ReTrio at The Morton Hall, Bury St Eds

Space is very tight at this gig and there was no room for the Line 6 mixer the last time we played there. So I thought it would be an easy choice of PA gear for this local job i.e. One Bose with one B1 bin + Line 6 2M and the Bose T1 mixer.  Arrived and found Chris the bass bringing his gear in.  He said: we have been relocated to a bigger area in the pub!  Oh dear I thought - could have brought the Line 6 mixer after all - but anyway dies were cast and it's good to exercise our space saver setup occasionally!'   So in I went and inspected the site: there was more space but there was a big fruit machine where the second Bose would have gone,  so Line 6 2M speaker was right choice!  I could have got the Line 6 Mixer in on my side but I thought one B1 would do and I would hang the T1 mixer from the Bose pole as I used to do and combine the 2 Chris's mics into the one input.  Set up with the T1 required a few other little changes swapping XLR to jacks with adaptors;  but I was relieved to see that levels were all about right when I brought up the ReTrio scene on the T1.  The MP3 player would be swapped with the guitar input on input 4; and input 5 took the echo return (so muzak, echo and guitar all shared the same flat EQ setting.  I set level for echo and then just needed to set the level on the Roland GT10 guitar FX to balance it all up. Sound tests on mics went well,  but I backed the master volume down a little to lose the little toppy ring that emerged when they were all on.  The other compromise with this set up would be no strings,  but I thought I could live with that.  I used a standard jack to take the TI analogue output to the 2M.  Like the previous week signal level was low and I could crank the 2M up over half without feedback.  A lady passing by asked for our card thinking we might suit a caravan rally. She wouldn't be staying long but hoped to get an idea of what the band was like. I suggested to Chris that he provide her a set list to give her an idea of repertoire.   We sound checked with "Smiling" and she seemed happy with that so fingers crossed!  Jacqui walked over from home and made a welcome entrance at 8pm ish The bar girls were enthusiastic as usual and although the pub had been quiet from around 7:30pm it began to fill up with a mix of locals and our supporters as we approached show time. 

We did a toilet change into the white tees and waistcoats.  I had got a new black waistcoat from Matalan to work better with the V necked tees that our wardrobe mistress (Chris the drum) preferred.  We hit the stage bang on 8:30 but immediately had a gremlin with Chris the bass's mic.  I had forgot to tell him that sharing the same input with Chris the drum meant that either of them switching off the mic would switch off the other - Chris the drum had switched his off!  Solving that took a couple of minutes so I announced we were sorry for the technical delay but we would now open up with "Flingel Bunt"   All seemed well and the follow up numbers sounded good so we ploughed on with our current standard pub set.  This was generally well received and I got into a relaxed bantering vibe which was also well received by the relatively big crowd (by our standards) of over  50.  Chris the bass got another rousing response from his supporters for his vocal intro with "Act Naturally"! Once again I chose to finish with "Rock Around the Clock" rather than a slowie.   The 2nd set went well and we got bits of dancing going in the 70's "Hot Love,  Amarillo" sequence.  For the 3rd set we changed into red, white and blue tees.  My voice was a little tired now (I had been suffering the onset of a virus since a tough game of squash in the week),  but I as we encored with "Wonderful Tonight"  I thought we had done a good job considering the compromises on the set up.  Pack down didn't take too long and we were home by 12:30am.  I think I had a ginger wine as a calm down rather than cocoa!

audience action!

 

 

 

ReTrio at The Victoria Thurston

In December we had discussed the possibility of a Valentines Night Dance with the owner of Pot Black and I got as far as making flyers and tickets on the pc.  But while I was away the project got canned:  basically because of poor ticket sales.  I think we learned some lessons about the need for promotion of own events there. But coincidentally the Victoria at Thurston had been given a 5 year lease extension and Chris the bass was able to book us into there this night to replace the Valentines gig. 

The day after the big Friday night storm it was still windy and wet as I set off with Ms J aboard at about 6:15 to arrive at the pub at 6:30.  The two Chris's were in an advanced state of set up and the bass amp was well back as I had asked.  There definitely wasn't room for two Bose,  so I took the decision to put up the Line 6 2M on Chris's side.  I set the stand up just to the right of the bass rig and with the 2M speaker on the pole it was positioned slightly over the bass rig.  By positioning the pole legs carefully to fit in nooks and crannies, the whole set up only took about 6 inches of extra floor space up!  I set the Bose up on my side and, with Chris the Drum forward of the back line, the whole set up was a lot more comfortable all round.  I set the Bose levels first then I ran a normal PA XLR to jack signal lead to the 2M inserting the jack into the combi input socket at the back.  I was able to take the volume up quite high on the 2M before feedback which makes me think that,  another time, I might be able to get more sensitivity using the XLR element of the combi socket? Testing it out - we all thought it sounded good and complementary to the Bose sound.  We sound checked with "Smilin" where I make good use of the harmoniser and a bit of use of strings. 

