Well, what do you know? Another month has flown by, so it must be time to put finger to keyboard again!
Fantastic gig at The Old Ship Inn on Saturday - Jed was back home, at least 2 birthdays to celebrate - who could ask for more?!
It was absolutely bloody boiling in the pub (and that was without the fires being lit!) - Hugh was so hot, he was complaining he had only had one pee - which for a man of his age, is a miracle!
Paul's shirt resembled a very damp dishcloth by the end of the evening, and Dave's wasn't much better (in fact it might have been worse!) - but a great time was had by all. The pub was absolutely rammed, and we ended up doing 2 and a half sets - it was about 1:00am when we finally finished, and I think that only happened because Matt was about to fry eggs on the top of the bass amp, it was that hot! Hopefully, Gordon took some good photos, and we'll post them on here if he ever sends them!
Another new song added - Pretty Vegas by INXS (new line up); perhaps not one that people know immediately but, trust me, it will soon become a D&C classic (as Message In A Bottle has already!). We also resurrected China Grove because Dave wants to do it at the wedding on Saturday - that needs a bit more work, but we can practice it again on Thursday.
Yes - we're on the road again twice this week Thursday night at The Jolly Sailor, and then a road trip to Swindon for a big wedding. After that, our next gigs are at the end of September, so we've time for a bit of a rest (maybe!).
So - get yourselves down to The Jolly on Thursday, and start the weekend in style - after all, summer has gone, so you've got to do something to while away the weeks till Christmas!
Monday, 1 September 2008
Saturday, 2 August 2008
A NICE DAY FOR A WHITE WEDDING!!
Having survived a raucous evening at The Jolly Sailor on Thursday, we've go our best bib and tucker on for Tom & Fran's wedding reception, this evening! Went down and checked the venue this morning, and the setting is just fantastic, sleepy little Cheshire village, with a marquee in the garden, and everything set up for a great day - let's just hope the weather holds!
Took the opportunity on Thursday to baptise a new song - "Message In A Bottle" made it's bow, and worked so well, we did it twice! As we'd only actually played it twice before in practice, this was quite remarkable (as Barry Norman used to say!) - a fine mix of reggae and rock, thanks to Messrs Thompson, Smith and Johnson!
Had some disappointing news last week in that, due to complaints about noise, problems with shuttle buses etc., the Mind, Body & Boogie event has had to be slimmed down, and we are one of the many turns that have been "bounced" off the menu! Aside from this probably being the wrong decision for the benefit of the punters, it's really disappointing that some small-minded people and associated bureaucrats, have sabotaged an event which, as well as being great fun for the performers and the audiences, actually did a great service to the community by raising funds for Mental Health - something which tends to get forgotten and, since the advent of "Care in the Community" (which is actually a euphemism for turning sick people out on the streets!), appears to be becoming more of a problem. Well, maybe next year common sense will prevail, and the mental health of the people who have conspired to wreck the best intentions of the organisers, will have improved, so that the event can go ahead again in all it's glory! Rant over!!
Anyway, every cloud has a silver lining, and we have replaced the M,B &B gig with a return to the Old Ship Inn on Becch Lane. Happily, Jed is now home from hospital, and it will be great to play there under happier circumstances than when we last appeared in March.
A couple of other gigs have also been added:
- Saturday 11 October at the Broken Cross Institute Beer Festival, just outside Macclesfield. Don't have much more info about this - but I'm sure there will be some fine Storm Brewing ales to be sampled!
- Friday 21 November, at The Hollins on Black Road in Macclesfield. This pub is fast becoming the place to be seen at the weekend, and they are great promoters of live music. Check out their Facebook group (THE.HOLLINS MACCLESFIELD).
More about both these gigs nearer the time.
Took the opportunity on Thursday to baptise a new song - "Message In A Bottle" made it's bow, and worked so well, we did it twice! As we'd only actually played it twice before in practice, this was quite remarkable (as Barry Norman used to say!) - a fine mix of reggae and rock, thanks to Messrs Thompson, Smith and Johnson!
