Yesterday the Classical Strings (an all-female string quartet, of which I am a member, that backs up various bands at Abbey Road on the River) had the honor of accompanying Mario DaSilva during his 3 p.m. show in the Daisy Room. This was a nice change from what we are used to doing. Normally we are on one of the big outdoor stages, amplified, and playing with really loud rock bands, not this time though. DaSilva played on an acoustic guitar that was lightly amplified; only because the string quartet was actually over powering him. The string quartet played unplugged with only two microphones in the center of the quartet. We were on a smaller stage inside so the atmosphere was much more intimate.
This was a brand new partnership between DaSilva and Classical Strings. He normally plays solo. We had one rehearsal on Saturday where we figured out which songs would work and how we would play through them. If you were in the breezeway of the Galt House Saturday around 3:30 p.m. you may have heard us rehearsing.
The actual performance went very well. There were no vocals, no drums, no electric guitars, just acoustic guitar and string quartet. We did have one mishap where the strings and DaSilva started a song in two different keys. After a panicked glance amongst the string quartet we stopped after a measure, and DaSilva cracked a joke to the audience about how he forgot to put his capo on due to nervousness being on stage with four lovely looking ladies. The audience laughed, he put the capo on, and we started again with no problems arising. The Daisy Room was packed with only standing room left. There were a few people in the audience who were even crying. It was a very heartwarming concert that the audience appreciated and loved. After we played people came up and complimented us more than any other show we played all weekend. There was also a long line of people waiting to buy DaSilva’s CDs he had for sale. Hopefully this becomes a regular show at Abbey Road on the River.
Photos: Courtesy of Abbey Road on the River Facebook page and Carlette Carla Burgess Bruce