 

All sounded OK and we got a ripple of applause from the few people in the pub.  By playing time there were still only about 15 people in (including wives) which was disappointing - but it was another cold, wet and windy night.  Anyway we kicked off with the usual and about 4 numbers in,  I was pleased to see old buddy, Mike Keeper and family coming in which boosted numbers significantly.  With a couple more arrivals as the set progressed, we had about 25 to play to.  Mike had brought his video and set about doing a video record of our performance as I opened a mini country sequence by introducing Chris the drum to sing "Ring of Fire".  This went down well and I had briefed Chris the bass to be ready to follow on with his intro number "Act Naturally".   The idea of this is a novelty number to introduce him and get him singing confidently,  I take the high harmony to beef it up and anchor it to key.  On the night he did quite well and got a good round of applause for it!  Thinking there might be some country fans in the far room I popped in an abbreviated "Folsom Prison" to complete this little country spot.  We then moved onto the sixties: opening with some banter about the rivers of East Anglia vs Liverpool before playing a creditable version of "Ferry Cross Mersey" We did the usual sequence of "8 Days a Week, Mr Tambourine Man and Walk in the Room" to complete the sequence.  We had settled down and I was pretty content with the overall sound and my voice was holding up well second night out.  We were in a relaxed vibe:  even where we (mainly me) forgot occasional details of our arrangements the band followed whatever I improvised with only slight hesitation.  After a few rock n roll numbers we were approaching the end of the set.  On this relaxed night I elected to finish with "Albatross" introduced as Albert Ross - a good choice we all agreed.

Set 2 opened with a bit of banter between me and Mike on the role of washboards in skiffle and a snatch of "Putting on the Style" to take Mike back to his cinema seat ripping youth in the mid 50's.  We opened up set 2 proper as usual with "Apache" - I did a bit of a stroll out front but nothing too energetic.  "Delilah" went well as usual but,  as there was such a small audience,  I then took the boys on through the set at quite a pace,  pushing the continuity by running numbers into sequences where I could.  I finished with an OK version of "Wonder of You" where I chose to sing the last phrase down rather than risk an unseemly flat high note on the video!

Set 3  came and went in much the same manner and we wrapped up with Johnny B Goode where I was pleased to get the timings on the outroductions largely right and got back into my final solo in good order!  We have taken to using Chris the drum's vocal: "Help Me Make it Thru the Night" as the preferred slowey in the final set and on this night I recall that we encored with it. 

As we proceeded to pack up,  although the pub was by no means full,  it was strange how large numbers of people contrived to be in the way as we tried to get the gear out through the front door.  True - it was cold outside and they all wanted to huddle near the door as they smoked.  The two Chris's helped me out with the final bits of PA and I was glad to shut the door on the car to get out of the wind and set off for home.  As we drove,  Jacqui commented that the band's sound had been excellent,  we had played well and a good time had been had by those that came.  A fitting conclusion I thought - but I suspect they may not be booking us back as we don't bring enough of a crowd to make it pay.  Ah well,  we will see.  Post script:  Mike dropped his video edit off a couple of days later.  I thought the video was pretty good and he also commented on the crisp, clear sound of the band and how the video didn't do justice to the sound. Must be doing something right?

ReTrio Video

ReTrio at The Dolphin Inn Wortham

Jacqui and I had returned from Mexico refreshed but at least 6 hours behind UK time.  After a few days we were still a bit out of time,  but I organised a band practice on the Tuesday before the gig at my place to check we could remember any of the repertoire?  In the meantime I ordered two Line 6 Stage Source powered speakers;  a 2T and 2M each with a 10" speaker and horn and some interesting DSP in the electronics.  The 2T has a useful mixer on the side - good for solo / acoustic artistes such as Mr Mog.  Line 6 had recently reduced prices significantly and my spend was timely and primarily aimed at overcoming the lack of space problems of pub venues.  Trying them out I was impressed with the sound quality and small footprint.  The DSP included feedback suppression and different sound optimisation for PA, Music, Monitor, Guitar etc.  Downsides:  they are quite heavy and tricky to locate on a pole.   A claimed 800 watt class D amp sounded good with plenty of headroom for dealing with peaks; and there is a quiet cooling fan which only comes on when things get hot inside the cabinet.  After playing around in the back room I concluded they were a similar hi-fi sound to the Bose L1 but a bit more directional.  The Bose with 2 x B1 has the edge in the depth of bass and top end dispersion and produces a big weight of sound for a less powerful amp of around 500 watts.  I reckon the band would be best placed to use the 2 Bose set up if it can and 1 Bose and 1 Line 6 in cramped gigs (i.e. most of the pub jobs).  I can't see where I would use just the 2 x Line 6 with the band,  but I might prefer that set up for a solo acoustic session?  However, I could see us using 2 x Bose and 1 or 2 Line 6 at the largest venues. On the Friday gig day I loaded up both Bose and one Line 6. 

