Monday, December 14, 2009

Aston Villa Football club 12/12/2009


We arrived at the ground to find we were to perform in the 'Holte suite'. First time here for us,and the venue was stunning! A very big room with tables to seat three to four hundred guests. After a speedy set up and sound check we made ourselves scarce to await the guests imminent arrival. Our 'green room' so to speak was a balcony area situated above the guests so it made for good fun watching everyone get seated and on their best behaviour. As the night wore on,the alcohol was flowing and soon everyone was in the Christmas spirit. It was quite daunting as we knew we had to be on fire to quench the audience need to dance and as the 'twelve days of Christmas' came to an end we hit the stage.'I saw her standing there' was the opener and from that point on we could do no wrong,we were like a human jukebox,one after another,hit after hit,we intended to keep the dance floor full and it was packed! We finished with 'Twist and shout ' ran off stage and collapsed,we were shattered! Very long tiring set but a great night for both us and them. A quick thank you to John the promoter for sorting out our needs,thanks John,all together now......."on the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me....".

Bentley Golf club,Essex 11/12/2009


Arrived at Bentley golf club,Essex around 5pm. Found our way around the back to the load in point and began the task of taking in the equipment. We were in the company of a lovely D.J(who's name escapes me)so we had to set up in and around one another as the performance area was very...lets say cosy! After a swift set up we were ready to rock.At first this venue was quite a worry to us as there had been some kind of event on during the daytime and there was a lot of well oiled punters still milling around. A few times we had to clear them off our equipment(which by the way is rather expensive and in some cases irreplaceable)We wondered what the night had in store for us.We had no need to fret,after a short time the revellers were moved on to make way for the evenings guests,and a great bunch they were,they danced,sang and really enjoyed themselves,in turn giving us a most enjoyable time. All too soon our show was over and Mr.D.J took control finishing off the night to a more than satisfied bunch. We'd like to thank the fella on the wheels of steel,did a great job and a real nice guy to boot. Also we'd like to thank all the staff for looking after us,oh and by the way....great platter......Thanks!!!!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Farnborough F.C 28/11/2009


We arrived at Farnborough football club in good time! The weather was cold,yet bright and clear when we set off but by the time we arrived it was absolutely appauling,raining heavily and the load in point was full of enormous puddles(now where did i put my wellies?). We hurriedly rushed the equipment in so as not to get soaked,but the rain takes no prisoners,and soaked was how we were!
Set up was straight forward and in the sound check we had a chance to run through some of the new songs we've been learning. Soon it was showtime,two sets was the order of the evening,and stepping out brought it home to us just how few people had turned up(maybe 20 people in a room to hold roughly 100).The heavy down pour had really put the mockers on,but never the less a full on show was what we delivered to the people who were brave enough to face the weather.Everyone thoroughly enjoyed both sets,with requests coming thick and fast,we tried our best to play the songs they asked for.We finished up the night,packed down and drove home,thank God by the time we got back the rain had stopped! Very small, yet very intimate audience,very enjoyable evening!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Raquet club,Liverpool 24/11/2009.


Great to be back in Liverpool again,first time at this venue and what a beautiful place it was. Situated in the financial part of town,this building is a lovely piece of architecture.The evening was a corporate event for 'British steel'( corus group). All the guests in the audience were of Russian origin,give or take the odd interpreter or two so the language barrier was quite apparent,although this didn't stop either us or themselves having a great time.We played mostly well known hits,and kept the song introductions very short and sweet.The vodka(and anything else alchoholic)was flowing,the guests were dancing and singing(well kind of Ha!)and the night ran smoothly finishing off with the proverbial 'Hey jude' to which everyone was joining in with hands aloft etc. Our performance soon came to an end and we were left to pack down,hearing that the party had now moved on into town,and were planning on a 3am finish!(some sore heads in the morning!)It was a pleasure to be part of the evening and helping our foreign visitors enjoy their stay in Liverpool. Great night!
P.s. Thanks Ben....you're a star!!!!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Swettenham Arms,Cheshire 14/11/2009


The beautiful surroundings,cosy atmosphere and two....yes two blazing real log fires!!! A lovely quaint little venue in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.The concert room was quite small,although i do prefer this as you can be much more intimate with the audience,and the load in was easy! We set up with no probs and then ordered food and drinks and took a pew by the fire,oh yes! Finally we had to get ready and face our awaiting guests.It was the type of venue where the audience really sit and scrutinise what you do,they did and they loved it! Very warm crowd,singing and clapping along,and we recieved some great comments on the website from people who enjoyed the show.It had been a long day though and after the preceeding night we were all tired,but managed a rousing finale with twist and shout! Cheers,singing and a full dance floor,job done!!A great venue,a great crowd, and a great distance from anywhere ;)

Friday, November 13, 2009

Hard Days Night Hotel,Liverpool 13/11/2009


Here we were at the Hard days night hotel again,got to be probably our most favourite place to play ever,it's just so cool in there.Celebrating the release of the film 'Yellow Submarine ' (to which the film was played and watched by the guests earlier in the evening)we performed a unique set of 1966 songs(not something we do too often)followed then by a set of later material and songs which feature in the film's soundtrack.We thought that being this was the theme for the evening,we should dress accordingly,so we set about getting costumes to dress up as the actual cartoon characters of the film.I dont think this has ever been done before,the suits were cracking and we had some right laughs at each others expense,it was great.So dressed in strange garb as characters of the film for the second set we performed numbers such as "Lucy in the sky","I want to tell you" and"Hey bulldog" to name but a few,and they were very well received,that's one thing about playing in Liverpool,you can pretty much do any of the Beatles repertoire and they enjoy it! A great night as always and nice to meet up with Beatle fan Ben young lad and very keen to be a Beatle musician,keep up the drumming fella!

P.s Rachael we love you!!!!!!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

The Globe,Cardiff 7/11/2009


With Cardiff losing to local rivals at football and Wales getting beaten at the rugby we thought we too would be in for a hiding to nothing! Not too many people were in attendance at this venue,it was a last minute booking due to a cancellation,and with the sporting defeats it was very thin on the ground so to speak.Those that did attend were a great bunch, we had them shouting requests and there was a lot of interaction between them and us.There were some real die hard fans of the Beatles in the crowd and good to see some old friends.We played a lot of the rock and roll songs but spiced it up with a few new later period numbers.It was very enjoyable for both parts,great little venue this and the sound engineer did a wonderful job,thanks mister! Hope to be back down there soon,Great night!