PEOPLE HAVING FUN!!

Many thanks to Pete Banks for posting some pics from The Windmill on our Dazed & Confused Massive Facebook page - posting them here as well just to prove that we weren't making up the bit about dancing on the tables etc.!


Shades of The Ship! Hope Alison didn't bang her head!


We lose most of our tambourines this way!


That's the tables take a bit of a hammering now!

3 previous band members in the background (Frank, Paul G and Paul H) wondering why this level of mayhem never used to happen!

Now that's better - much more sedate!

...and this is what caused it all!

Playing a wedding on Saturday, and then it goes quiet until Friday 4 March at Porter's in Macclesfield - we'll be ready for that, and hope you are too!

WHAT A WAY TO START THE YEAR!!!

The first gig of the year is supposed to be a nice gentle introduction to what might yet be to come - after all the festivities, it's always good to slide into January without too much noise and disturbance - little did we know!!!

Star Date, Friday 7 January 2011 8:00pm - the dirty white tour van pulls into the car park of the Windmill to find there are absolutely no parking spaces whatsoever - the whole place is jam-packed with cars!! What the hell is going on?? Maybe it's 200 ramblers that went out at lunchtime, got lost, and have not yet returned? Maybe it's the Annual General Meeting of the Adlington Dogging Society? Maybe it's something else??

But no, the pub was actually cram jam full of people eating, drinking and generally enjoying themselves ("we'll soon put a stop to that", we thought!), approximately 200 maybe, so no pressure then! Some of them were even shoe-horned into the space where we were supposed to set up, so you can imagine how happy they were when we asked them to move, and shifted their table outside!

Now, this number of people in a venue before we even start poses a number of challenges:

• Are they expecting a band, and will they mind their quiet evening meal being disturbed?
• How the hell do we get our stuff in, and do a sound check without tipping food and drink all over the place, while we try and erect speakers and string cables around the place?
• Will they all still be here when we start playing, or are they on an early shift, so they can get home and finish watching Christmas catch-up TV?

Whatever, we pressed on, set up the gear and, although it was a bit of tight squeeze (remember, there were 6 of us this time, and we weren't used to that!), we were just about ready to play by 9:15pm. We had realised by then that the size of the crowd was due in no small measure to the fact that Becca, the landlady, was having her "farewell do" (not her birthday, as originally thought), and loads of people had come to see her off in style. It was also the opening night of the Windmill's annual "Local Ale Sale" which had drawn many diehard fans of proper beer (especially Storm Brewing's best!) in.

Heartened by the fact that nobody had disappeared in the intervening period, we cracked on and, in addition to having people up and bopping during the first set, we were treated to an amazing display of dancing, singing and general mayhem during the second! Once again, there were people up on shoulders, tables, chairs and anything else that was vaguely fixed to the floor! We did have a bit of a turn when we were asked to go on for the second set at 10:30 and finish at 11:00(!), but we soon persuaded the new landlady, Abby, to let us play until 11:30 (we actually finished at 11:50!), so all was good! I'm hoping that someone has some pics they can send us to post on here, because it was yet another memorable night, and words alone can't do it justice; so, if you're reading this, and have some photos, e-mail them to the address on the right hand side of the blog, and we'll post them (or post them to the "Dazed and Confused Massive" Facebook page).

So, 2011 is well and truly under way, and we are out and about again this weekend, playing a private party in Marple tomorrow night, after which there is a band get-together at Paul's on Sunday - which I'm sure will be a quiet and subdued affair (just like the Band on a Boat event last summer)!!

New gigs are cropping up all the time, and are being posted on the right ------------->
next public gig looks like Friday 4 March at Porter's on Roe Street in Macclesfield - the delay being due to holidays (not Dave this time!), so put it in your diary, because we know you'll be having withdrawal symptoms by then!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR - THE SAILOR RETURNS, AND A MYSTERY SOLVED!!

So here we are again - we've stepped out of the old black tour bus that was 2010, and into the rock arena that calls itself 2011 - I think we are relatively un-scarred by the festivities just passed, and we hope you are too, and can I be the last (but probably not!) to wish you all a Very Happy New Year! We met some fabulous folks and played some great gigs in 2010 (about 25 I make it), and thanks to everyone who took the time to come and see us - a lot of you on many occasions! We know that, although we have a great time, without you, it wouldn't be half as much fun, and we're grateful for your continuing support! We're really looking forward to more of the same this year, and I'll spill the beans about where it all kicks off in a little while.

Before all that, just a quick word about our last gig of 2010 - at our happy hunting ground of The Ship! You may remember, that we played a wondrous gig there in early November and, while it was expecting a lot for the Christmas gig to match it, it did turn out to be a fantastic night! The snow held off (mostly), although Pete Munro did manage to measure his length outside the pub at the end of the night - it was nothing to do with the drink, he said, but it was fortunate that he had taken enough anaesthetic, and so was feeling no pain by the time he landed! Nothing broken, fortunately (which is more than can be said for others who did the same earlier in the month!), and Pete did say he had enjoyed the gig, in spite of that! The pub was packed again, and everyone seemed to have a great time - and it felt really Christmassy! Paul's throat just about managed to survive the evening (which was a major surprise in itself!), probably due, in no samll part, to the chemist's shop he had lined up alongside the beer (VocalZones, honey & hot lemon, inhalers - the works!). We even managed to deliver the THREE new songs we promised - "It's My Life" (twice!) by Bon By Jovi, T-Rex's "20th Century Boy" and "Getting Away With It" by James; they need a bit of polishing, obviously, but seemed to work well, and will undoubtedly see the light of day again!


We were a fivesome at the Ship for about the 6th time in a row, but Captain Birdseye (Dave) has returned from his Atlantic jaunt and will be with us for our next gig (unless he's decided to go on another voyage!) which is this coming Friday, 7 January. You will see it is billed as being a "Mystery" gig, but it's time to put you all out of your misery - cos we don't want to be playing to a completely empty pub do we?! The madness will be happening at The Windmill in Whitely Green (near Adlington), which has more or less become our traditional opening gig of the year, as we've played there the last 2 Januarys as well. The reason it wasn't billed up before is that it is a birthday bash for Becca, the landlady, and she said that she was worried because we attract so many punters when we play there, and she might end up having to work instead of enjoy herself!! So, we have kept it under out hats for a bit, but now is the time to put the word around; if you fancy a bite to eat, and some good beer (assuming you've got any money left after Christmas!), not to mention a chance to join in with all the old familiar tomfoolery, get yourself down to The Windmill, and savour the opportunity to see a "full strength" D&C!