Showing posts with label gigs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gigs. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2008
Pitchfork.tv
Check it out! It's a new video site from pitchfork.com. They have videos of live gigs, interviews, exclusive videos etc of lots of really cool bands. It's currently one of my favourite sites. Bookmark it
Friday, January 25, 2008
Classic moments
I loved playing this gig. This was last May at the bank holiday weekend. My band, Blind Voyeurs, aired the track Chapter13 for the first time and it went down really well. Was really nervous about playing it at first but I soon got into it. Here it is recently uploaded to our YouTube channel...
This is proving to be a bit of a nightmare to record unfortunately!! We'll keep working on it though - I think it HAS to be on our first album
This is proving to be a bit of a nightmare to record unfortunately!! We'll keep working on it though - I think it HAS to be on our first album
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Bill Bailey
Me and Lisa went to see Bill Bailey at the BIC on Saturday. It was amazing. I'd completely forgot that we'd bought tickets until about 2 weeks ago. We ordered the tickets in May after we saw him on the Jonathon Ross show and he was talking about his up-coming tour.
The German Market is in town again for Christmas. We had a steak burger and 2 glasses of Glühwein before we went to the concert. Glühwein is mulled wine and is great when you mix it with a pint of strong German lager - get's ya pissed quicker!
I'll upload a clip of Bill Bailey later on.
The German Market is in town again for Christmas. We had a steak burger and 2 glasses of Glühwein before we went to the concert. Glühwein is mulled wine and is great when you mix it with a pint of strong German lager - get's ya pissed quicker!
I'll upload a clip of Bill Bailey later on.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
No posts for a week...
Yep, I've sent no posts for a week! So what the hell's been happening since my last nerdy tech post?!? Well, it's a mixture of 'not a lot' and 'too much to mention'. My main thing has been preparing for moving out of mine and Scott's flat to move into Lisa's flat. Lottie will be taking my place.
Friday 2nd Nov, 2007
Went to work - it sucked. Scott and Lottie were off to London to see Carter USM supported by Sultans of Ping. Lisa came round to help me pack some stuff. We also managed to get wasted and stay up til 4am!! Not good as I've got a gig the next day!!
Saturday 3rd Nov, 2007
This was the day of the all-dayer at The Gander (oh and Rob's birthday!).
For those that don't know (shame on you) this was a day to celebrate the re-opening of The Gander as a premium local venue for unsigned bands, and to give Imogen and Chris a good send off as they're moving to Japan. Their departure will essentially be removing a leg from the Betika and Dutch Husband table. Luckily Betika have found some fitting 2 by 4 to prop up the table while they're away. Dutch, on the other hand will attempt to stand up as a three legged table. What the fuck am I talking about!??! I dunno... I think I've lost it.
Anyway, we got there at about 2ish to set up. I was starving and a bit shaky on my legs after only getting abut 4 hours kip and being hungover like a bastard. I got myself a Subway and bottle of water. We did sound check with Dave Purse on drums - Scott was still on his way back from London and apparently there were railworks on the track so his train was delayed. After all sounded good I got my frist drink of the day and enjoyed the first two bands.
I'd seen Slate Caverns before. To the untrained ear it sounds like he's making shit up on the spot. But I've seen him several times before and I know that what he's playing is pre-planned, written and sharper than a surgeon's blade. He's also the only act I've ever seen use his foot to play guitar, his knee to control a wah-wah and both hands controlling two separate pedels simultaneously. Amazing! If I ever write a film, I want a Slate Caverns "tune" in the soundtrack.
Creepythinguy was great too. Reminded me of a Graham Coxon solo acoustic gig - if he ever did solo acoustic gigs that is. It was interesting to see him using a nylon stringed classical guitar though.
We were up next. The crowd was getting big by the time we got on stage. I thought we played like shit. My bass was slightly out of tune near the beginning, even though I'd tunes up. Both the guitar amps were WAYYY too loud and I fucked up loads on the keys during Pale Blue Dot. There were more but can't remember them. Anyway, we played and entertained. And what did me in the most was that people were coming up to us and say we were awesome. One comment was "You guys should be fuckin' headlining Glastonbury, or sommat!" I'm like, "Glad you liked it!" But I wasn't gonna start putting ourselves down. If he enjoyed it then that's cool. My job was done. I just took it.