It was 6pm on a very stormy night as Chris the Bass and I set off in convoy up the A143 heading to Wortham.  The wind was strong and gusty and the rain was heavy and torrential at times!  Despite the storm and rush hour traffic, we arrived at the pub after 30 minutes and parked up near the front door well away from the worst of the puddles and mud spreading round the pub frontage.   Stepping inside we were shown to a decent sized stone floored playing area in front of a large bay window.  I made up my mind there and then that this would be a 2 x Bose gig but I would use just one B1 bass bin on Chris's side to save a few inches on the footprint!  As we got the last of the gear in, Chris the drum arrived.  I explained to the guys that at most gigs from now,  we were aiming for the PA and bass amp to be right at the back and Chris the drum was to set up in front of them.  About an hour later we were all set up and enjoying beer with the band muzak on.  I was happy enough with our sound check even though we were setting the PA down a bit to avoid a toppy ring.  I wanted a less aggressive feedback suppression than New Years Eve and figured it would be better to avoid feedback altogether until there was a real need for more volume.  By 8:30 there were was a little crowd of 20 and 30 somethings round the bar,  a darts match starting up in the side sports bar with a good age mix and a handful of 40 plusers in the dining area enjoying a meal. 

 

Chris the bass had agreed our start time of 8:45,  so we did a bit of a toilet change and came out to open up our first gig of 2014 with the safe choice of "Flingel Bunt".  I was happy with the sound and we got a ripple of applause which is as good as it seems to get in pubs, so we carried on with a safe choice set.  We did start to get a bit of reaction here and there and I was heartened enough to build up the banter which began to involve the younger ones round the bar.  I avoided slowies and on this occasion we finished with "Rock Around the Clock".  We are now playing this in G as the optimum compromise between guitar for the 9th shape chords and the vocal (A is too high E is about right).  Anyway it went well and it's an easy reserve to have in the repertoire to drop in as needed.

In the break one of the audience mentioned that Mick Taylor (ex Stones) lived nearby and sometimes popped in.  Wow I said:  I was playing a school dance in 1968 and we were supporting a London band (can't remember the name though).  They had brought a guest guitarist with them who had just landed the job with John Mayall - turned out to be Mick Taylor!   So I would have met him briefly though I'm sure he wouldn't remember the lanky youth on bass with the 'Banana Tree Band' that was me then!  Looking out the window we could see the wind had got up and the pub sign was really rocking in the gusts.
 
We opened set 2 with "Apache" and I went out front to do the 'walk' and check the sound.  Guitar sound was good and then a young lady joined in the shads walk - fantastic.  Things continued quite well and we even got a couple of the 'youngsters' at the bar doing a few dance moves as we did a 'strictly come dancing' version of "Delilah".  I was pretty happy with the overall sound - the audience reaction to the banter showed that they were able to hear the PA clearly.  We were remembering our songs better than expected and I pushed the continuity between numbers to make it a bit slicker. We finished with "Wonder of You" to good applause.
 
We came back on for set 3 maintaining the cosy audience reaction and played a rockier final few numbers than usual with "Born To Be Wild" as the encore.  This time I was able to get the attention of the Chris's to bring it to an end together rather than the usual 'freak out' descent to a muddled finish!
 
We were all pleased with the first gig back and that we had laid the New Years Eve ghost of PA problems to rest by using both Bose.  We didn't notice the absence of one B1 bass bin on Chris's side and, because we aren't putting bass through the PA, I reckon one B1 on my side would be fine as well.  Mind you I need two my side to stand the mixer on!
 
We took our time packing up hoping the wind would die down.  One chap came over unsolicited and said what an excellent sound I got from my guitar - I was quite chuffed!  The landlady came over and said she was sorry there weren't more there - the storm had kept some of the regulars away. I didn't tell her that a half full pub was a good crowd for us nowadays!  We loaded up in the wind,  the rain had eased fortunately.  I led the convoy back and we had to stop briefly to skirt a fallen tree near Stanton (fortunately the police were in attendance and the blue / green? lights advertised the problem from a safe distance away.  Got in about 1am and enjoyed a cocoa before I took to bed.