WAS IT SOMETHING WE SAID.......?

Well, what a difference a week makes!!

We came off the back of last week's gig flying as high as it's just about possible to fly, and then the week went from bad to worse! Bear with me, dear reader, while I share the collective woes of Dazed & Confused with you:
1. Sunday evening - made contact with Matt Johnson, whose body had arrived back in Blighty, but whose mind was somewhere between Bangkok, the Mekong Delta and Duke's Court Macclesfield! Brought Matt up to speed with the 2 cracking gigs that had happened in his absence, hoping that he would not take it personally, and confirmed with him that he was OK to practice on Thursday and play the gig on Saturday (knowing full well that he would have to be reminded at least one more time once his body and mind had been re-introduced to each other!)
2. Wednesday - brought the gig list up to date ready to check that everyone was OK to do them (including the triumphant return the Windmill, that had hastily been plugged in for Feb 27th!)
3. Thursday morning - got a text from Matt Rose to say he was just being measured for his coffin because the flu had got him, and he wouldn't be able to practice that evening because dying would probably take priority! However, he was still confident he would be fit for Saturday - needed because Dave was escaping to Lincoln (a very shrewd move, as it turned out - see below!)
4. Thursday evening - practiced in the freezing cold (the Brewery is having a new wall fitted, as the previous one had started to march towards Macc town centre!) - not very productive, and also found that half the proposed gigs had changed or were not going to happen - including the Windmill one, because they now had a party on that night!
5. Saturday morning - text from Matt Rose - he hadn't died yet, but was still polishing his wings and harp, and would not be able to play the gig!! Mass panic, followed by calmness, when we realised that of course the remaining 5 of us would be able to carry it off - just a matter of playing and singing louder!
6. Saturday evening - I was still buoyed up by City's win against Wigan (it was quite a pleasant afternoon, all round, actually!), but felt more like a kip when I got home - then found that Chrissie, Matt J and Andy had all been over-celebrating the night before, so none of them were at peak either! Then, the rain and wind started so we got p**s wet through loading and unloading the van (it was Matt's turn in the back this week - that'll teach him to go on holiday!)! We got a lively reception from the locals when we arrived - especially as we had to throw them off the dartboard so we could set up (we did check they'd put the darts down first!) There then followed some lively exchanges which revolved around them wanting us to play the whole of the Kings of Leon back catalogue or, alternatively, for them to do that with us! We disabused them of both these suggestions, so they resorted to trying to get off with Chrissie (brave men indeed!)

On to the gig itself! We were billed up to start at 8:30 but, because many of the locals that had fruitlessly tried to get the better of our verbal exchanges had gone off to the Dog & Partridge (they did suggest we picked up our gear and came with them, because it would be packed!), we decided to wait until around 9:15 to give more people a chance to arrive. This did, in fact, happen - to the tune of our wives and Hugh's brother and sister in law!! So, we kicked off Set 1 with a total of about 15 people in the pub and, during the course of the evening this number fluctuated between about 10 and 20, as we drove some away, and enticed others in! We've been encouraged to throw some Killers numbers in (and it may even happen!) but, I'm sure if we'd done that last night, we'd have driven even family and friends away! Special mention for Iain Wilkie - a stalwart supporter, who happened to be in Bollington (not knowing we were playing) but responding to a text from Chrissie, he arrived for the second set, and even did his famous wobble dance on his own to "Bohemian Like You" - thanks Iain! Perhaps we should all have texted our friends! Mein host did go to great pains to point out that we played fantastically - just a shame that very few others were able to verify that claim!
So now we have a few weeks off to recover from the shock of last night before the next gig (21 Feb at The Nag's Head) - plenty of time to polish up some new numbers (and hit the Facebook advertising hoardings)!

WELL - WHAT A WAY TO START THE NEW YEAR!

