HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO OUR ROMANIAN FRIENDS!!

You may be wondering about the title of this post, so let me explain. One of the little gizmos, that come with the Blogger tool that is used to create these literary gems, is a tracker that allows you to see how many times the blog is accessed, which posts are most "popular" (stretching the meaning of that word there!) and, surprisingly, where our readers are based. Unsurprisingly, the majority come from the UK but, in addition to a healthy band of followers in the USA, Netherlands and Germany, there have been 36 people accessing the blog from Romania!! This being the case, it's only right and proper to wish them a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (or more accurately Crăciun fericit şi un An Nou Fericit!).

On which note, we roll on to the bin ends of 2011; just 4 days until the Big Ho Ho Ho, and only 11 until we kiss goodbye to the whole year! now, I don't know about you lot, but this year has just shot by - so much has happened that I'm really not too sure how it's all been fitted in. For D&C there has been the usual pot pourri of gigs, holidays, illnesses, fallings out etc., but it's been another fantastic year, and we've had a great time - not least because of the fabulous people (old friends and new) that we have met over the year, and this theme continued at Fizz's birthday party in Hertfordshire last weekend. Fizz & Tim live in a big house in Hertfordshire, and have wanted us to play for them ever since they saw us play at a wedding in a Welsh Castle 2 years ago - and they eventually got us. However, as you might expect with our band, nothing was completely straightforward! We'd made great plans to leave in plenty of time to arrive at F&T's house by 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, but last minute beer deliveries to the Snow Goose & The Ship (who, strangely, had not banked on much being drunk on Friday night!) meant that it was 1:45pm before the dirty white tour bus (i.e. the brewery van) pulled away - of course, the snow and ice, that was around until we hit Nottingham, didn't help either! Anyway. we eventually pulled up in their driveway at 5:00pm, so still had plenty of time to set up, and get back to the hotels for a shower and a couple of pints!

The gig itself was wonderful - even though the 100 or so members of the audience (in the living room, by the way!) were a little "hesitant" in the first set, I said to Hugh that they looked as though they were "poised to spring" (to use a feline analogy)! This certainly proved to be the case - from start to finish of the second set (which lasted a little over 2 hours) the dance floor was full of jumping, singing, dancing, sweating bodies! A human pyramid was built on the dance floor, Fizz gave us her own rendition of "Honky Tonk Women" and it was amazing that the final rousing chorus of "Delilah" didn't cause the plaster to drop off the ceiling!

All in all, a brilliant night and, although there was a hiatus in the morning when Matt's chauffeuse left without him, everyone got home safely. Many thanks to Tim, Fizz, and their guests, for their wonderful hospitality and participation.

So, the last gig of the year beckons and, as you will see from the pic above, as well as the publicity on our Dazed and Confused Massive Facebook page, we're going out with a bang at The Old Ship Inn on Beech Lane. As ever, it promises to be a great night, and it should be a good way to prepare yourselves for the following night's festivities, so get along if you can - the fun starts at 9:00pm.

It just remains for us to wish you all (and your friends and families) a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

I KNOW, I KNOW - HAPPY HALLOWEEN, BONFIRE NIGHT....

...and nearly Happy Christmas!!

It was only when Jane O'Leary accosted me at a "WinterFest" (whatever happened to "ChristmasFest??) event last Friday with the words "You've not done your blog for ages, and I love reading it", that 2 things struck me:

1. It is a really long time since I did this (about 6 weeks, actually!); so long, in fact, that Dave has actually been on holiday and returned, since the last entry!
2. Jane must need some serious help if she enjoys reading this and knows how long it is since it was updated!

Anyways up - no excuses, apart from early onset what do you call it, and the fact that the weeks just seem to fly by, so I will try and rack my brains to recall what has happened since I last put finger to keyboard, and what is coming up - all before I disappear to watch City try and cling onto Champions League football against the Hun!

When we last "spoke", we were about to make a triumphant return to The Old Ship - we did just that and, although it's now just a hazy memory (for a number of reasons!), it was as splendid a night as we have come to expect there. There was plenty of the usual noise, heat and jumping up and down, and I believe plans are afoot to secure another gig there before the end of the year (more of that later).

