IT WAS LIKE WE'D NEVER BEEN GONE!

Well, that was some night!!

Returning to the Macclesfield Beer Festival stage for the first time since 2013, was always going to set the old butterflies going - would we remember the notes/words, would the crowd still be on our side, would we even survive the 90 minute set at our advanced ages?? So many questions.......

As it turned out, we had little, if anything, to worry about; the whole evening went like clockwork - our old friend and ex-bandmate Matt Johnson was there with his sound engineer partner, Rob, to set us up and sound check at 5:30 (which was a first, in our experience - normally we're sound checking when the punters are coming through the tent flaps!). Monkey Harris set us up well, with a great opening set, and we went on stage bang on time. We'd pulled our start time forward by 15 minutes, so that the plug didn't get pulled at 11:30 just as we were building to the proverbial climax, and the first chords were struck at just after 9:45pm. From then on, it was non-stop good time music!!

The crowd were crammed in at the front from the start and, by the time we got to the "business end" of the set, and the strains of "Teenage Kicks", "I Predict A Riot" and "Fire" were ringing round the old marquee, it was just bedlam!! We finished bang on time at 11:30 (having even had time for a quick encore of "Johnny B Goode"), and it was fantastic to hear people wanting even more!

We've had some great feedback since Friday, and we're incredibly grateful to everyone who came and had such a great time. We'll be spending some time in a darkened room to recover - except for Mon, who has gone off to Canada for 3 weeks to celebrate his birthday (now that's what I call a celebration!).

We hope to see everyone again soon, and will keep you posted on where and when we're playing. In the meantime, here's some photos from Friday, courtesy of Simon Brown from Travelling Simon Photography. More examples of Simon's work can be found on his webpage (www.travellingsimon.com/) or his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1492868234145232.1073741977.164711743627561&type=3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WELL, HERE WE GO AGAIN!!

It seems like only 3 years since we played the Macclesfield Beer Festival - that's because it is!  But, what do you know, we're back again this year - for one night only! We'll be headlining on the Friday night (May 6); there are a couple of reasons why we're not able to do the Saturday night as well, and I won't bore you with the details, but it's brilliant that we've been asked back (for the EIGHTH time!) to entertain what must be the best crowd in the North of England, never mind Macclesfield.

We've been practising like mad over the last few weeks, and a quick review of our proposed set suggests that something like 50% of it will be different than the last time we played, in 2013. We did toy with doing even more new tunes, but we managed to convince ourselves that people might want to hear some of the "old favourites" again - this, of course, has the added bonus of us not having to learn lots of new notes and words which, believe me, gets harder as time goes by!

The make up of the band remains unchanged - as some of you may recall Mon joined us at the start of 2014, and is now firmly established as part of the driving back line - his slap bass has to be heard to be believed! The rest of us are still breathing, and enjoying it just as much, so you will have the pleasure of Hugh, Dave, Andy, Paul and Chrissie's company once again - some might say this is a blessing and a curse, but we couldn't possibly comment!

An added bonus for us, this year, is that our old friend and bassist, Matt Johnson, has been engaged to do the sound for the Festival! Matt left to make his fortune in bread up in Lancaster, a couple of years ago, but we think the early mornings disagreed with him, so he is now running a Festival and Event Sound company, and we couldn't think of anyone better to be twiddling the knobs for us (at least he knows a lot of what we do, so he has no excuse for getting it wrong!) - all we have to do is make sure that he has the right date in his "diary"!

So, all that remains is for everyone to get their tickets (for FRIDAY night!); as hardened BF attendees will, no doubt, know, the Friday night is always the most popular, and tickets sell out at least a week before the Festival. As the best party band in Macclesfield is returning on that night, we're betting that it will be even hotter ticket, so make sure you get in quickly, to avoid disappointment! Ticket outlets are shown on the poster above, and they can also be bought online via the Macclesfield Beer Festival website.

We're really looking forward to seeing old friends again, and making some new ones; we guarantee there will be plenty of tunes to get you singing and dancing along - so make sure you do!

SEE YOU THERE!!

THE GREAT END OF THE YEAR BASH!!

Some of you will already be aware that we are planning to lift the roof off The Wharf tomorrow night, as part of their New Year's Eve celebrations, but we thought we'd post a little reminder on here for those who might not have seen the previous publicity! It's only our second gig of the year, for reasons which we'll not bore you with repeating here; the last one happened to be at The Wharf as well so, in addition to running the risk of becoming their House Band (although 2 months between gigs is perhaps stretching that point a bit!), we've a lot to beat, because the last gig there was immense!

Having not played in public for over 10 months (and not much in private, come to think of it!), we approached the gig with not a little trepidation but, as it turned out, there was absolutely nothing (well, hardly anything!) to worry about - most notes and words were remembered (many of them in the correct order) and, most importantly, Andy's guitar arm and fingers stood up to the test!

