Trimingham Caravan Park

Put 2 seats back in the Galaxy; still some room left ‘cos the Bose gear doesn’t take up much space. Good run over and met up with Nigel in the car park just before 7pm. Dave and Martin arrived shortly after and Nige showed off his toy cigarette, which generates nicotine flavoured steam. Andy dropped by with the passcard and Dave and I went through; Nige elected to shift his gear through to the front of the club from the car park. Got set up with the Bose’s on the floor. We set up with the sound level down a bit and we did manage a brief soundcheck with “How Long” and it sounded pretty good. Had a water and a beer because I was very thirsty and then we were on for Set 1. All went very well from the off. It was a good sound balance, Dave was holding the drum pace in check and taking his time over the banter which started to work well; even Nige got a couple of remarks in. The audience was a bit bigger than usual and they were generally attentive and applauded in all the right places. Only trouble was it was going so well I forgot the order and forgot to put on the 12 string – so we did the Hollies Medley on 6 string – still no one noticed much. Got back on track and an old boy came up to do tambourine on Mr Tambourine Man. Played through to “I Believe” and got a great reception. We were dead chuffed ‘cos it was the first time since Dan left that things had gone so smoothly. Laura and friends arrived in the interval. Set 2 went similarly well; starting with a good rendition of “Travelodge” the whole set was nicely paced, with good banter and good audience reaction. Towards the end of the set we even had a few come up and dance to the Bay City Rollers and “Love Is All Around”. For set 3 I got the boys to open up with “Crazy Little Thing” (which needs some maintenance attention on the harmonies) and then we played through “500 Miles to Hi Ho” without stopping (but at an easy pace), attracting a few dancers along the way. We then did “Unchained and Trilogy”; and I thought a fair rendition of the Spencer Davis sequence (Nige not convinced) and “Dance the Night Away” before moving into the closing sequence. Rather than announce the individuals at the end of “Pretty Woman”, Dave gave a little talk on the value of supporting your local club and that went well. So we encored with “Wonderful” finishing spot on midnight. It had been a very good night for the band and we were happy bunnies as we packed up. Got away at 12:45 and home for 2:25am It was foggy in places and I missed the turn onto the A140 just outside Cromer, but picked it back up by following the Felbrigg road. I was a bit tired the next day and even more so after I had a very hard game of squash with Rocky which left us both gasping for breath as we called it a draw.

Session

Nige came round my house for a getting to know you and your music gear session.

Searles at Hunstanton

Marita and Jacqui were accompanying me so I had to put a couple of seats back in the car. We set off early so we could have a bit of time at the seaside. Called in a pub at Snettisham to have a drink and some nuts. We arrived at the gig about 3pm and parked up round the back. It was warm and sunny enough for us to walk along the front to town and have fish and chips at a restaurant there. We walked slowly back to the gig avoiding the temptations of ice cream to meet up with Dave and Jenny who had just arrived. Got the gear in on the trailer and half set up when Nigel arrived.



We were soon all set up and ready to go. There weren’t many there as we started the revised set 1 but it filled up rapidly as we progressed. Dave got a guy up to do the Shadows walk and he got a free CD. We had some kids playing tambourine in Mr Tambourine Man; and just as we came to the end of that a group of 20 something girls danced their way to the front, obviously enjoying the 60’s vibe, waving, blowing the band kisses etc. This did liven us up a bit and we progressed right through to “I Believe” with a spring in our patter! In the break the girls insisted on having photo’s with the band but then they had to head off – presumably to find some younger men. Jacqui, Marita and Jenny looked suitably shocked at the whole episode! We started set 2 with the Searchers which went well. Then we got a request for “Peggy Sue” which Nigel happened to know – so we did that and it was much appreciated. Proceeded through the rest of the set OK and took a break. Started set 3 with “500 miles” which got a good response so we carried on with the “Amarillo” party dance sequence through to “Hi Ho Silver”



We did the Spencer Davis pieces (much too fast) and after that the concentration of the band waned as we played through “American Trilogy” and “Unchained” with lots of trivial errors. So we finished off with “Pretty Woman”; Nigel and I did the “avoid signing off the drummer” routine which went well enough for us to encore with “Wonderful Tonight”. Got packed up quick with J’s help and we munched our pack up meal on the way home getting in about 1am.

