Mornin all!
Just a quick missive to update you all on the latest shenanigans in the weird and wonderful world of Rawk & RollTM.
So, Saturday night at the excellent Old Mill in Portishead, Ben and I arrive a touch early and – dare I say – with almost military precision, set up the PA, backline, lights, smoke machine, and rubber chicken. We’ve almost completed this process when we espy Stuart pull up outside, so we skip merrily out to help haul his drumming paraphernalia in.
Oh dearie me, he does not look at all well. I realize that pale grey is a fashionable colour for domestic residences these days, but it does not look good on a percussionist. Still, he is adamant that “the show must go on”, even if he does have to stop three times for a rest while setting up his drumkit…
Fingers crossed, and come the witching hour of nine o’clock, off we go.
We keep glancing back to see how poor Stuart is coping, but he seems to be managing, with the Power Of Rock flowing through his veins keeping him going.
As the evening continues, the crowd gets – well, more crowded, and livelier – thus by the end of the night, we are facing a veritable amphitheatre of jigging merriment, they’re dancing around up on seats, tables, and loudly singing along with gay abandon.
Afterwards, some of the revellers come up for a chat.
“Oooh that was great”, enthuses one lad. “I went to see my favourite band – the Arctic Monkeys – a while back – but you guys were even better than that!”
Although it’s not the most obvious comparison, Ben and I decide to take this as a well-intentioned compliment.
Until one of the lad’s mates cheerily informs us, “Yeah, I was with him when we saw the Arctic Monkeys. They were shite.”
Oh, well. We pack up, shepherd the now-flagging Stuart out to his car, load his kit in, and send him off on his precarious way.
Sunday saw no official band activity, but I did razz over to the Going Feral festival in Herefordshire, to play a short acoustic duo set with an old pal of mine, doing some original songs, many of which we wrote decades ago when we were both young and foolish. Nice to find out that, now we’re old and foolish, they still actually sound pretty good – at least to my contemporaneously relaxed ears…
Coming up this weekend, there is no “official” band activity, as both Ben and Abby are away. However, a support slot came up for Saturday which was too silly to miss, so Stuart and I are taking out a band featuring two ex-members – our previous bassist Martin, and also our go-to dep vocalist, and my favourite daughter Lily – to fly the Angel Up Front flag.
The gig is just down the road from me, it’s a Cider and Pie festival, and – curiously – it’s sold out. We’ll be supporting none other than those hard rock legendary icons The Wurzels…
Just goes to show, when you thought your credibility couldn’t get any lower….
We’ll report back.
Square on
A