We had to get all our stuff off stage and get it home before we could relax and enjoy the rest of the day. I've played at an all-dayer before and when it came to taking my stuff home at the end of the night I was drunk and left half of my shit there never to see it again so I wasn't gonna make the same mistake twice. We dropped our stuff at James' and Emma gave us a lift back.
By the time I got back Dead!Dead!Dead! were on stage - man, I didn't think we were gone that long! But that's ok, cos I love D!x3. Such a good band. They were giving out free CD's too - which I wish we'd done. Actually, that reminds me. I spent three hours the previous night making an "Album Preview/Exclusive Demos" Blind Voyeurs CD for the raffle and I don't remember hearing it being mentioned. I think Tone might've forgot to put it in with the rest of the prizes. Oh well.
As the night went on my memory of what went on get's hazy - not that I felt drunk at the time. I remember getting my nursery rhymes mixed up with Simone at one stage and Nikki was being my clapping buddy (we were both holding drinks so we used our spare hands to clap - she was my left hand, I was her right hand)
Potts was on a mission to find the most disgusting combination for a drink - and came up with Tequila & tobasco shots! He made me his guinea pig and force fed me the prototype (the git told me it was a normal tequila) and although it was really hot it was bearable. It ended up being like an endurance test as we were challenging each other and other people to down one, too - I think I had 3 or 4 of them!!!!!
Me, Summa, Kai, Potts, Mark and JB went to iBar after for more drinks. Were were in there for a couple. Kai didn't believe me that the owner of iBar wrote the original Worms game. I had to call Andy over to prove to him that he did. Even then Kai said "I dunno.. I think you set that up!" After a drink too many it was time for us to all head home. I think I completely passed out as soon as I hit the pillow.
Sunday 4th Nov, 2007
This was a null-day. Too hungover to do anything!!!!!!!!!!! Stayed in bed - even that was an effort!
This week so far
Lottie and Scotty went to Wales on Monday for a dirty week in a log cabin with hot-tub and jacuzzi. Which was good for me cos that meant they were out of the way for me and Lisa to start doing some proper packing and shifting. My bedroom is all echoey now - all that's left in there is a matress and a check of drawers - both of which are to go to the tip.
And that concludes the summary of my week!
Friday 2nd Nov, 2007
Went to work - it sucked. Scott and Lottie were off to London to see Carter USM supported by Sultans of Ping. Lisa came round to help me pack some stuff. We also managed to get wasted and stay up til 4am!! Not good as I've got a gig the next day!!
Saturday 3rd Nov, 2007
This was the day of the all-dayer at The Gander (oh and Rob's birthday!).
For those that don't know (shame on you) this was a day to celebrate the re-opening of The Gander as a premium local venue for unsigned bands, and to give Imogen and Chris a good send off as they're moving to Japan. Their departure will essentially be removing a leg from the Betika and Dutch Husband table. Luckily Betika have found some fitting 2 by 4 to prop up the table while they're away. Dutch, on the other hand will attempt to stand up as a three legged table. What the fuck am I talking about!??! I dunno... I think I've lost it.
Anyway, we got there at about 2ish to set up. I was starving and a bit shaky on my legs after only getting abut 4 hours kip and being hungover like a bastard. I got myself a Subway and bottle of water. We did sound check with Dave Purse on drums - Scott was still on his way back from London and apparently there were railworks on the track so his train was delayed. After all sounded good I got my frist drink of the day and enjoyed the first two bands.
I'd seen Slate Caverns before. To the untrained ear it sounds like he's making shit up on the spot. But I've seen him several times before and I know that what he's playing is pre-planned, written and sharper than a surgeon's blade. He's also the only act I've ever seen use his foot to play guitar, his knee to control a wah-wah and both hands controlling two separate pedels simultaneously. Amazing! If I ever write a film, I want a Slate Caverns "tune" in the soundtrack.
Creepythinguy was great too. Reminded me of a Graham Coxon solo acoustic gig - if he ever did solo acoustic gigs that is. It was interesting to see him using a nylon stringed classical guitar though.
We were up next. The crowd was getting big by the time we got on stage. I thought we played like shit. My bass was slightly out of tune near the beginning, even though I'd tunes up. Both the guitar amps were WAYYY too loud and I fucked up loads on the keys during Pale Blue Dot. There were more but can't remember them. Anyway, we played and entertained. And what did me in the most was that people were coming up to us and say we were awesome. One comment was "You guys should be fuckin' headlining Glastonbury, or sommat!" I'm like, "Glad you liked it!" But I wasn't gonna start putting ourselves down. If he enjoyed it then that's cool. My job was done. I just took it.