Seacroft Holiday Park, East Runton

Ginge was meant to coming with me on the gig, but he was stuck in bank holiday weekend traffic. So I set off and ran into traffic approaching Thetford. I was sufficiently thick that I elected to turn round and skirt round Thetford on country roads. Thereafter I had a good run to East Runton arriving at 6:30 as planned. This is a new gig for us - you have to check in at reception and they let you through a barrier. The club house is immediately on the left with access doors to the stage there. I had just got the door open when Dave arrived with Martin (Nigel pulled up a bit later). Dave was please to see I had my Foot Tappers T shirt on. The club house is new and very well fitted out. Got the gear in and set up with no problem. We don’t bother with soundchecks nowadays ‘cos it is not that professional. Mark Buller (the agent who was compering) arrived and started off his kids show. There were a few families in but it was by no means packed, however, Mark’s show went very well I thought. We were only doing two sets, so we started off with our slightly revised set 1 which now includes “How Long and Seasons of Gold” and it went pretty well. The medium sized crowd were very appreciative and we finished off with a request for “Wipe Out” which got Dave well lathered up! In the break we were talking to Rachel the site managers daughter who had learned to read drums and was interested in having a go – she also liked Martin’s hair; calling it African Sunset. After a break for Bingo, Mark called us back for the next set which we started with the Searchers medley. Then we brought on Rachel, who it turns out is a bit of a barefoot drummer, to play “Hey Baby”. Very entertaining but rhythmically challenging! Played out the rest of the hour picking and mixing between sets 2 and 3 and got a generally good reception. At the end Mark Buller came over and congratulated us on a much improved show, great harmonies and tighter sound; and talked about booking us in some better gigs. Got packed up and away in good time and was home (via Norwich) by 1:15am.

Practice

More of a maintenance session to try and iron out weaknesses in current material. We finished early ‘cos we had a gig Friday.

Lowestoft Railway and Bowls

Had a slow run over so a bit later than planned, but the Galaxy did over 36 mpg. Arrived at 6:50 to find Dave and Jen already there. We got some of the gear in and Nigel rolled in. Frank, the governor, gave us the good news that there was no disco, and the not so good news that many of the club were on holiday so it would be a quiet night. Dave had a bad back and we had a few tables to shift, so I taught him Captain Hackenthorpe’s back relief exercise which did the trick for the night. Got set up without difficulty and, as is the custom nowadays, we didn’t bother with a soundcheck. So we settled down for a beer and some banter before we went on at 8:40. Played through set 1 pretty much as set out on the book, choosing “Raining in my Heart”, “Walk Don’t Wipe Out” and “Three Times a Lady at the choice points. Generally all went well and the small audience applauded lustily at all the right places, but Dave was a bit on edge even though there were only about 20 people there. By the time we got on for Set 2 there were a few more in. We got a great reception for the Eagles opener “How Long”, and followed up with a good “Seasons of Gold” and Eagles sequence which continued the good vibe. We played on through the set to “Bye Bye Baby” by which time we had got a couple up and dancing. I had problems seeing my foot pedal and getting the volume right for the solo but it wasn’t fatal. Finished off with a ragged version of “Love is All Around”. Went on for a short set 3, starting with “Hotel California” which went well until the solo, when again I hit the wrong switch on the pedal, which meant I had to catch up a few bars later. Nevertheless, it got a great reception. We only had a few minutes left, so we did the Spencer Davis sequence. “Somebody Help Me” was bit too fast for me and we confused each other on the middle 8 of “Keep on Running” but it’s best to keep exercising them until we know them. Then it was time to finish with “Pretty Woman” and “Wonderful Tonight”. The small crowd had been very enthusiastic and we sold a CD to the governor who had enjoyed “a brilliant band”. Got packed up quick and away by 12:30am. Quiet run home and in bed for 1:45am.

Practice

Nigel late getting over so Dave and I sorted out some show stuff – announcements and the timing to “3 Times a Lady”. I tried to record the improved Hollies medley and 4 Seasons but it didn’t work (hard disk memory?) We worked on “Shine” and “Queen” and made some progress with these hard pieces.

Skeyton Village Hall

Jacqui came with me and we called in at Dave’s for a cup of tea, before Dave and I set off for the gig. Arrived a bit late but soon got set up. (Nige and I had to do the Bose lift onto the stage because of reduced height). It was a sunny evening with sharp showers and a good crowd had arrived partaking of the BBQ. Jacqui, Jen and Steve arrived and Steve set up the lights. He did a good job considering all the problems there were with them. We got changed into our new pink shirts and set off to do a tidy set 1. Highltights were the Shadows walk where Dave and Nige got some people up to do the audience participation dance. So “Apache” got a great response. After “Only You” we got into the 60’s medleys which got a good response, particularly to the new Hollies and Searchers medleys which had some folk tapping along, smiling and clearly enjoying the music. Did “Flingel Bunt” as a request and finished with “I Believe”. The sound was reported as very listenable, but Jacqui asked for the guitar to come up a bit so I duly obliged (I have had a problem with earwax so not too tuned in volumewise) Got changed into our new white dragon shorts and Set 2 went pretty much as per the book. We got a few up and dancing to the 70’s sounds. Also Dave did a great Elvis – getting changed in the Kitchen and looking out through both doors before joining the band. Played thru the “Bay City” sequence at quite a pace and finished with a good rendition of “Love is all Around” After the raffle, we were short of time so started set 3 with “500 miles” and played through the party dance sequence until we slowed it down for “Unchained”. We only had time for the usual end signing off with “Pretty Woman” and encoring with “Wonderful Tonight”. Packed up quick with Jacqui’s help and was home for 1am. Ready to make our trip to Farnham for a boozy weekend.

