Tag Archives: woodlands edge

Gig Log

29-10-2018 – Beer Yoofs Adventures

Leave a comment

Good morning!

Winter draws on, I see – although frankly, vicar, I don’t see what business it is of yours – and I have to report a very, very messy weekend’s gigging.

Friday night at the Woodland’s Edge, and our poor Emma turns up looking very unwell indeed, having picked up a nasty stomach bug from somewhere. “I’ve not tried singing yet today”, she tells us, “just in case it makes me vomit”.

“Well, if it does”, I tell her, “Drumkit”.

As we start loading in, it is apparent that there is a plague of yoofs upon this house, boisterously ensconced right next to where we need to set up. I’m sure their mummies love them, but they’re a pain in the arse for everybody else. READ MORE

Gig Log

22-10-2018 – New VanOfAlan

Leave a comment

Aloha!

Right folks, this’ll be a short one (as they say)…

Saturday night’s gig at the Hunstman in Downend – which I see from their website has the “style of a modern pub, and the atmosphere of a traditional inn” – was greatly cheered by the presence of a few chums; and almost nobody else.

It often seems to be the way in here – doesn’t really seem to be a music-y pub – nonetheless, they keep asking us back, and they keep paying us, and it actually makes for a nice relaxing night from our point of view. Plus, it means we can run through numbers we haven’t done for a while, to see if we can still remember them, without too much risk of public humiliation – and so, when requested for an old Fleetwood Mac track we haven’t played for many months, after a quick head-scratch as Ben and I tried to remember what the first chord was, we agreed to have a go at it. READ MORE

Gig Log

18-12-2017 – Xmas Choir Killer Review

Leave a comment

Well, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers!

I’ll keep this missive fairly short, as I am currently at work in between resolving work-type disasters, whilst trapped at a desk within earshot of the works annual Christmas Choir Carol Concert – I can’t get away, and I didn’t bring a flamethrower, so you’ll have to excuse the somewhat cursory nature of this one.

Last weekend provided a very entertaining surprise birthday party gig, held at a large film studio – enormous big studio, loads of guests, and more lighting effects than you could shake a very big stick at. We came, we set up, and at the allotted hour the Birthday boy was led in blindfolded, and on cue we launched into playing a heavy metallised version of Happy Birthday just as his blindfold we removed… a rather cool way to start a gig, I think. We managed to make enough noise to fill the large space adequately, thanks to the magic of Stuart Hitting Things Very Hard Indeed, and the rest of us cranking the amps rather more than they’re used to. Lovely! READ MORE

Gig Log

30-08-2017 – Rampant Pickle

Leave a comment

Yo homeys!

Well, we hope you enjoyed the long weekend as much as we did – but we bet you didn’t!

We kicked off with a pleasant evening in the Assembly Inn in Bath; the Gods Of Parking smiled on us and we were able park right outside the door, in the last two parking spaces left in Bath. Setting up in the small space was easier than last time we were here, partly as I cunningly left a couple of speaker cabinets at home, but mostly because we knew already which bits of the floor were in fact treacherously unstable and hence not safe for putting anything heavy on. We played, they shouted for more, but we’d hit the neighbour noise curfew so we legged it off home for some beer. The night was also memorable for being the first time Emma realised what Ben and I are actually singing to the chorus of “I Love Rock and Roll”. Lucky she keeps an inhaler handy, really. READ MORE

Gig Log

21-08-2017 – Trouserless Combat Vomiting

Leave a comment

Ahoy there shipmates!

So nice to be out playing again, I think we can put last weekend firmly into the “damned good fun” box for safe keeping.

Following a pleasing night at the Rolly in Swindon – where sadly we missed our regular local maniac Mad Freddy, but instead were treated to Mad Dancing Andy Warhol, and a definitely enthusiastic crowd – it was on the following night to the Swan in Thornbury for a jolly family knees-up.