We had to get all our stuff off stage and get it home before we could relax and enjoy the rest of the day. I've played at an all-dayer before and when it came to taking my stuff home at the end of the night I was drunk and left half of my shit there never to see it again so I wasn't gonna make the same mistake twice. We dropped our stuff at James' and Emma gave us a lift back.
By the time I got back Dead!Dead!Dead! were on stage - man, I didn't think we were gone that long! But that's ok, cos I love D!x3. Such a good band. They were giving out free CD's too - which I wish we'd done. Actually, that reminds me. I spent three hours the previous night making an "Album Preview/Exclusive Demos" Blind Voyeurs CD for the raffle and I don't remember hearing it being mentioned. I think Tone might've forgot to put it in with the rest of the prizes. Oh well.
As the night went on my memory of what went on get's hazy - not that I felt drunk at the time. I remember getting my nursery rhymes mixed up with Simone at one stage and Nikki was being my clapping buddy (we were both holding drinks so we used our spare hands to clap - she was my left hand, I was her right hand)
Potts was on a mission to find the most disgusting combination for a drink - and came up with Tequila & tobasco shots! He made me his guinea pig and force fed me the prototype (the git told me it was a normal tequila) and although it was really hot it was bearable. It ended up being like an endurance test as we were challenging each other and other people to down one, too - I think I had 3 or 4 of them!!!!!
Me, Summa, Kai, Potts, Mark and JB went to iBar after for more drinks. Were were in there for a couple. Kai didn't believe me that the owner of iBar wrote the original Worms game. I had to call Andy over to prove to him that he did. Even then Kai said "I dunno.. I think you set that up!" After a drink too many it was time for us to all head home. I think I completely passed out as soon as I hit the pillow.
Sunday 4th Nov, 2007
This was a null-day. Too hungover to do anything!!!!!!!!!!! Stayed in bed - even that was an effort!
This week so far
Lottie and Scotty went to Wales on Monday for a dirty week in a log cabin with hot-tub and jacuzzi. Which was good for me cos that meant they were out of the way for me and Lisa to start doing some proper packing and shifting. My bedroom is all echoey now - all that's left in there is a matress and a check of drawers - both of which are to go to the tip.
And that concludes the summary of my week!
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Blind Voyeurs Gig - at Kyps 27/09/07
On Thursday 27th, Sept Blind Voyeurs had a gig at Mr Kyps. I was real excited about it cos it's a great venue with a amazing sound system and proper lights and dry ice. I knew it was gonna feel like I was in a proper band, not a pretend one from granny-capital Bournemouth. Hahaha!!
It was good fun hanging out with the other bands backstage. Before we started some of us were a bit worried about a couple of things - the size of the venue and the projected visuals. We thought the place would be too big and the fact that we didn't have a white sheet to project our visuals on were concerning. I maintained that there was nothing to worry about. The other guys were flapping and saying we should've at leat wore white t-shirts. We told Kat our concerns and she tested the projection for us.... it looked effin' amazing! You couldn't wipe the grins off of the guys faces.
The actual gig went well. I know that I made a few fuck-ups here and there, and the guys know that they did too but they were just minor details.... except at the very end of the very last song Scotts bassdrum pedal fell apart, so we had no bassdrum for, like, the last half a bar! Nobody noticed and, to be fair, looking at the videoclip you really can't tell. Speaking of video clips, here's a couple from BHone...
We produced 50 CD's for that gig, all limited and numbered, and we didn't expect to get rid of many. In fact at the beginning of the night we put about 20 of them around the venue and a further 10 by the front door, thinking that we would need to collect left-overs after the gig. But to our amazement when we came of stage we had people asking us for CD's as the ones that we'd put out had all gone!! We gave out the remainding 20 and even then there were still people that wanted a CD!!!
All the other acts played well too. My favourite bit was at the very beginning when Chris (Little Boat) started playing. Everyone was stood at the back when he started and by the time he'd finished his first track about 30 people had creeped up to the front - it gave him a scare. He said it was like some kinda Zombie film and got everyone to give a Zombie-like moan.
