So, that actually worked out a LOT better than I expected! No trouble at port security... they wondered why we were bringing so much stuff, but that was about it. There was a bit of a hitch the day of the show, unrelated to the taping of it. The "Cruise Compass" schedule said the show was from 2-4. We planned to get up early, but things didn't go as planned, and we woke up around 10:30. We got our tickets for the tender boats, and around 11:50, went to get a quick brunch. Five minutes after we sit down, we hear an announcement about tender boats boarding, and the DMB concert at 1 PM. I bolted up and was ready to sprint to the room right then. We did down a few more bites of food, then went back to get the rig. Thankfully, there was a boat right there, and we were on the island by 12:20 or so.
I headed right for the booth, and looked for a place to set up. I asked one of the sound guys and he suggested setting up next to a tree next to the tent, saying nobody would mess with it there, and it was dead center. It was a nice idea, but at the height I was running, the mics would be in the tree
I decided to set up at the back corner of the soundboard tent. Had things all ready to go in plenty of time. On the boat over, I realized I left my UEs in my backpack -- thankfully, my girlfriend was able to borrow someone's earbuds so I could check levels. Started rolling, and let it be. (I did bring levels down a bit too much, though -- fixing that now). Our towels were about 10 feet away, and I had no problem leaving the rig -- I could see it perfectly, and nobody was messing with it. They were also able to walk around it -- one of the advantages of a daylight concert. I had also attached a CNN luggage tag that I picked up when CNN sent some swag to our newsroom -- figured that couldn't hurt
For the first 30 mins of the show or so, I was very confident my rig was safe -- Coran Capshaw was standing right there. Tore down at the end of the show, and that was that. Not a bad day...
Big thanks to Crumbo for the windscreens -- huge help there. My little ones would have been no match for the island breezes...
Once I can get GIMP to work (or use something else to shrink my photos), I'll post the link to my Rig Pictures thread. Quite a few nice pics of my mics among palm trees, as well as some other photos that are nice. Gotta watch what I post though, so the thread doesn't wind up in The Sewer