Last night saw the tour bus (i.e. the dirty white brewery van!) eventually pull up outside the Windmill Inn at Whiteley Green. Now this place isn't too far from the centre of Macclesfield, but when you spend the 10 minutes or so that it takes bouncing around in the pitch black that is the back of said van, it seems a VERY long way. This is what Paul and Matt had to endure, with only the light of their mobile phones saving them from being impaled or crushed by various bits of gear! Thanks Hugh - just don't drive like that on your test!

Anyway - to the gig itself, and what can we say?? Friday was the second night in a series of 3 to celebrate the Windmill's "Local Ale Sale" - the star attraction (apart from us) being 9 of Storm Brewing's best beers. We were hoping that the double incentive might encourage a few punters, but it's fair to say that none of us anticipated just how many people would be there! By the time we kicked off at 8:30 (early for us!), there must have been close to 200 people in the pub, all eating and drinking as if their lives depended on it which, if you think about it, I suppose they did!

We kicked off with the usual "slower" stuff and, by the time we'd got through Moondance (done with feeling, of course!), the crowd were putty in our hands! The rest of the 2 sets went off tremendously, and everyone was extremely complimentary about what they experienced - by the end of the evening I think they were as damp as I was (and that was extremely damp, I can assure you!) Thanks to everyone who turned up, especially on such a cold night and to a pub that is not really on the main drag - we did say that if the people who came because they'd heard the band were on hadn't turned up, there would have probably have only been about 20 in the place, but maybe that's just our egos talking! The Windmill have said they want us to come back and play again - although the landlady did admit that she was so busy, she had not heard most of the gig - maybe there would have been a different outcome if she had!

So now it's on to The Spinner's in Bollington next Saturday (17 January); we've never played there before either, so more new ground to be broken there! Having lived in Bolly for 2 years in the early 80s, I'm fully expecting a warm welcome - it's not a big venue, so get there early to book your place. Andy's really looking forward to it as well! Unfortunately Dave is not available for the gig but we are hoping that his loss can be covered in 2 ways:
1. Matt Johnson is allowed to return from Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia or wherever it is that he has been over the last few weeks
2. Matt Rose is able to play with us again, this time on acoustic or electric, rather than bass.
Such is the ever changing line up that is Dazed & Confused!

With regard to other gigs, in addition to the Macc Beer Festival noted in the last post, we're provisionally booked again for Congleton Beer Festival on 27 June (I need to check they didn't change their mind when they sobered up!), and we will also be making our first appearance at the hotbed of Macc rock music that is The Nag's Head in Water's Green on Saturday 21 February. They have some real class acts there, so we will need to be on top blob for that one - and, again all support will be welcome!

STOP PRESS - MACCLESFIELD BEER FESTIVAL CONFIRMED!!

It's only January, but the wires are humming with more calls than Mark Hughes' phone!
Just had confirmation that we're booked to play Macclesfield Beer Festival on Friday & Saturday 8 & 9 May.
This will be the 4th consecutive year that we have played the Festival, which must be some sort of record, and the format will be as last year i.e. the Screaming Beavers supporting us on the Friday, and us doing the honours for them on the Saturday.
Obviously, there will be more information nearer the time, but scratch it into your diaries while they are still new, and you can find them!

FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE WINDMILL!!

Well, that's the end of one set of festivities - time to think about the next set and, for us, that means Friday night at The Windmill at Whiteley Green - a beer festival featuring at least 9 wonderful Storm Brewing beers, and the mighty Dazed & Confused - who could ask for more (don't answer that!)??

I'm guessing we'll be on around 9:00-ish, but the fun starts before that, so feel free to arrive, sample the goods, and myabe even have a bite to eat beforehand - a link to their website is attached(for those who have not ventured out into the wilds of Adlington before!) Link to Windmill web and a map to help you get there

We will have Matt Rose on bass with us again but, apart from that, it's the usual line-up - fresh and re-invigorated after a nice long Chistmas rest - oh, and a week at work :-((