All in all, It was one of my favourite gigs we've played!
It was good fun hanging out with the other bands backstage. Before we started some of us were a bit worried about a couple of things - the size of the venue and the projected visuals. We thought the place would be too big and the fact that we didn't have a white sheet to project our visuals on were concerning. I maintained that there was nothing to worry about. The other guys were flapping and saying we should've at leat wore white t-shirts. We told Kat our concerns and she tested the projection for us.... it looked effin' amazing! You couldn't wipe the grins off of the guys faces.
The actual gig went well. I know that I made a few fuck-ups here and there, and the guys know that they did too but they were just minor details.... except at the very end of the very last song Scotts bassdrum pedal fell apart, so we had no bassdrum for, like, the last half a bar! Nobody noticed and, to be fair, looking at the videoclip you really can't tell. Speaking of video clips, here's a couple from BHone...
We produced 50 CD's for that gig, all limited and numbered, and we didn't expect to get rid of many. In fact at the beginning of the night we put about 20 of them around the venue and a further 10 by the front door, thinking that we would need to collect left-overs after the gig. But to our amazement when we came of stage we had people asking us for CD's as the ones that we'd put out had all gone!! We gave out the remainding 20 and even then there were still people that wanted a CD!!!
All the other acts played well too. My favourite bit was at the very beginning when Chris (Little Boat) started playing. Everyone was stood at the back when he started and by the time he'd finished his first track about 30 people had creeped up to the front - it gave him a scare. He said it was like some kinda Zombie film and got everyone to give a Zombie-like moan.
All in all, It was one of my favourite gigs we've played!
Monday, July 09, 2007
Grooves on the Green
I was proper pissed off that I missed it this year! Can anybody tell me what it was like?
The reason why I missed it was cos we were practicing for a Blind Voyeurs gig at the Central. It was part of an after party band bash organised by bhone.co.uk with Sancho and Toupe.
It was good to see The Central back on the circuit as a venue to bands to play. If they book some good bands - y'know, proper touring bands - it could have the potential of being a great venue. Give it about a year and a small bit of refurb (lick of paint, bit of carpet, some locks on the girls bog doors!) and it could be great. Don't fuck it up, boys.
So, yeah, I enjoyed playing that gig. Had a nice sized, open minded, listening crowd. I think we played pretty well, had good comments anyhow - even an offer to play Strawberry Fields festival next year. Ace!
Here's a clip of us lot playing The Mockery. Sorry about the poor quality - it was off my mobile phone. Also, another apology for some of us having our tops off!!
The reason why I missed it was cos we were practicing for a Blind Voyeurs gig at the Central. It was part of an after party band bash organised by bhone.co.uk with Sancho and Toupe.
It was good to see The Central back on the circuit as a venue to bands to play. If they book some good bands - y'know, proper touring bands - it could have the potential of being a great venue. Give it about a year and a small bit of refurb (lick of paint, bit of carpet, some locks on the girls bog doors!) and it could be great. Don't fuck it up, boys.
So, yeah, I enjoyed playing that gig. Had a nice sized, open minded, listening crowd. I think we played pretty well, had good comments anyhow - even an offer to play Strawberry Fields festival next year. Ace!
Here's a clip of us lot playing The Mockery. Sorry about the poor quality - it was off my mobile phone. Also, another apology for some of us having our tops off!!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Neglect is an ugly thing!!
Ok, it's 11th June, so here we go with what now seems to be a MONTHLY blog post! Why am I leaving it so long to actually post something I do not know. Will have to sort it out. The thing is, I've done sooooooo flippin much in this last month that if I sat down to go through it all it would be July 11th!
So let me summarise what I've done in real quick fashion...
. Me and Lisa were going to have kittens (YAY!)
. The Kittens died! (BOO!)
. Lisa's parents came down to stay for 10 days. It was nice.
. My band played a gig at 60 Million Postcards. It was nice.
. We've written some new tunes. They are nice.
. My mum bought a new TV. It's bloody HUGE! (47" HD-LCD!!)
. Mum complains that she STILL can't see the TV!! WHAT?!
. I'm growing my hair!
. Went to a local mini-festival organized by the Fire Dept. It was great!
. Went to bhone's all-dayer at The Gander before it closed down. That was amazing.
. Discovered Tarantino/Rodriguez's double bill film called Grindhouse! Excited.