Had some disappointing news last week in that, due to complaints about noise, problems with shuttle buses etc., the Mind, Body & Boogie event has had to be slimmed down, and we are one of the many turns that have been "bounced" off the menu! Aside from this probably being the wrong decision for the benefit of the punters, it's really disappointing that some small-minded people and associated bureaucrats, have sabotaged an event which, as well as being great fun for the performers and the audiences, actually did a great service to the community by raising funds for Mental Health - something which tends to get forgotten and, since the advent of "Care in the Community" (which is actually a euphemism for turning sick people out on the streets!), appears to be becoming more of a problem. Well, maybe next year common sense will prevail, and the mental health of the people who have conspired to wreck the best intentions of the organisers, will have improved, so that the event can go ahead again in all it's glory! Rant over!!
Anyway, every cloud has a silver lining, and we have replaced the M,B &B gig with a return to the Old Ship Inn on Becch Lane. Happily, Jed is now home from hospital, and it will be great to play there under happier circumstances than when we last appeared in March.
A couple of other gigs have also been added:
- Saturday 11 October at the Broken Cross Institute Beer Festival, just outside Macclesfield. Don't have much more info about this - but I'm sure there will be some fine Storm Brewing ales to be sampled!
- Friday 21 November, at The Hollins on Black Road in Macclesfield. This pub is fast becoming the place to be seen at the weekend, and they are great promoters of live music. Check out their Facebook group (THE.HOLLINS MACCLESFIELD).
More about both these gigs nearer the time.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
A LOT TO CATCH UP ON!!
Well - a lot has happened since the last post - Frank's last 2 gigs (Congleton Beer Festival and Brian's Bristol Birthday Bash) and a welcome return to The Bruce, so let's take them one at a time!
The Congleton Beer Fest was as good, if not better than last year (the weather was certainly better!) and, although Andy wasn't with us, we managed to get the marquee rocking again, and everyone had a great time! Steve Shuttleworth from the Round Table was round and about with his camera the whole evening, and captured the ambience of the whole event - click on the link below to see his Flickr album (when the album opens, click on the "Slideshow" icon at the top right, to see the photos more easily) - there's not only photos of us, but of all the Congolians enjoying themselves!
Congleton Beer Festival photos
And so to Bristol!! On Saturday 5 July, the band de-camped to Wooton-under-Edge to play at a joint birthday party for 7 people ranging in age from 21 to 60! The venue was the "farmstead" of Brian and Pat and, although the weather was fairly kind throughout the day, and allowed the band gear to be set up in the barn, and several gazebos to be erected to protect the crowd, from about 5 in the afternoon, the heavens opened, and by 8:00pm there was a river flowing through the "dance floor"! However, we did not let this deter us, and we'd like to think that we made a pretty decent fist of entertaining 120 odd people for the night - in fact, we went on at 8:15pm and (with a couple of beer breaks in between) played until 12:45 in the morning - eventually had to stop because Paul was hoarse (and we'd run out of songs anyway!).
Here's some photos (some are a bit blurred - but, then, so were we by the end of the night!) - again, click on the Slideshow icon to see the whole lot more easily
Brian's birthday bash photos
Chrissie, Frank, Matt,Dave and Andy stayed under canvas overnight, and did look a bit bedraggled in the morning (Paul and Hugh got the short straws and had to sleep in beds in the house!), but the bacon butties cooked on barbecues the following morning (washed down with beer!) did help a little bit - and it had stopped raining by then (just)!
Finally, a return to The Bruce on Saturday 12 July, and the first gig without Frank. A bit of sphincter twitching to start with (not helped by there only being about 5 people in the pub when we started!). However, we got warmed up, more people came in, and if the neighbours hadn't complained and forced us to stop at 11:30, I think we would have still been going at Sunday lunchtime!
So now we have a couple of weeks to re-group before the next gig at the Jolly Sailor on Thursday 31 July. We are going to take the opportunity to look at some new numbers, and maybe play around with the line-up - Matt fancies trying his hand on lead guitar, and Dave fancies trying the bass for a new numbers - so let's see what happens!
New gigs have been added to the list on the right hand side, so check them out, and we hope to see you at one or more of them (we'll also send some Facebook invitations out - how cool is that?!)
The Congleton Beer Fest was as good, if not better than last year (the weather was certainly better!) and, although Andy wasn't with us, we managed to get the marquee rocking again, and everyone had a great time! Steve Shuttleworth from the Round Table was round and about with his camera the whole evening, and captured the ambience of the whole event - click on the link below to see his Flickr album (when the album opens, click on the "Slideshow" icon at the top right, to see the photos more easily) - there's not only photos of us, but of all the Congolians enjoying themselves!
