BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!

Dear reader - so sorry for the delay in placing this report - access to computers has been at a premium over the last couple of weeks - in fact I've missed a number of things - except the rain, of course!!
The gig at the Nag's was another great night - as usual there was a late start,which enabled the band to get fed and watered beforehand, and the crowd to gather. Andy did the set list again and, for some reason left out heavy rock numbers like Moondance and Ticket to Ride - can't think why! We did toy with the idea of including our Michael Jackson tribute (Beat It) for the first time but, as Paul and Chrissie had both failed to master the lyrics by the night, discretion got the better of valour and we went with Hey Joe instead (not a lot of difference!).
By the time we went on for the second set at 11:15 the place was jumping again, and by the time we came off at 12:45, the crowd were almost as sweaty as us (although it had thinned out a bit, probably as people caught their boats home!). By the time we had wrapped up, it was about 1:40 and the rainy walk up Buxton Road, although not very rock and roll, was actually quite pleasant!
So, we are on our summer break at the moment, and we kick off again in September with a possible private gig at the Windmill on the 5th and then a debut appearance on Saturday 12 September at Porters (The Prince of Wales) on Roe Street in Macclesfield. In fact, I think it's probably the first time any band has played there, so we're hoping for a bumper crowd to celebrate this.
We'll be looking to put several more gigs in for the Autumn and Winter, so keep checking the gig list on the right hand side of this page and, of course, we will be using the medium of Facebook to advertise our whereabouts as well - so if you are a Facebookie keep your eyes skinned!

AT LEAST THEY HAVE SPELT US RIGHT THIS TIME!!

Next Saturday, Nag's Head - it was February when we played there last and it's difficult to believe that 5 months have gone - but they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and, although I don't always believe it myself, we will put it to the test on Saturday!

What is good is that the NH have spelt our name right on the board outside the pub (those of you with good memories will recall that we were Daze and Conused last time out!), although we do seem to be in a slightly smaller font than some of the others!

Whatever, we are looking forward to playing the Nag's again - last time was a complete blast and, although many of our Facebook pals have not yet said they are coming (playing hard to get, I think!) we are expecting a great crowd to turn out - Paul's sister is coming over from Doncaster with Andy, who is a rock god in his own right, so no pressure!

The last week has seen us recovering from Andy's party, practising on Wednesday night and then playing at Omar & Laura's wedding on Friday night. This event took place at Sandhole Farm near Congleton, and a more perfect setting would be difficult to find. The venue was checked out a few weeks ago, and that was really nice, and the ambience, crowd participation and general bonhomie on Friday was magnificent! The fact that we were able to finish at 11:10pm to allow Andy to make a quick exit for his "civil partnership" appointment in Ipswich was an added bonus (not his, oh it's difficult to explain here!)

So, we will be in full force next Saturday, and then it's a break over the rest of July and August while we have some holiday (not Dave of course!) - we will all try to keep in touch, cos it's not nice to be away from friends!

THE ROCK GOD IS 40!!

Big night tonight - cos it's Andy's 4oth Birthday Party! Yes his age has finally caught up with his hair, and we'll be celebrating it in style!

It's to be hoped that, having reached this estimable age, Andy will now realise that he's supposed to go to bed before 3:00am on at least some days of the week, if he intends to reach 50 (which he probably doesn't!) - live fast, die young is his motto (well, middle aged!).

Last weekend saw us out on the road twice - Friday night at AstraZeneca to bid farewell to a group of folks who are moving on to pastures new, and Saturday night at the Congleton Beer Festival.

Friday was a good night, even if the first set felt like we were playing to people in the next county, as everyone was gathered round the bar! However, a few brave ladies eventually led the gathering to the tables, and there were even people dancing by the end! Sex on Fire and Ever Fallen in Love got their baptisms at the gig and seemed to go down well! Apparently Dave is a dead ringer for Louis Walsh as well - who would have thought it!

So, on to Saturday, and the Congleton BF. Seasoned readers of this twaddle will know that this was the 3rd year we'd been asked to play, and it is always fun - this year turned out to be no different, for a number of reasons!

When we arrived, Nigel (the beer man) said he was convinced that the beer would run out because, due to the nice weather, they had 500 people turn up for the afternoon session, all of them drinking for England! Nigel's view was that, if they ran out it was fine, but we were a bit concerned that, if it ran dry at 9:00pm, it would make for a very quiet second set for us!

However, all worked out well - the beer lasted till the end, the crowd became more and more friendly! Once the punters realised that there wasn't a crocodile infested pond between them and us, the madness began and the night finished on a real high with 3 encores (Delilah almost bringing the marquee down!)!

As ever, the evening was not without its comic moments, the supreme one (in addition to Paul falling all over the stage when he tried to jump on it!) was when an esteemed Round Tabler approached the stage, just as we were building to our big finish, and asked if he could read the raffle prize winners out! Of course, we obliged, thinking it would only be a couple - 21 prizes later he left the stage - we were fully expecting the bingo caller to appear next! It was a bit like coitus interruptus (I believe!)!!

We're expecting some photos from the BF to be posted on Flickr anytime and, when they are, we will post a link on here; in the meantime, here's a link to some video clips from the gig at the Windmill in May - they are only short, but Pete Robinson did a sterling job, and there may be some more from the Nag's Head gig later in the month (more on that to come soon).

Next gig is a wedding next Friday - let's hope the weather's nice again, and we've even had 2 bookings for next April - good God!