The 4 Bitchin' Babes
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Four Bitchin' Babes

Folk

Concert Date: April 12, 1997
Venue: Inter-Media Art Center (IMAC), Huntington, NY
I mixed: Front of House and Monitors - 4 mixes

Technical Stuff

Four women, four guitars, four direct boxes for the guitars, and the IMAC 9' Baldwin grand piano. Nothing special about the setup. Each got a microphone for guitar in addition to the direct box. Christine was the only one to bring her own vocal mic (AKG C-535 condenser) and her own guitar mic (AKG C-451 condenser). We used Shure SM-58 vocal mics for everyone, and Beyerdynamic condenser mics on guitars.

Each babe soundchecked individually, then we did a check with everyone. Sally checked on piano as well as her guitar, and Debi had to be checked with her Baran drum. Megon did a song with a CD playback, so we checked that, too. I added some reverb to the vocals, compressed the vocals, guitars, and piano gently, and the sound check was done in record time.

Review

GREAT, from beginning to end. That's the quick summary. Each of the babes performed at least one solo number, and a number backed by the others.

I'm thrilled that so many people showed up to see this wonderful performance. They played to a sold out house, and I didn't see anybody leave early. There was something for everyone. If you were not laughing out loud at the songs and the comments in between, then you were probably quietly drying a tear spilling down a cheek at some of the more sentimental songs and patter.

Each "Babe" clearly had a different stage personality, but they meshed together flawlessly. Christine has a knack for finding the funny things in life and pointing them out in song. Always smiling, and with a good word and a funny story about everything and everyone, Christine hit home quite often with her songs. Megon has a sort of "ball of fire" aura about her, and probably enough energy to light Chicago for a week. Her songs were humorous and touching. Sally seems like she has a quieter, dryer sense of humor, and was very sweet. Debi, with her crystal clear voice, her songs, her guitar, and her Baran drum held the audiences attention and was delightful.

They played for over an hour before intermission, and again for over an hour after. They, of course, did their "Barbie" thing. If you don't know what I'm talking about - you MUST go see them live.

I'm usually tired and anxious to leave when it gets close to the end of a show, but NOBODY, including me, wanted the babes to leave the stage. Although Christine will be leaving them in September, the Babes will continue to be a "must see" act.

Check out their music on CD:

 

Fax It! Charge It! Don't Ask Me What's For Dinner Fax It! Charge It! Don't Ask Me What's For Dinner Gabby Road Gabby Road
Buy Me, Bring Me, Take Me, Don't Mess My Hair Buy Me, Bring Me, Take Me, Don't Mess My Hair    

Stage setup for "the babes".

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