So, as Chris seemed impressed with the audition,  we've been invited back to play the prime gig of the year - New Year's Eve! The plan, at the time of writing, is for us to do 3 sets, the first one starting at around 8:30; we'll be playing up until around 11:45, so we get a chance to enjoy the bongs with our loved ones as well (oo-er Matron), and then Chris will do a DJ set after midnight (not sure he knows about that yet!). There is NO entrance charge for this, but, once the place is full (which, we're guessing, will be pretty early), entry will be restricted, and it'll be a case of "one out, one in". Who knows how many people will be there; hopefully, lots and, as a guide, when we played in October there were over 100 people in the place all night, so it's a fair bet that there will be quite a crowd in! As ever, we'll be delighted to see as many old friends as care to join us (and any new friends you want to bring along!); there will be plenty of fun and games with the old numbers, and there's even a couple of new ones thrown in for good measure!

So, 2016 beckons - another year ticked off; it's difficult to believe that DaZeD aNd ConFuseD has been in "existence", in its current form (with a couple of changes, here and there!) for over 10 years, but there you go! We're planning to be much more "active" next year - holidays, aching muscles and ageing relatives permitting, so watch this space for details of where and when you can have the pleasure!

Until then, it just remains to wish everyone a Very Happy New Year, and we'll do exactly the same again tomorrow night!



HERE WE GO AGAIN!!

So you thought you'd got away with it, didn't you? Dazed and Confused play a monumental "last" gig at the Windmill in Whiteley Green just before Christmas 2014, and mutter some poppycock about needing a bit of a break but "don't worry, we'll be back". Don't think we didn't hear the whispers of "oh yeah, course you will" and "Thank God for that, they're giving up at last" - but, ha ha! here we are again!

Yes, the band is back, and the venue for our return is The Wharf on Brook Street in Macclesfield and the date is SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER starting, as usual, around 9pm. Landlord Chris has kindly put his premises and reputation on the line so we can get the old muscle memory going (or any sort of memory really!), and we are all really looking forward to it, and hope as many of our old (and new) friends will come along to witness the resurrection!

Just a few words to update on what has been happening in the intervening period of 9 months (which, actually, has only seemed like 9 weeks!). The major reason for our hiatus was that Andy had been having real problems with one of his arms (I think it's his drinking arm, which might explain a lot!); without going into detail, or breaching patient confidentiality, he was finding it hard to do the things with his fingers that guitarists do (ooh, matron!), so a complete rest seemed the best course of action. This also allowed Paul, Mon, Chrissie, Hugh and Dave to take several holidays each, without worrying about clashes with gigs (although synchronising hols was difficult and, therefore, so was sorting out times for us to get together at all!).

However, Andy's arm seems to be on the mend, although he's still not at full throttle (a blessing and a curse!), and we've managed to put in a few practice sessions, so it seems reasonable to see if things still work as well as before. We've tried a few new numbers, and there will be at least one included in the Wharf set but, for the most part, we'll be shaking some cobwebs of the old stuff (some of which actually seem like new ones, it's so long since we've played them!) so there will be no excuse for you folks not to join in.

So, there it is, get yourselves along to The Wharf in a couple of Saturdays time, and it will be like we (and you!) have never been away!

THE TIME HAS COME.............

Due to popular demand (well, Pete Banks asked me to do it!), I thought it would be sensible to bookend the last post (from January!) with one at the end of the year - so here it is!


It's actually a sensible time to do it, because we have our traditional pre-Christmas bash at The Windmill coming up on 19 December, and we'd like to get as many of our friends (old and new) along for it, not least because this is the LAST gig that we will be doing for some time!


What??? I hear you all cry - how can that be? How will we survive without our periodic dose of bum notes, cracked vocals, tumbleweed joke telling moments between songs (and there have been lots of those!) that we have come to know and love? Well, believe me, it has not been an easy decision to come to and, although we have "only" played 10 gigs this year (compared with 25+ in some of the previous years), we still love it so much (the last gig at the Cock & Pheasant was as good as any we've done before), and we like to think that some of you get a perverse enjoyment out of what we do!


However, there are a number of things that have conspired to bring us to this decision - family ill-health, conflicting holidays, work/pleasure commitments etc. have all played their part this year in making it difficult for us all to get together on a regular basis and, as we look forward to 2015, it doesn't look like any of these things are going to get any easier. This being the case, we have agreed to take a break during the first part of next year, with the plan being to come back together after the summer holidays, to see how we feel about getting going again. We've also said that we are going to keep in touch, and even have some rehearsals to try new stuff (really, it's just so we can have a pint at the brewery!), so it's not as though we will become complete strangers.


This being the case, we'd like to go out with a "bang" on the 19th - hence the desire to get as many of our "gang" there as possible! If you are able to come along, and sing, dance, jump about or do whatever else takes your fancy, we'd love to see you (even if it's only for a short while). We'll be kicking off at the usual time (around 9pm), and I doubt very much that they will be able to heave us off much before midnight!