Tyneside Sheringham Carnival

We decided to get over early so we could park for the gig before the carnival. I had a good run over in generally sunny and hot, humid weather conditions arriving at 5pm to see Dave and Martin already there. Got the gear in OK then Nige arrived. It was pretty crowded in the club car park with everyone setting up seats to watch the carnival so we moved our vehicles round the back – tricky parking, but we did it after a many point turn! I had installed a Behringer line mixer into the FX rack to allow me to control cross feeds between the Bose units. Although we took care with the wiring I could not get it to work and in the end I gave up and returned to the Plan B wiring of the last gig. That was OK and we were eventually able to say it was all working. In the end we decided not to bother with a sound check and we started a bit earlier than normal to entertain some of the passing carnival trade. Set 1 went well enough, but I was a bit distracted with very little room to operate the foot pedals. Also Nige and I had noticed a peak in sound resonance around a low G on the guitar which was messing things up, so I reduced the bass settings on my Bose to try and lose it. It was very persistent and so must be an artefact of the room. Nige wasn’t feeling too well and finding the heat and humidity and resonance difficult to deal with and I had lost my temper by forgetting the running order. Anyway we ploughed on with Set 2, making a good start with a good rendition of “How Long”. It got a good round of applause which we didn’t expect. Rest of the set went generally to plan. One of Nige’s muso mates Martyn had arrived and said how much he liked the sound of the band which was re-assuring. Opened up set 3 with “Travel Lodge” which got a good round of applause despite a light cock up of mine in the solo! I had cut down the song lengths for dancy bit of set 3 and that went much better with Dave keeping playing through the transitions. We played “All Right Now” and that got a good reception and then we did “Unchained and “Trilogy” which also went very well. Then, for once, we had time to do the little Spencer Davis sequence “Somebody Help Me” and “Keep On Running”; they were a bit fast but still went down well. Then we were into the final couple, saying goodbye in “Wonderful Tonight” and encoring with “Great Balls of Fire” to a rousing, drunken reception. Took a while to get packed up and Nige and I travelled in convoy to Swaffham; I got in about 2:30am. PS I checked the Behringer mixer the next day and it was faulty – I wasn’t going mad!

Whitehouse Community Centre Ipswich

Despite the roadworks at Stowmarket, I made very good time and was at the gig by 6:10. It was all locked up but it was a nice afternoon so I had a look round in the sun. The club was opened at 6:30 just as the Dave, Jen and Nige arrived in convoy. It is a rough area, but parking and access are good – in through the South side fire escape doors and the stage is on the left just inside. Took quite a time to get set up by the time I had wired in the Reverb and Roland synth; and quite a few members of the audience had bagged their seats by the time we came to do a the briefest of soundchecks with “I Feel Fine”. Then it was a quick change and we were on for an 8pm start to set 1. The set started OK, but I was having trouble from the off with the reverb and guitar foot pedal work. However, all went well and we were getting a good reception up to the Hollies medley. Dave seemed a bit flustered and couldn’t remember the beginning, but we got through it quite well I thought; I was pleased with my own vocal on “I’m Alive” where I hit the non-falsetto high lines with less effort than at practice. Changing guitar was a pain; I got caught up in the wiring and guitar stand. Cliff and the Shadows routines went well and the rock’n’roll got a few people up and dancing. We finished with the Beatles and Searchers medleys after about 55 minutes. I had wanted to finish with a slowey but Dave had already announced the Searchers as the last number. Had a brief break during which I adjusted the master mix on the reverb to lower the unprocessed vocal sound we were getting in the opposite Bose’s. I really need that mixer! Started up set 2 with an OK version of the Eagles “How Long”. I couldn’t fault the individual playing or singing but the band felt slightly detached and that was the pattern for the rest of the night. We weren’t getting much dance interest but looking at the audience they were obviously enjoying it. Dave cut “Yellow River” and we ran out of time to play the “Bay City” sequence so we finished with “Love is All Around”. Another brief break for the raffle and then we were on for set 3. Began with “Travel Lodge Calfornia” which went OK apart from a missed couple of notes in the solo as I brushed up against the mic stand. Then we got on with the cut down partydance sequence. Some went well some didn’t but when we switched to the slowies: “Unchained” and “American Trilogy” we got a good response. After that we only had time for “Pretty Woman” encoring with “Wonderful Tonight”. The governor came up and got the audience to show their appreciation. Actually despite us thinking it was a lacklustre night we got a lot of good comments at the end e.g. “Great Sound”, “Nice to be able to hear a band at normal volume”, “Don’t usually like 60’s bands but you were great” The governor was well pleased and apologised for the low turnout; he was keen to book the band back and also said what a great sound we had. So there you have it – we thought it was less than average but it seems we did the job well. Easy run home after a long pack up – I was in for 1am.