Congleton Beer Festival photos
And so to Bristol!! On Saturday 5 July, the band de-camped to Wooton-under-Edge to play at a joint birthday party for 7 people ranging in age from 21 to 60! The venue was the "farmstead" of Brian and Pat and, although the weather was fairly kind throughout the day, and allowed the band gear to be set up in the barn, and several gazebos to be erected to protect the crowd, from about 5 in the afternoon, the heavens opened, and by 8:00pm there was a river flowing through the "dance floor"! However, we did not let this deter us, and we'd like to think that we made a pretty decent fist of entertaining 120 odd people for the night - in fact, we went on at 8:15pm and (with a couple of beer breaks in between) played until 12:45 in the morning - eventually had to stop because Paul was hoarse (and we'd run out of songs anyway!).
Here's some photos (some are a bit blurred - but, then, so were we by the end of the night!) - again, click on the Slideshow icon to see the whole lot more easily
Brian's birthday bash photos
Chrissie, Frank, Matt,Dave and Andy stayed under canvas overnight, and did look a bit bedraggled in the morning (Paul and Hugh got the short straws and had to sleep in beds in the house!), but the bacon butties cooked on barbecues the following morning (washed down with beer!) did help a little bit - and it had stopped raining by then (just)!
Finally, a return to The Bruce on Saturday 12 July, and the first gig without Frank. A bit of sphincter twitching to start with (not helped by there only being about 5 people in the pub when we started!). However, we got warmed up, more people came in, and if the neighbours hadn't complained and forced us to stop at 11:30, I think we would have still been going at Sunday lunchtime!
So now we have a couple of weeks to re-group before the next gig at the Jolly Sailor on Thursday 31 July. We are going to take the opportunity to look at some new numbers, and maybe play around with the line-up - Matt fancies trying his hand on lead guitar, and Dave fancies trying the bass for a new numbers - so let's see what happens!
New gigs have been added to the list on the right hand side, so check them out, and we hope to see you at one or more of them (we'll also send some Facebook invitations out - how cool is that?!)
Saturday, 28 June 2008
WE'RE NEARLY AT OUR WITT'S END!!
Sad news to report today!
After tonight's gig at the Congleton Beer Festival and next week's in Bristol, Frank will be leaving us, as a combination of work and family commitments have made it increasingly difficult for him to fit in time for the band.
We all fully understand why Frank has come to this difficult decision and are 100% behind him - but we'll miss him hugely.
We'll never forget you Frank - just be sure you don't forget us!
If you read this beforehand, get yourselves down the Congleton BF tonight, and give Frank a great send off!!
After tonight's gig at the Congleton Beer Festival and next week's in Bristol, Frank will be leaving us, as a combination of work and family commitments have made it increasingly difficult for him to fit in time for the band.
We all fully understand why Frank has come to this difficult decision and are 100% behind him - but we'll miss him hugely.
We'll never forget you Frank - just be sure you don't forget us!
If you read this beforehand, get yourselves down the Congleton BF tonight, and give Frank a great send off!!
Saturday, 7 June 2008
LONG TIME - NO SPEAK!!
Well, it's over a month since we posted any news on here - sorry about that! It's not because nothing has been happening; quite the reverse, it's finding time to sit down and do it, that has been the problem!
Several more gigs are in the pipeline, and they are posted in the list on right hand side of the blog. We're back at the Jolly Sailor on Thursday 19 June but, before that we're doing a Sunday night gig on 15 June at the well known stammerer's pub The Ox-fford (on Oxford Road in Macclesfield), which also happens to be the home of the Macclesfield Quiz League Champions (and there's a bit of trivia in itself!). So, if you're looking to round next weekend off in style, come along for a sing and a boogie! Paul and Hugh are in Wales for the weekend, so let's hope the A55 isn't too crowded on the way home, or it will be a bit of a quiet gig.
The next "big" gig is Congleton Beer Festival on Saturday 28 June - it will be our second year there, and if it's half as good as last year, it will be tremendous. A bit of rivalry developing between the Macc BF crowd and the Congleton BF crowd to see who can sing loudest - all I can say is that the Congolians will have to go some to beat the crowd at this year's Macc shindig - they were fantastic on both nights!
