Hello again!
Must be 3 weeks since we were on here, and so there is plenty of news to report! 2 gigs done - and in depth reports follow! Also, some more gigs confirmed - see right hand panel for details. To summarise, we will be on again at the Nag's Head on Saturday 18 July and Saturday 14 November (Prince Charles' birthday, for those who are interested!) at the Millstone in Water's Green, Macc on Saturday 19 September, and a private party for AZ friends on Friday 26 June (nice warm up for the following night at Congleton Beer Festival!).
So, to the recent excursions; we found our way to New Mills on the 14th (no escapades with the scuffers this time, as we took the van and a car, so there were no illegal-types in the back!). We last played at the Beehive a couple of years ago, and it has always been a "challenging" venue because, although we have a nice "stage" to play on, half of it is obscured by a wall, and there is also a plasma screen TV to contend with (although we have learned how to turn this off!). Also, it is difficult to see a lot of the punters because they are hidden behind walls and pillars (and occasionally nip upstairs for a curry!). Anyway, we kicked off with a healthy gang in (including some welcome faces from the White Lion in Disley, where we had played the week before!) and things went well; as the second set progressed, we realised that putting the PA speaker at the back of the stage was not a good idea, as we all gradually got deafer and deafer as the sound reverberated around our enclosed space! However, we go through it, and there were still some people left at the end, so all was not lost.........
Last Friday saw us at the Halliwell Jones stadium in Warrington (home of Warrington Wolves rugby league team!) for the Warrington NHS Trust Awards evening. As ever, the journey there was not without incident!; this time it involved the dirty white van having to do a couple of laps of Warrington town centre, before we found the way in - absolutely no fault of the town - we were just incapable of reading the road signs, and even the huge stadium did not give us a clue as we drove past it! Anyway, we eventually found the entrance to the banqueting suite, and were pleased to note it was on the second floor, with only a 1 person lift serving it - so you can imagine moving the gear up to the venue was a pleasure - and that was only the half of it! Dave went up first, and came down with what can only be described as a "cryptic smirk" on his face, accompanied by the words "well, this is probably a unique layout!" He wasn't wrong - the room was long and thin, with the stage facing the entrance and the people sitting on tables spread out to the left and the right, so that we got cricks in our necks trying to look at the audience!
However, all worked out well, because we were amongst fellow lunatics! The first set was only 30 minutes long (as a precursor to the Awards) and, whether it was because Chrissie's colleagues were in awe of seeing her as they never had before, or whether we were just our normal brilliant selves (probably that!), it went down a storm with loads of dancing and madness! The second set started slowly (due to fag breaks (that's the NHS for you!) photo opportunities etc.) but eventually the crack kicked in, and we had a full dance floor! Plenty of incident - Andy confirming his "rock god" status with several impressionable ladies (they were pissed!) and even one of the said ladies joining us on stage horizontally (she fell over the monitor!). This was OK (even expected!) but the fact that she demolished 2 pints of beer and a pint of water took the edge off her grand entrance!
The beauty of doing an NHS gig was that we saw just how many different groups support us - mental health (very appropriate!), transport and wheelchairs (much needed!) etc., but the high spot for me was spotting the Sexual Health Team table - not only that, but they actually had Ann Summers on the table with them - now you can tell me that was just a coincidence until you are blue in the face, but I will never believe you! So, our latest claim to fame is that we have had a whole Sexual Health Team and Ann Summers dancing to the sound of Dazed & Confused (I did check, but there were no toys left on the table!) Matt thought all his birthdays had come at once! Big bonus was that there was a pro photographer at the gig, so we might even have some new pics to show you - watch this space (or, more accurately, another one in a week or so!)
And, just for fun here are some pictures - just click on the link and then on the slideshow buton (top right)
So we have a bit of a rest, as Paul leaves everyone he loves behind and heads for the US this week (business, not pleasure, unfortunately) - we're back in action on 4 April (private function), and then a few weeks of preparation before it's all guns blazing at the Macclesfield Beer Festival on 8 & 9 May - more of that as we get nearer to the date!