. Enjoyed reading the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels vs Betika nonsense on solidair's message board. Ridiculously pointless but heart-stoppingly entertaining.
. Bought Tomb Raider Anniversary! Totally amazing!!
. And finally met up with Kim and Paul on Friday after work and had a wicked random night out in town.
There! Hope that covers it all. There are lots of pretty pics in my flickr account covering a few of the above events. Go check it out.
In the meantime, I'm going to try and keep this up to date.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Music on the blog...
I wanted to find a way of being able to post music on this blog. Not so that it plays automatically but so I can talk about a particular tune and then have a link where you can either download it or listen to it in a stream.
After a bit of searching around I signed up to podbean.com. They mainly specialise in podcasting so it made me think it might be a good idea to have short podcasts every now and again. I was thinking could cast a couple of tracks of what I've been listening to this month or a recording of a gig I've been to or whatever. And because I've signed up with podbean it'll also be available to download via iTunes and put onto your iPod. Interesting.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Chk Chk Chk at The Thekla, Bristol
On Saturday 24th March, Scott, James, Rob and myself went up to Bristol to see Chk Chk Chk. I have to quite honestly say that it was one of the best gigs I've EVER been to. The gig was originally being held at Bristol University but got moved to The Thekla - which is a ship converted into a night club/live music venue - because one of the stage lights had fallen the day before and work was being done. James drove us up there in his Clio and we had to suffer the wrath of Scott's smelly arse all the way up there!
We stopped off at the Crown Pub just outside Bath on the way to Bristol for a meal and a pint cos we were starving. The pub was dead and our food still wasn't in front of us 45 mins later!
After I complained our food finally arrived. My burger looked like it had been barbecued, the cheese had evaporated and the salad was hot! It was obvious the food wad been stood under those heater lights waiting to be taken to our tables for about half an hour!!
This is our feedback!...
When we eventually arrived in Bristol we had to start looking for a hotel or hostel to crash in cos there was no way were were gonna drive back after the gig. We went into pretty much every main hotel in the city... well, when I say WE what I meant to say was I as I was the one sat in the from passenger seat. Rob and Scott were in the back and we were in a 3 door car so it was easier for me to do all the negotiation. We were looking for a couple of twin rooms - that is a room with two beds. But we figured we could probably get away with getting just one twin room and then sneak the other two in to sleep on the floor. We eventually found a place (Premier Travel Inn) that was doing Double rooms with pull out beds sleeping a total of 4 people for only £55 a night. Wicked skills!! Me and James got the room. We were given two keys so we kept one for us and gave a key to Rob and Scott to sneak in while we parked the car. The room was well bigger than we thought it was gonna be. It's actually a really good value place to kip - I was well surprised!!
When we got there all of us needed to 'christen' the en-suite with a turd from hell! Well, it was a long drive and, unlike Scott, we held our farts! Anyway... this is getting gross!
We headed for the Thekla and luckily it was just a straight walk from the hotel towards the city centre and we were there. The Thekla was probably one of the weirdest venues I'd ever been too but after I got my head around the weirdness of it all it turned out to be such a wicked idea!! I want one in Bournemouth!!!
The first band we saw were Blood Red Shoes. They were ok - nothing special. Kinda like the opposite of the White Stripes. Girl on guitar singing, boy on the drums ... also singing. Booze was nice and cheap. It was a student hang out.
Eventually, Chk Chk Chk came on stage and we were stood right at the front. I can't really express how fuckin good this gig was, man. I've got a few pics and some video clips but it doesn't really explain how good it was. You just had to be there. Band members were swapping instruments and just jamming, lots of interaction with the crowd, crowd surfing...although this was accidental. One of the singers was stood on the edge of the stage and got pulled into the crowd. He was surprised but after a couple of seconds was loving it giving a 'bring it on' gesture to his band mates. When he eventually surfed back onto the stage he was dropped on the middle monitor speaker and landed on his back!! Later on in the evening he was stood next to me during the DJ set and I asked him how his back is. He said "Right now I feel fine - I dosed up on painkillers and tequilla" I laughed and said "Man, you're gonna feel that in the morning!" He agreed.
After Chk Chk Chk had finished their set the crowd were whipped up into a hyper-active frenzy. Plea's for "More" and "Encore" were ignored as the sound engineers and roadies started taking apart all the equipment and packing stuff away. After it was obvious that they'd finished their set people grouped at the bar and chilled. They'd certainly left the place in a buzz.