In the middle of November, we played at the xxth Birthday Party (oh, alright 40th!) of Claire Smith - that's guitarist Andy's better half! It was a fantastic night - people arriving from all over the place, and music/dancing/singing continuing into the wee small hours. I can always tell when it has been a good night - I find it hard to get out of bed in the morning! On this occasion, it was tough, but not so much of a chore, as we went to the Remembrance Parade the following morning - wouldn't miss Micky Jones in his finery for anything (and the "livener" in the Jolly Sailor afterwards helped as well!).

Our last November gig was at The Windmill, where we have played several times before and, as ever, it morphed from a cabaret club atmosphere (because loads of people turn up for a meal beforehand) into a general free for all at the end! Ally Roberts actually brought a mob with her to celebrate her own xxth Birthday Party, and they kept the far end of the pub dancing, as well as the front bit! This gig saw the debut of 4 new songs - Copperhead Road, There's a Guy Works Down t'Chippy, Never Lookin' Back and (by special request of Paparazzi Pete!) Should I Stay or Should I Go? All of them, while needing the usual polish and lyric learning, seemed to go down well, and will, no doubt, remain for some time! We're due back at the Windmill on 6 January for our normal first gig of the year so, if you want to get rid of the first week back at work blues, you could do a lot worse (ignore the tbc in the gig list, I'll get rid of that!).

And so we approach the truly festive season (say it aint so, mama!), and we kick off our contribution with a return to Congolia on Saturday. It's the first time we've crossed the border since June 2009, and we are honoured to do it for some longstanding friends associated with Congleton Ladies Circle (who can ever forget their Ladies Night at the Clonter Opera?!). It's at Congleton Town Hall, but I'm afraid it's a private do, so you'll have to gather outside and listen, if you're not going! The following week, we're on the road - to Hertfordshire! We're playing another xxth Birthday Party - this time at Fizz & Tim's pad, and there promises to be plenty of fun and games, so we're making a weekend of it!

So no public gigs before Christmas, but we are loathe to let the year end without seeing it out in style so, although we can't play on New Year's Eve, we are trying to set a gig up at The Ship on Friday 30 December. Hopefully, this will happen, and we'll keep you posted, either on here or on our "Dazed and Confused Massive" page on Facebook.

It just remains for me to wish you all the very best, as you attack the streets of your various towns, to carry out that tribal activity known euphemistically as "Christmas Shopping" - remember, it's the thought that counts, so if doing that shopping doesn't bear thinking about - you're in trouble!

MILLSTONES, SHIPS, HOLIDAYS AND FOOTBALL!

Good morning all! How is everyone on this fine sunny morning - well I hope?!

Time to update you all on what has (or has not) been going on in the crazy, wacky lives of Dazed & Confused over the couple of weeks since we were last together. Now, I could make this very quick and say "not a lot", but that would be unfair on you - and not strictly true, so here, in a couple of paragraphs-ish, is a quick resume!


Saturday 8 October - finally time for us to rock up at The Old Millstone in Waters Green - it had been a long time coming (over 2 years, as you all know), so it was with not a little trepidation that we approached the gig! As 2 of us had to make a guest appearance at a family birthday party, in Stockport, on the same evening, we arranged with mein host/hostess (Ken & Donna) that we could set up in the afternoon, and then just pitch up and play later on. This was a great plan but, unfortunately, nobody had told the 6 or 7 people playing pool on the tables that were in exactly the same spot as we were intending to play something different! The upshot of this was that we had to lug the equipment into the stage area (which is excellent, by the way!), dump it in a corner, and then bugger off! When I say we, even that's not as straightforward as it might be....Chrissie had already sent her apologies (women's work to do around the house!), Dave was on holiday (yes, really!) and Andy was still in bed, so it was left to Hugh, Paul and Matt to load up the van at the brewery, along with some beer casks that had to be delivered to the Snow Goose after we had set up the gear.. Once this was done, Matt said "it's OK, I'll walk cos it's not far". So, Hugh and Paul arrive at the Millstone, unload the gear, and get back in the van - still no sign of Matt - suddenly, the phone rings "Where are you?" says Matt; "just getting in the van to go to the Snow Goose, where are you?" says us; "I'm just behind the van, I went to the Snow Goose first!" says the tweedy one. Those of you with long memories will recall that Matt actually forgot we were playing a radio session for Canalside a year or so ago, and arrived with minutes to spare, so I guess we shouldn't have been surprised, but even so..........