In the meantime, we will be doing a couple of "private" gigs - the first tomorrow night for the "SAD DADS" - not as grim as it might appear, as the name comes from the fact that it is the St Albans School Parents group (obviously the male parents, mostly!)!  We've played for them several times before, and it usually turns messy - the parish priest actually comes with them, but he does tend to make a tactical withdrawal before the messiness really kicks in! After that, we are playing at another private party, this Saturday - I'd love to reveal details, but have been sworn to secrecy!


I'm sure there will be a signing off blog, detailing the events of the 19th but, in the meantime - be there or regret it for the rest of your lives!! ;-))

HAPPY NEW YEAR - AND HAPPY NEW BAND MEMBER!!

Can we just be the last to wish you all A Happy New Year?!

We hope 2014 brings you everything you want and a belated thanks to everyone who came and supported us during 2013 - as ever, we are incredibly grateful that you take the time to come and join in the fun, and we hope that you enjoy it half as much as we do. We look forward to seeing you during 2014, once we start to tread the boards again!

On that note, 2013 finished on a real high at The Windmill just before Christmas; although it was a bittersweet evening, as we said goodbye to young Matthew (or Professor Simpkin, or Dr Tweedy McTweed or whatever other name he is known by!), it was a brilliant night, and a fitting finale to Matt's time with us. As we've said before, he will be missed, and we're sure it's only Adieu and not Farewell - at the very least, we expect a steady supply of artisan bread!

However, time moves on and, like bread (and beer!), Dazed & Confused never sleeps! We are pleased to announce that we have a NEW Bass player! Lord Montague of Duncalf (or Mon to his friends - seen left with his partner Sam) has agreed to throw in his lot with us, and so the next few weeks will be spent in frantic rehearsal, learning new stuff, bringing Mon up to speed with some of the old favourites, and generally polishing up our act so that our normal high standard (oh yeah!) is maintained! We've already spent some time with Mon (including a great social afternoon/evening at Chrissie's over Christmas), and he still doesn't seem to be put off, so the future is looking bright! In view of the need for Mon to familiarize himself with the material, and because Paul is off to the antipodes during February, it is likely to be the end of March/early April before we're out in public (we'll try and set up some "secret" gigs in friendly pubs!) - we'll keep you posted on progress (on here and via the FB page) so, hopefully, the withdrawal symptoms won't be too bad!

Until we get a new band photo done, you'll just have to put up with the old one with Mon's head superimposed on the banner photo for this blog!

THE WINDMILL IS ROLLING OUT THE WELCOME MAT, AND WE'RE SAYING GOODBYE MATT!!



 As the good old Walrus in Alice in Wonderland said, "The time has come..." and next Friday will see us bidding a fond farewell to our extraordinary (for a number of reasons!) bass player, Matt Johnson, who is heading to pastures new to become a master baker (just checked the spelling of that obviously!) and is showing a singular lack of commitment by refusing to commute from Lancaster for band practice and gigs!

Matt has been with us since 2007 (I know, it seems a LOT longer), and his history with the band is littered with experiences - most of them achingly funny, and some of them downright scary! Here is not the place to recount them in detail, partly because you just had to be there, but to give you a flavour, here's a bulleted list of some of them:
 

• Matt "forgot" that we were booked to do a live appearance on Canalside Radio back in 2009; in fact, he forgot so badly, that we had to go and pick him up from work and transport him bodily to the studio, arriving about 5 minutes before we were due "on air"!
• Matt made his debut for us in 2007, at The Bruce; the first number in the first set was "Don't Believe A Word" - a slow song that starts with a bass intro (a bad move on our part, I'll admit!). Matt launched into his D&C career playing his intro at around 3 times the speed it should have been at, leaving the rest of us to decide whether to let him carry on solo, try and match his frantic pace, or rugby tackle him to shut him up!
• We played a gig in Hertfordshire, and Matt was scheduled to get a lift home with Chrissie who, unfortunately, left without telling him! Luckily, Matt managed to blag a lift off 2 kind people who were coming back to Bolton. Unluckily, even though Macclesfield is en route to Bolton (well it was last time I looked), they decided to drop him off at the Sandbach junction of the M6, leaving him to thumb his way home from there!
• When we played in Bristol, Matt shared a tent with our former guitarist Frank (not known for his love of outdoor living!); their "settling down" at the end of the evening was, apparently, like a cross between The Waltons and Brokeback Mountain - no wonder Frank left for home about 5 in the morning!
• Finally, Matt is renowned for his love of all things tweed, and is rarely seen dressed in anything else - however, his decision to try and purchase a tweed bass case was perhaps a step too far. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have seen the light of day yet.

All these things, and more, and especially his brilliant bass playing (apparently he'd never played one before he joined us!), have made us love him like a brother, and we'll miss him enormously - even if getting him to remember gig dates and turn up to practice on time has been a never ending chore!

We hope you will all come down to The Windmill at Whiteley Green on Friday 20 December to give him a great send-off AND to kick start your own Christmas celebrations. It's always a great atmosphere in The Windmill, and we'll be taking a cruise through all the old favourites, just to see if Matt can get them right for once!!

A newly shorn Matt playing at Goosfest in October!