On wondering where to go to next, Rob asked some random person if they could recommend any other clubs to go to. It just so happened that this person was they guy who organised the night at The Thekla! He said jokinly to Rob "Y'know technically I could take that as an insult in that you're literally saying that you'd rather be somewhere else!" But he knew we were only asking cos we thought that the night was over. It wasn't! The bass player was about to start DJing. And he played an AMAZING set!!
That was followed by another touring band called The Mules. They were pretty cool. A bit rock-a-billy-ish, they would be good for Fish Seeks Bicycle. They weren't amazing but after a couple of songs and people started to get what they're about everyone was dancing. The main star of the band was obviously the drummer. He was also the singer and obviously the song-writer. I didn't take any photos of them but if you go to their MySpace you'll see pics and hear some tunes.
Knowing that the clocks were going forwad that night we decided at about 3:40 that it might be a good idea to head back to the hotel! Bearing in mind the DST factor the time was in actual fact 4:40 and we had to get up at 8 to head home! We eventually only had about 3 hours sleep! All too evident in the following picture!
On the way home James was starting to feel the effects of the hangover so stopped for a breather! Unfortunately, the field right behind him had just had muck-spreading so it wasn't really the best place to stop!! If anything it woulda made him feel MORE sick. I know it did for me. We were not happy!
But we got home safely and the first thing I did was have some cereal (cos I hadn't eaten) and then went to bed for about 4 hours before heading off to Southampton to see Lounge play at The Joiners!!
We stopped off at the Crown Pub just outside Bath on the way to Bristol for a meal and a pint cos we were starving. The pub was dead and our food still wasn't in front of us 45 mins later!
After I complained our food finally arrived. My burger looked like it had been barbecued, the cheese had evaporated and the salad was hot! It was obvious the food wad been stood under those heater lights waiting to be taken to our tables for about half an hour!!
This is our feedback!...
When we eventually arrived in Bristol we had to start looking for a hotel or hostel to crash in cos there was no way were were gonna drive back after the gig. We went into pretty much every main hotel in the city... well, when I say WE what I meant to say was I as I was the one sat in the from passenger seat. Rob and Scott were in the back and we were in a 3 door car so it was easier for me to do all the negotiation. We were looking for a couple of twin rooms - that is a room with two beds. But we figured we could probably get away with getting just one twin room and then sneak the other two in to sleep on the floor. We eventually found a place (Premier Travel Inn) that was doing Double rooms with pull out beds sleeping a total of 4 people for only £55 a night. Wicked skills!! Me and James got the room. We were given two keys so we kept one for us and gave a key to Rob and Scott to sneak in while we parked the car. The room was well bigger than we thought it was gonna be. It's actually a really good value place to kip - I was well surprised!!
When we got there all of us needed to 'christen' the en-suite with a turd from hell! Well, it was a long drive and, unlike Scott, we held our farts! Anyway... this is getting gross!
We headed for the Thekla and luckily it was just a straight walk from the hotel towards the city centre and we were there. The Thekla was probably one of the weirdest venues I'd ever been too but after I got my head around the weirdness of it all it turned out to be such a wicked idea!! I want one in Bournemouth!!!
The first band we saw were Blood Red Shoes. They were ok - nothing special. Kinda like the opposite of the White Stripes. Girl on guitar singing, boy on the drums ... also singing. Booze was nice and cheap. It was a student hang out.
Eventually, Chk Chk Chk came on stage and we were stood right at the front. I can't really express how fuckin good this gig was, man. I've got a few pics and some video clips but it doesn't really explain how good it was. You just had to be there. Band members were swapping instruments and just jamming, lots of interaction with the crowd, crowd surfing...although this was accidental. One of the singers was stood on the edge of the stage and got pulled into the crowd. He was surprised but after a couple of seconds was loving it giving a 'bring it on' gesture to his band mates. When he eventually surfed back onto the stage he was dropped on the middle monitor speaker and landed on his back!! Later on in the evening he was stood next to me during the DJ set and I asked him how his back is. He said "Right now I feel fine - I dosed up on painkillers and tequilla" I laughed and said "Man, you're gonna feel that in the morning!" He agreed.