Anyway, the gig was brilliant - loads of new and old faces there; a great time seemed to be had by all, and Ken & Donna were delighted to have the pub full and rocking. Having checked out a couple of other gigs there before and afterwards, that's not always the case, so many thanks to everyone who came and made it such a good night!


Since the gig, the holiday virus has hit again! Dave is actually back (doesn't go again until early November!), but both Hugh and Chrissie have been soaking up the Spanish sun (and rain) over the last couple of weeks, so we've had no chance to practice, although we are hoping to make a bit of noise later this week, in advance of Saturday's thrash at The Ship - on which note.....


Yes, it's time for us to hit Lucy's gaff again this weekend! It is over 6 months since we were there, but it always seems to be like going home. and it never ceases to amaze me what a good night it always is. Everything just seems to slot into place - great atmosphere, great crowd (who are able to get nice and close!) and great beer so, as ever, we are really looking forward to it - and we will have a full complement of band, which is quite unusual these days! As ever, we hope to see loads of you there - what better way to welcome November - gulp!

Talking of pubs, there are quite a few possible hostelry gigs on the horizon - we've had enquiries from The Wharf (now run by Chris from The Hollins), the Jolly Sailor (our old mate Glyn) andthe aforementioned Snow Goose, so watch this space for more news as and when it surfaces.




Finally, I couldn't close this epistle without a word of consolation for Pete Banks (Paparazzi Pete, as he is better known) and any other United fans that happen to read this! I don't like to intrude on personal grief, and I know it must be a hard week after the humiliation that you suffered on Sunday, but all I can say is that we feel your pain - it has been a long time coming, and you have done it to us City fans many times in the past, so it is only fair! If it's any comfort, at least you'll have time to get used to it - cos it's going to happen on a few more occasions in the future!!

SINGING IN THE HEAT!!

OK - so 3 weeks ago, we posted to say that summer was over, rain till next March etc. etc., and what happens - we only go and get a blinking heatwave don't we?!



Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining - spending the back end of September/front end of October in temperatures of 25+ degrees is perfectly OK by me; however, the White Lion in Disley on a hot and sweaty Friday night is certainly a challenge - even with the big fan!

As usual , the crowd was small, but perfectly formed; it was great to see Andrea, Ally, Ian and Roger there - we really do appreciate you coming all the way out to the wilds of Disley to support us, and we hope you had as good a time as we did.


Ray, the landlord, did us proud - not only did he provide 6 lots of fish and chips for us to eat at 1:00am, but he also lent Paul his suspect t-shirt from last year, after he was told we had a pic of it, and were undecided as to whether it would offend or amuse. After much deliberation, I've decided to let you make your own minds up, so here goes (it's Ray in the photo by the way, not Paul!)........






So, the first leg of our pub mini-tour is put to bed, and the next leg happens next Saturday (8 October) and, as previously trailed, it sees us at The Millstone in Water's Green, Macclesfield. The fair should have buggered off by then, so that's one lot of competition sorted out, and we can easily de-rail whoever's playing at the Nag's Head! As mentioned before, it would be great to see everyone down there, and we will try and go for maximum audience participation (makes it easier on us too!).


Dave is on holiday this week (quite right, I hear you say - he deserves a break!), but we are pushing ahead with practice on Thursday - looking at new songs like "Never Looking Back". "There's a Man Works Down the Chipshop...," "Should I Stay or Should I Go?", "Copperhead Road" etc. etc., so at least some of them should be ready to air in the very near future, if not on Saturday!

Make the most of the sunshine - oh wait, it's p*ssing down! :-((

PS: Just about to pass the 5000 visitor mark for this piece of literary genius - thanks (and apologies!) to everyone who takes the time to read it!

TIME FOR THE AUTUMN PUB MINI-TOUR!!