As Andy has a family commitment on that night, we are delighted to have Paul Hambley making a return guest appearance with us - Paul played when we entertained the Congleton Round Table and Ladies Circle, so he's becoming a bit of a Beartown regular - anyway, it should be a good night (let's hope the weather is kinder than last year!) and, as it's my birthday on that day, I certainly intend to enjoy myself and try to defy the advancing years for a bit longer!
We're also returning to another old haunt on Saturday 12 July when we play at the Bruce Arms on Crompton Road, this will be our first time since New Year's Eve, so it will be good to go back, and see the old friends
Saturday, 10 May 2008
ONE DOWN - ONE TO GO!
Well, here we sit on Saturday afternoon - fresh from the lunch time session at the Beer Festival, and reflecting on last night's proceedings; and I have to say - it was pretty damn good!
The sun shone during the day, so it was a pretty balmy (or is it barmy?) night - the Beavers came on at around 8:30, with about half the assembled gathering outside the marquee, which was not the best of situations! However, they did their normal good job of getting the crowd going with their mix of soul and R&B classics, so by 10:00pm everybody was nicely primed!
We had a slight hiccup in that Frank decided (at 10:10pm) to go to the toilet, change his shirt and tune up, which delayed us by about another 5 minutes (he's only had half an hour to do this!), but once we ripped into "Johnny B Goode" and "Summer of 69" the crowd were putty in our hands!
The set seemed to go down pretty well - our really new number "Whole Lotta Rosie" was brilliantly received, and Chrissie's performance really settled her nerves (her knees were actually shaking when she went on!).
So, all in all, a fantastic night, and we're looking forward to this evening - we're on at 8:15pm, so will be sending security out to drag people in from outside, or doing a rain dance! Once we are off at 9:45, we can relax and really enjoy the beer - assuming there is any left!
If you read this, and you've not got a ticket - there's still some left, so get to one of the outlets and get down there for a brilliant night - and it's all for charity!
The sun shone during the day, so it was a pretty balmy (or is it barmy?) night - the Beavers came on at around 8:30, with about half the assembled gathering outside the marquee, which was not the best of situations! However, they did their normal good job of getting the crowd going with their mix of soul and R&B classics, so by 10:00pm everybody was nicely primed!
We had a slight hiccup in that Frank decided (at 10:10pm) to go to the toilet, change his shirt and tune up, which delayed us by about another 5 minutes (he's only had half an hour to do this!), but once we ripped into "Johnny B Goode" and "Summer of 69" the crowd were putty in our hands!
The set seemed to go down pretty well - our really new number "Whole Lotta Rosie" was brilliantly received, and Chrissie's performance really settled her nerves (her knees were actually shaking when she went on!).
So, all in all, a fantastic night, and we're looking forward to this evening - we're on at 8:15pm, so will be sending security out to drag people in from outside, or doing a rain dance! Once we are off at 9:45, we can relax and really enjoy the beer - assuming there is any left!
If you read this, and you've not got a ticket - there's still some left, so get to one of the outlets and get down there for a brilliant night - and it's all for charity!
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
FRIDAY IS A SELL-OUT!!
Well, you can't say we didn't warn you! If you check the Macclesfield Beer Festival website you'll find a line in bright red type that tells you that all tickets for Friday night have now been sold, so we know there will be over 1200 sweaty bodies enjoying themselves that night! I've never known this to happen nearly a week in advance, but there you go - must be something to do with the quality of music on offer!
Link to Macc Beer Fest website
Anyway, still tickets available for Saturday, and we'll be there - us and the Beavers will be swapping round for that night, with us doing the "warm up" for them (as they are kindly doing for us on Friday) - should be just as good a night so, if you haven't got your tickets for Friday, get them for Saturday or you'll be left sitting outside listening through the canvas with a can of Fosters in your hand!
As I write, we are putting the finishing touches to our 2 sets (we're doing slightly different ones on Friday and Saturday, because we're on at different times); we rehearsed last night, and will be doing another hour or so tonight, so that we've rubbed the rust off some of the old faithfuls!
Looking forward to seeing all our old friends - and maybe some new ones, over the weekend - some of us will even be there for the Saturday lunchtime session!
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