Yo homeys!

Well, that was an extremely enjoyable weekend of noisy mayhem!

The intent was that Saturday night would mark the debut gig for our new bass player Steve – but in fact, it marked his second gig with us.

We had a request come in midweek to play at the bar in the Rovers ground on Saturday afternoon after the match; two gigs in one day was a big ask for a first-timer, but Steve heroically said “Hell, yes, why not?” Abby was a little concerned about running out of voice; she said she’d like to do it, but was “not sure it would be wise”. That settled it; we now have to do it, I’m not having anyone accusing us of being sensible.

We worked out that there was literally just enough time to finish that gig, pack up, shimmy over to Staple Hill and set up in time for our scheduled 9 o’clock start, and duly fetched up at the footy ground at the allotted hour.

Once we got there, security was clearly bemused by our presence, and it took nearly half an hour to persuade them to let us in with the vehicles so we could load in. Apparently, they have bands after matches there quite regularly, but it all seemed to be very new to them.

Once inside, however, we found the staff very jolly and helpful (particularly in the “is there anything we can get you to drink?” department, which is always welcome).

We set up; as the match finished the bar filled up quite nicely, and once we started we found the crowd unexpectedly appreciative and jolly – despite the fact that Rovers had apparently played badly, and lost. Serves them right for not even asking if I fancied a game.

We finished up the second set, and Abs apologised to the punters for our hasty pack-up and departure, explaining we had another appointment to get to straight after.

We hurled everything into the back of the van and hot-footed across town (Abs and I both inhaling pasties on the way, lest either of us get too hungry and become unmanageable); duly arrived at the King Billy, and after a bit of furniture shuffling managed to shoehorn ourselves into position.

This gig went down really well too, it was a joy to meet some of Abby’s delightful mates who came along, and there were a few other familiar faces in the crowd, too.

“Weren’t you at the Rovers ground earlier…?”

Yes, they were – it seems they’d tracked us down and followed us, just so they could see it all again. Now, that’s dedication. (Or, possibly it was a terrible coincidence, and they are just really unlucky people. They did seem quite pleased to see us, though).

We made it safely through to the second set, threw in a final exhausted encore, and called it a night. “It’s a night” we said.

Well, except for Abs, who heroically decided to head on out for some “serious drinkies” with her pals, once we’d packed everything up.

So – a very successful day – big kudos to Steve for taking an unusually demanding first day on the job in his stride with great aplomb (we’ve seen it, and it is indeed a great plomb) – and also to our beloved Abs for not only having the stamina to sing two gigs back-to-back but also to go out on the lash afterwards.

We’ll be taking this weekend off, but after that, we’ll be back in action – maybe, just maybe, with another two-gigs-in-one-day event – which I think we should henceforth describe as “mini-tours.

Square on
A