At last - the time has arrived when we can get back into the sweaty, noisy, smoky arenas that we love! Our next 3 gigs take us to pubs far and wide...well maybe not that far and wide, but you catch my drift! More of that, in a minute, but first, a brief catch-up on happenings since the last post (isn't that something they play on Remembrance Sunday?).

When we last wrote, we were just about to play our 3rd appearance at the Time Out Group Ball and, like the last 2, it did not fail to disappoint. There is a really good atmosphere at these events, because of the way everyone joins in, jumps around, and just generally has fun! Once again, the Patron of the Charity, Annabel Tiffin, was in fine form and both she and her husband John hit the dancefloor for "Teenage Kicks", even though (she said!) she had to be up early for a 10K run in the morning! The high spot, as ever, was Peter's rendition of "Johnny B Goode" which, this year, took pride of place at the start of the second set (as his taxi was coming early!) - here is a picture of him preparing himself for the big event!

Well done Peter - you were brilliant, as ever!

Our next gig was last Saturday - a private party at the Brewery; however, before that, we had a little bit of social business to take care of! As regular readers will know, as well as playing gigs and rehearsing together, we love each other so much, that we even meet up for the occasional meal! Ostensibly, this is to plan future songs, and suchlike, but it's fair to say that it's really just an excuse for a piss up! So, Friday evening saw us pitch up at Chrissie's (all except Dave who, although NOT on holiday, had to attend his daughter's 18th birthday party!), and be royally fed and watered - a veritable feast! Once we were sated, there were the usual photos to be taken - but this time with a difference. See if you can identify who is who from these little gems!:

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and the downright daft, if you ask me!

Anyway, Saturday came around and, despite headaches and trepidation that there might actually be TWO parties booked in for the same night, everything went off really well - a good crowd, who were up for a good time - can't ask for more than that!

Which brings me to our Autumn Pub Mini-Tou! This Friday (30th September) sees us warm up at The White Lion in Disley - a popular venue for us, because there's always a really appreciative crowd - even when there's not many of them! Last year, we helped to celebrate the landlord's birthday - not that he can remember it! I'm still resisting the urge to print a copy of the photo of him in his offensive t-shirt!

The following Saturday (8 October) has us making our debut (2 years later than originally planned!) at The Millstone in Water's Green, Macclesfield. Now this has to be a good night, after being so long in the planning, so put the date in your diaries now, and get down there - not just to support us, but also the new landpeople (Ken & Donna) who are trying to establish it as another fine Macclesfield music venue.

Our mini-tour draws breath after the 3rd gig at The Old Ship Inn on Beech Lane, Macclesfield on Saturday 29 October. It seems like years since we played there, and it will be really good to feel the warmth of a log fire or three again!

That's probably enough to be going on with for now, so we look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it at some, or all of the mini-tour gigs - may even be a couple of new songs to tease (or torture) you with!!

SINGING IN THE RAIN??

So that was Summer was it???

I really hope those of you that got away did manage to get some sun on your backs - as for the rest of us, well just take a peek at the last line of our last post, and tell me that it wasn't Nostradamus-esque in its perspicacity (look that one up!)!! Supposed to be good for the plants, but the number of bloody caterpillars that were chewing on my brassicas after a weekend away gives the lie to that as well! Some of our number have been to exotic climes, e.g. Hugh travelled the full length of the Western US (although even he got rained on in the Grand Canyon!), and Matt went all French and sophisticated (yes, really!) in Paris and the Dordogne! Andy had a holiday in his bathroom, and even smashed his head on something sharp, while Paul & Chrissie just chilled (literally!) - especially at the Bellowhead concert at Gawsworth Hall! Dave, on the other hand, is still on holiday!

Anyways up, enough of that; it's time to get back on the road again, and turn our thoughts to things musical. If you check out the gig list on the right, you will see that, true to our word, we have managed to negotiate a number of public gigs in the next few weeks and, believe me, it will be great to get back amongst the muck and bullets (not to mention the sweat prompted by the 2 fires of The Ship!). You'll see that we kick off our Autumn/Winter term at the Time Out Group Ball this Saturday - this has become an annual event for us, and it's great fun (and does a bit to help the charity); if you care to peruse the blogs from previous years you will get a flavour of how things go, so we're really looking forward to the same on Saturday.

