Radlett Musical Theatre Company, The Radlett Centre (UK), October 2024
You know the film… the stage show is just as great, with even more of the cool songs! Mixing Country rock with 80s styles and warm ballads, this was a fun show to play.
I was playing the Guitar 2 part, which has fewer of the eye-catching parts, but fills out the rhythm and enables some neat textures and harmony parts. The one weird musical thing about the show is that the classic Footloose riff is never played in the obvious key (G bending up to A) at any point in the show, but in about three other keys that are way less guitar-friendly! Also, the Guitar 1 part has one very exposed number (“Plains of Bomont” on nylon-string), which would be worth getting under your fingers ahead of time. Otherwise, there are one or two moments of unusual timing to be prepared for, but the rest is an absolute blast!
Instruments
- Telecaster (Brent Mason signature)
- Nylon acoustic (Godin) – There was just enough space in the pit for this, but I could maybe have got away with just the Telecaster
- Steel acoustic (Takamine) – I took this to the band rehearsal, but to save space I ended up faking it using the Acoustic simulator module in my Line6 Helix
Other equipment
- Slide – For 8 bars in “Girl Gets Around“.
- Harmonica (A) – To cover 8 bars of the Guitar 1 book in “Girl Gets Around“, as I just happened to have one in the right key in my acoustic case(!) This comes almost immediately after the slide part mentioned above! And Guitar 2 is then straight into the main rhythm part of the song… this was the one passage all evening when I was frantically picking things up and putting them down!
Sounds
- Line 6 Helix Floor
- Amp: Derailed Ingrid amp (based on a Trainwreck amp)
- Boost: Kinky Boost (based on an EP Boost)
- More details coming soon… and download my show-ready rig for your Line6 Helix!