Must be 3 weeks since we were on here, and so there is plenty of news to report! 2 gigs done - and in depth reports follow! Also, some more gigs confirmed - see right hand panel for details. To summarise, we will be on again at the Nag's Head on Saturday 18 July and Saturday 14 November (Prince Charles' birthday, for those who are interested!) at the Millstone in Water's Green, Macc on Saturday 19 September, and a private party for AZ friends on Friday 26 June (nice warm up for the following night at Congleton Beer Festival!).
So, to the recent excursions; we found our way to New Mills on the 14th (no escapades with the scuffers this time, as we took the van and a car, so there were no illegal-types in the back!). We last played at the Beehive a couple of years ago, and it has always been a "challenging" venue because, although we have a nice "stage" to play on, half of it is obscured by a wall, and there is also a plasma screen TV to contend with (although we have learned how to turn this off!). Also, it is difficult to see a lot of the punters because they are hidden behind walls and pillars (and occasionally nip upstairs for a curry!). Anyway, we kicked off with a healthy gang in (including some welcome faces from the White Lion in Disley, where we had played the week before!) and things went well; as the second set progressed, we realised that putting the PA speaker at the back of the stage was not a good idea, as we all gradually got deafer and deafer as the sound reverberated around our enclosed space! However, we go through it, and there were still some people left at the end, so all was not lost.........
Last Friday saw us at the Halliwell Jones stadium in Warrington (home of Warrington Wolves rugby league team!) for the Warrington NHS Trust Awards evening. As ever, the journey there was not without incident!; this time it involved the dirty white van having to do a couple of laps of Warrington town centre, before we found the way in - absolutely no fault of the town - we were just incapable of reading the road signs, and even the huge stadium did not give us a clue as we drove past it! Anyway, we eventually found the entrance to the banqueting suite, and were pleased to note it was on the second floor, with only a 1 person lift serving it - so you can imagine moving the gear up to the venue was a pleasure - and that was only the half of it! Dave went up first, and came down with what can only be described as a "cryptic smirk" on his face, accompanied by the words "well, this is probably a unique layout!" He wasn't wrong - the room was long and thin, with the stage facing the entrance and the people sitting on tables spread out to the left and the right, so that we got cricks in our necks trying to look at the audience!
However, all worked out well, because we were amongst fellow lunatics! The first set was only 30 minutes long (as a precursor to the Awards) and, whether it was because Chrissie's colleagues were in awe of seeing her as they never had before, or whether we were just our normal brilliant selves (probably that!), it went down a storm with loads of dancing and madness! The second set started slowly (due to fag breaks (that's the NHS for you!) photo opportunities etc.) but eventually the crack kicked in, and we had a full dance floor! Plenty of incident - Andy confirming his "rock god" status with several impressionable ladies (they were pissed!) and even one of the said ladies joining us on stage horizontally (she fell over the monitor!). This was OK (even expected!) but the fact that she demolished 2 pints of beer and a pint of water took the edge off her grand entrance!
The beauty of doing an NHS gig was that we saw just how many different groups support us - mental health (very appropriate!), transport and wheelchairs (much needed!) etc., but the high spot for me was spotting the Sexual Health Team table - not only that, but they actually had Ann Summers on the table with them - now you can tell me that was just a coincidence until you are blue in the face, but I will never believe you! So, our latest claim to fame is that we have had a whole Sexual Health Team and Ann Summers dancing to the sound of Dazed & Confused (I did check, but there were no toys left on the table!) Matt thought all his birthdays had come at once! Big bonus was that there was a pro photographer at the gig, so we might even have some new pics to show you - watch this space (or, more accurately, another one in a week or so!)
And, just for fun here are some pictures - just click on the link and then on the slideshow buton (top right)
So we have a bit of a rest, as Paul leaves everyone he loves behind and heads for the US this week (business, not pleasure, unfortunately) - we're back in action on 4 April (private function), and then a few weeks of preparation before it's all guns blazing at the Macclesfield Beer Festival on 8 & 9 May - more of that as we get nearer to the date!
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