Our first pub gig is at the end of this month (29th), back at The White Lion in Disley, then we pitch up at The Millstone in Macclesfield on Saturday 8 October. You may remember that this has not been our favourite pub, since aprevious landlord told us to bugger off in September 2009 because we hadn't given him any posters - a stance that led to us taking every opportunity to bad mouth him subsequently! However, forgive and forget is what I say so, with the advent of Ken & Donna, we have agreed to give it a go, and we hope that there is a decent turn out to help them in their quest to add another good music venue to the ones that Macclesfield already has. The end of October sees us back at The Old Ship on Beech Lane, and then, towards the end of November, we trek into the wilds of Whiteley Green for a Friday night at The Windmill - we already know there are quite a few people planning to make an evening of this, so why not join in?

So, all of a sudden, it's famine to feast! We had a bit of a practice last week, to get rid of some rust; we're doing the same tonight, and we're hoping that a couple more new songs will surface by the time the pub gigs come round - Hugh has even been persuaded to try "Tainted Love"!!

The Facebook page will also be springing back into life, so check out Dazed and Confused Massive to read gig details, see some photos/vids (courtesy of Paparazzi Pete) and leave comments (only nice ones please!).

Toodle pip!

PARTY, PARTY, PARTY!!

Yes, that's what it seems to be at the moment - lots of private parties, weddings etc., and not many "public" gigs, so we need to put that right (more of that later)!!

Since the last epistle, we have been quite busy, having played the ECH Midnight Walk, a birthday party and a wedding, and another wedding coming up on Friday this week! The Midnight Walk was a great experience and, although it was difficult to get everyone up and jumping around (they were about to walk 10km through the Macclesfield streets, after all!), the energy levels were high, and we got some really good comments. It was quite a sight to see 1000+ people lining up at the start, for such a good cause and, happily everybody returned safely!

We played Glenn Clarke's 60th birthday at the brewery - some of you may know Glenn as the big bear of a driving instructor that inhabits the higher reaches of Buxton Road! The party was a great night, with only 1 hiccup when a group of young lads (who were somewhat the worse for wear, for one reason or another) decided they would like to join the party! The assembled males in the room moved to the door to persuade them otherwise - including Glenn, who was all for throwing them in the River Bollin, but Dave S brought some sanity to the proceedings (he does live there after all), and offered them some inducement to leave (nudge nudge!)

The next week saw us up at the Mykita ballroom for Sue Nicholls' wedding to Tim and, once again, it was a fantastic night - even if we did have to ditch half the set because they wanted us out by 11:45 - at least we had an early night! Good to see some old faces that we'd not seen for some time as well - from AZ and elsewhere! Micky Jones and Annette turned up as well - for their second wedding that day! Not sure how they arrived - one minute they weren't there, the next minute they were - you might think it impossible for Micky to smuggle himself into anywhere, but he managed it that night!!

If you check the gig list, you will see that, in addition to 3 provisional gigs for 2012 already(!), we're starting to fill up the latter end of the year. Three gigs planned for December, including what promises to be a great night down in Hertfordshire! Some friends of Andy and his wife Claire are having a 40th birthday bash, and they've especially asked for us to play, so we're going to make a weekend of it - could be a very nice one, just before Christmas!

As mentioned above, we're also trying to get some pub gigs, because we're getting withdrawal symptoms! In addition to Porter's, to whom we offer our sincere apologies for the mix-up over appearing at the beginning of July, we have also been approached by a couple of other venues - including The Millstone at Water's Green!! You may remember (check the blog from September 2009!) that we had a run-in with a previous landlord, and the Milly has been off our Christmas card list since then! However, Ken & Donna are trying to re-kindle the music nights there, and have asked us to help them which, of course, we would be delighted to do. At the moment, it's looking like Saturday 1 October might be the date so, if you're celebrating anything then, why not join us? So, hopefully, after our August break, there will be a number of pub gigs to give folks the opportunity to join us for a right good knees up!

After Friday's gig, we'll be taking it easy during August, because of holidays etc.; if you are going away, have a great time, if not - enjoy the rain with those of us staying here!