After Chk Chk Chk had finished their set the crowd were whipped up into a hyper-active frenzy. Plea's for "More" and "Encore" were ignored as the sound engineers and roadies started taking apart all the equipment and packing stuff away. After it was obvious that they'd finished their set people grouped at the bar and chilled. They'd certainly left the place in a buzz.
On wondering where to go to next, Rob asked some random person if they could recommend any other clubs to go to. It just so happened that this person was they guy who organised the night at The Thekla! He said jokinly to Rob "Y'know technically I could take that as an insult in that you're literally saying that you'd rather be somewhere else!" But he knew we were only asking cos we thought that the night was over. It wasn't! The bass player was about to start DJing. And he played an AMAZING set!!
That was followed by another touring band called The Mules. They were pretty cool. A bit rock-a-billy-ish, they would be good for Fish Seeks Bicycle. They weren't amazing but after a couple of songs and people started to get what they're about everyone was dancing. The main star of the band was obviously the drummer. He was also the singer and obviously the song-writer. I didn't take any photos of them but if you go to their MySpace you'll see pics and hear some tunes.
Knowing that the clocks were going forwad that night we decided at about 3:40 that it might be a good idea to head back to the hotel! Bearing in mind the DST factor the time was in actual fact 4:40 and we had to get up at 8 to head home! We eventually only had about 3 hours sleep! All too evident in the following picture!
On the way home James was starting to feel the effects of the hangover so stopped for a breather! Unfortunately, the field right behind him had just had muck-spreading so it wasn't really the best place to stop!! If anything it woulda made him feel MORE sick. I know it did for me. We were not happy!
But we got home safely and the first thing I did was have some cereal (cos I hadn't eaten) and then went to bed for about 4 hours before heading off to Southampton to see Lounge play at The Joiners!!
Joiners Gig for Blind Voyeurs
Yet again, I've not updated in a LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG time - so I'd best fill people in on what's been going on!
My band, Blind Voyeurs, had a gig at The Joiners Arms, Southampton supporting Maps and The Longcut. Tone from BHONE has done a full review of the gig. The nigth went really well and we had a great reception from people who had never heard of us before. One guy said we blew away the headline act! I wouldn't have said so in my opinion but thanks all the same.
Taken on my mobile during soundcheck
Below is an 8 minute video clip from the gig taken by Tone from BHone. In it we're playing The Christening followed by Pale Blue Dot. Apologies for the darkness of the clip!
My band, Blind Voyeurs, had a gig at The Joiners Arms, Southampton supporting Maps and The Longcut. Tone from BHONE has done a full review of the gig. The nigth went really well and we had a great reception from people who had never heard of us before. One guy said we blew away the headline act! I wouldn't have said so in my opinion but thanks all the same.
Taken on my mobile during soundcheck
Below is an 8 minute video clip from the gig taken by Tone from BHone. In it we're playing The Christening followed by Pale Blue Dot. Apologies for the darkness of the clip!
Monday, February 05, 2007
Band Update
I know I've not updated you on my band's progress much so far this year so I'm gonna try and round up the key points right now. I shoulda posted lots here cos so much has happened. We've played 2 gigs in Bournemouth and did a secret gig at Three Legged Cross for New Years Eve. All three have gone well, better than I anticipated. Which is great cos I'm feeling much more confident about playing on stage.
Our debut at Centre Stage for EPI was a good gig. We were the curators and organised a total of 5 bands to play including us. It was mentioned in The Echo and DV8 magazine (you can read the DV8 magazine one on their online version of the magazine HERE - it's not up there yet at the time of writing this.)
I need to get hold of Martin cos he says he's got it all on his camcorder! Anyway, here's some pics...
The Flyer
Kid Amy
The Grey Notes
Blind Voyeurs
Larry Vegas
A+E Line
More recently (and so far my personal favourite gig) we played at The Gander on 27th January for Ejector Seat. We didn't take any pictures of this gig but I know that Imogen did. I'm still waiting for her email. Below is the flyer.
We've recently just secured a support gig for a signed band called Maps at The Joiners Arms in Southampton. NME are currently going mad for Maps so we're pretty chuffed to be playing along side them at a pretty important venue. I'm really looking forward to this one! (and slightly nervous!)
