them for anyone that asked!
Watch the Brainstatik Web site for more info about this CD's future availability... we're working toward a wider release of it soon.
Official 2002 Crosswicks Concert Mini-Poster:
Collect all ONE of them! Here it is in PDF form, while they last. Quantities limited.
(You'll need the Acrobat Reader to view it, available free by clicking below. Printing hint: scale it up to fit your paper size.)
Special bonus concert rehearsal pix,
for those defoted few who waited for this entire page to load,
and then actually scrolled all the way to the bottom!
"Hey, where's John?" "Houston." "Oh, okay... not a problem."
Rob perfects his strange string section part...
...while Ken plays his strange string section part.
He's smiling mainly because the studio now has an air conditioner!
Note his cool NearFest 2002 shirt too.
Christine auditions some new samples for Rob and Ken.
"Yeah, that's the one! Let's play!"