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San Sebastian Jazz Festival - San Sebastian, Spain
So let's just pick up where we left off at the Nice Jazz Festival. This seems like a relatively good idea since it looks like an all nighter was lingering in the midst. Just after we arrived back at the hotel in Nice, the festival was holding a "Jam Session" on the roof of the hotel (yeah, same spot as that amazing restaurant). Jake just couldn't resist!
Check Out This 6 Min Audio Clip!
It was a very cool setting to see Jake and these house musicians take turns playing off of each others solo's. Was a really good way to end our stay in France....but there was a price to pay!
Jake and I made it back to the hotel rooms around 3am...with a 6am lobby call. Uh-Oh. This morning we travel to San Sebastian, Spain for a two night stay. The day would turn out to be a really tuff one, as our plane was delayed by about two hours. We landed in San Sebastian and drove straight to the venue for sound check.
Had a few groggy moments to snap some photo's of the festival grounds...which holds about 18,000 patrons and sits right on the coast line.
Looking pretty sweet, as we knew Spain would. And yes...that beach is a "natural" beach as well, as are most the beaches in Europe. I didn't realize this at first...but when we arrived I immediately ran up to the beach (sunglasses and all) and started shooting video of the coast line. I guess that probably looked a little funny....oops.
As you can see, the Spanish coast commands your attention. As does the architecture and the weather. San Sebastian is one of the premiere vacation spots in Spain, as you may have noticed by the amount of people on the beach. I can see how people are drawn to this crystal-ball of a town. All of the architecture looks like its from the old days, but preserved. Even the new buildings fit this style. You feel like you are back in one of those history books you read in school.
We booked it to the hotel for a really quick, maybe an hour, rest and reset before the show. It's been a really long day already, and with very little sleep. One might think this lack of sleep would bring down the spirits and cause a lapse in motivation. NO WAY! This is the harvest of energy we have inside us...
A few moments later we were on our way back to the festival. The drive through San Sebastian is seriously unlike any other. I find it difficult to explain the layout of this town, maybe our walk around tomorrow will do the trick...
The stage for tonight is called the Heineken Tent and seats about 350. Standing...way way more. I must admit the venue and capacity selection in Europe has been spot on thus far. Jake loves to cater to the 300-500 person crowds. And as you can see below...the uke buzz has carried it's way into Spain as well!
Tonight's set was a little longer, 75 minutes, and you would be surprised how long Jake can stretch it. As you can see from the pictures it was standing room only. The room was a smoke and dimly light as the sun slowly went down behind us. Couldn't have asked for a better setting. As I stood deep in the crowd, I could hear all the Ohhh's and Ahhh's with just about every tune Jake had to play. This was a rowdy crowd for sure, and they loved to whistle!
Jake played While My Guitar Gently Weeps....and he must have received over a minute of escalating applause and cheering. They just wouldn't stop. After receiving such a solid response, Jake threw down one of the best sounding Third Stream closer I have ever hear. Please see the video below and pay attention to the last minute or so. Amazing!
After the show we had a quaint signing session at the merch booth. I know everyone was pretty tired after it was all done, and we needed to catch up on our sleep. Tomorrow though, we have until 9pm to explore the city and really soak in the Spanish flavor. Tapas await!
Here is the video showing the fantastic response to Gently Weeps...and a simply nutty version of Third Stream. Enjoy!
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