Since Dem and Lil were away, it seemed best to bring my two youngest lads along and play a few songs with them, with a combination of Ben & Emma on vocals, plus young Joe making his public vocal debut on one of his favourite Green Day numbers. Whilst playing bass. So, that’s one of my offspring simultaneously doing two things that I can’t do. Evolution in action. READ MORE

Gig Log

22-08-2016 – It’s A Bit Like The Archers – BUT ON ACID

Leave a comment

Greetings, my little peccadillos!

Now, that was enough rawk’n’roll fun to last anybody a fortnight… which is just as well, since we’re not playing for a couple of weeks, since I’m running away to Exotic Foreign Parts.

Still, we’ll have plenty of fun to look back on – particularly last Wednesday’s outing to Priddy, hidden way down deep in the Mendips.

So – a midweek gig, in the middle of nowhere – we weren’t expecting a particularly exciting night, to be honest. READ MORE

Gig Log

15-08-2016 – Beer, Cakes & Sweeties

Leave a comment

Borag Thungg, Earthlets!

…and a mighty fine weekend of fun that was! Saturday saw us hoofing over to beautiful sunny Tintern, to play a wedding bash right outside the picturesque Abbey (it’ll be lovely when it’s finished).

Now, sometimes wedding gigs aren’t too much fun from our point of view; they are often rather subdued affairs where our main job is really to play quietly in the corner and not upset anybody.

Not so this one – it was a delightfully bonkers affair, with the field set up like a fete / funfair, with sack races, welly throwing competitions, a free sweeties stall, a free cake stall, and… Rosa, come back here! Too late, she has skipped merrily off, and soon comes back laden with several large bags of sweeties. Having set up, we sit happily in the sunshine sipping beer, eating barbecue, and watch the proceedings. READ MORE

Gig Log

19-10-2015 – Why’s Everybody Always Pickin’ On Me?

Leave a comment

Hey gang

Another busy weekend in the exciting world of rawk’n’roll, Friday at the Parson’s Nose in Melksham started with an empty pub – but since they didn’t want us to start playing until half ten, by the time we got going, the place was nice and busy. While we were waiting, poor Stooie was so exhausted after his long hard day that he fell asleep in one of the pub’s comfy sofas, so the other three of us amused ourselves with such innocent impromptu pub game pastimes as “catch the beer mat in your mouth”, which rapidly evolved into “how many beer mats can you pile on the sleeping drummer”, and ended up with us all wearing Mexican wrestling masks whilst trying to put a blonde wig on Stuart without waking him. Sadly, he was roused by the squeals of laughter from nearby tables, so alas our plans were thwarted. READ MORE

Gig Log

26-05-2015 – Roadie

Leave a comment

Right then, quiet at the back, there… …If you’re all sitting comfortably, then I’ll begin…

Friday night’s expedition to Mangotsfield turned out to be – well, let’s call it a moral victory. At least we know that every single person in the audience thoroughly enjoyed our little game of “jukebox”, whereby they shout out songs, and we see if we can play them. We know that every single person enjoyed it, because we know their names – so, to Tony, Neil, and Donna – it was our pleasure, guys! READ MORE

Gig Log

18-05-2015 – Our Latest Video, 3 Gig’s, New Guitar, ROR and Bleep, Bleep, Bleep

Leave a comment

Good morning campers!

I’m your Uncle Ernie and I welcome you to… oh never mind.

[Editor’s note: We have a shiny new show reel video, yer tis …]

Good grief, that was knackering. After a relatively quiet gig on Friday at the Trident, Saturday’s outing to the ‘Cullis in Fishponds was enlivened by the new landlady there, Helen – who turned out to be as mad as a box of frogs, as mad as seven badgers in a handbag, as mad as a Walnut Whip on a rollercoaster – and actually has at least as many silly toys as we do. So, during the course of the set we were treated to “the pom-poms”, “the loudhailer”, “the corset”, “the hat”, “the vuvuzela”, and, of course, “the Miss Piggy wig” – which was immediately plonked onto Stuart, who rather to my terror, looked completely at home in it. READ MORE