Our debut at Centre Stage for EPI was a good gig. We were the curators and organised a total of 5 bands to play including us. It was mentioned in The Echo and DV8 magazine (you can read the DV8 magazine one on their online version of the magazine HERE - it's not up there yet at the time of writing this.)
I need to get hold of Martin cos he says he's got it all on his camcorder! Anyway, here's some pics...
The Flyer
Kid Amy
The Grey Notes
Blind Voyeurs
Larry Vegas
A+E Line
More recently (and so far my personal favourite gig) we played at The Gander on 27th January for Ejector Seat. We didn't take any pictures of this gig but I know that Imogen did. I'm still waiting for her email. Below is the flyer.
We've recently just secured a support gig for a signed band called Maps at The Joiners Arms in Southampton. NME are currently going mad for Maps so we're pretty chuffed to be playing along side them at a pretty important venue. I'm really looking forward to this one! (and slightly nervous!)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Gig Preparations Underway...
After finalising a slot for Blind Voyeurs' first gig with Conrad of Solid Air preparations began straight away and now things are really starting to take shape. Up until now we were just jamming and writing new tunes constantly and now have, like, a million tunes and ideas just floating around in the ether. Now that we've actually got a date to work towards we're all a lot more focused of making a set number of tunes gig-able.
Word on the street is that Conrad is planning a new regular event for 2007 and beyond. The event will be more arty than the previous Solid Air with local talent showcasing not only music but other forms of art, such as films, photography, poetry, maybe performance art too. We've been booked for the first night and other acts are yet to confirm (wishlist: Sancho, Brenda, A&E Line) Scott and James from Blind Voyeurs are also going to be DJ'ing before and between acts.
On Friday 13th October, 2006 Blind Voyeurs got together to have a thorough think through (how many words beginning with 'th'??) about what we're gonna play. Although it wasn't intended we jammed a new tune for the intro to our set and then decided on what songs we should string together. We're gonna steer away from the 'play a tune then audience claps then play a tune then audience claps' approach. We're going to tie all tunes together in, what classical composers call, movements.
On Sunday Scott, Lisa and myself have started shooting for a short film which we're going to project behind the band. Ideas have been coming thick and fast since then and, after a couple of late nights, already have a good 5 minutes of film editted together nicely. We're going to edit the film to roughly fit the mood of the songs of our set. More news of this when it arrives.. in the meantime here are a few stills from the shoot...
Word on the street is that Conrad is planning a new regular event for 2007 and beyond. The event will be more arty than the previous Solid Air with local talent showcasing not only music but other forms of art, such as films, photography, poetry, maybe performance art too. We've been booked for the first night and other acts are yet to confirm (wishlist: Sancho, Brenda, A&E Line) Scott and James from Blind Voyeurs are also going to be DJ'ing before and between acts.
On Friday 13th October, 2006 Blind Voyeurs got together to have a thorough think through (how many words beginning with 'th'??) about what we're gonna play. Although it wasn't intended we jammed a new tune for the intro to our set and then decided on what songs we should string together. We're gonna steer away from the 'play a tune then audience claps then play a tune then audience claps' approach. We're going to tie all tunes together in, what classical composers call, movements.
On Sunday Scott, Lisa and myself have started shooting for a short film which we're going to project behind the band. Ideas have been coming thick and fast since then and, after a couple of late nights, already have a good 5 minutes of film editted together nicely. We're going to edit the film to roughly fit the mood of the songs of our set. More news of this when it arrives.. in the meantime here are a few stills from the shoot...
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Last couple of days...
I can't belive it's Thursday ALREADY!!! Time just flies tooo quickly! Especially when I work all day and am too busy in the evening to make a blog post. I'm having to squeeze some of thi sis during work. I'll make it brief!
Friday was mufti day at work... Jeans for Genes day. Everyone had to pay £2 to charity. We met Kirsty in the Bell at lunch for a pint and chips. Me and Lisa totally convinced her that we couldn't make her party on Saturday night. Mwahaha.
Saturday morning mum was a bit ill so I didn't get my usual 10:00 wake-up call so I slept in til about 11!! Rang my mum, she was ok... she just fell back to sleep. So Me and Lisa went into Bournemouth to see if we could get her a birthday present. Couldn't find anything (she wanted a cardigan) but we bought ourselves some stuff. We also bumped into Kim and Paul (and Kim's parents) in Debenhams. Went back home and had some food before Kim and Paul came round ready to go out. Scott wanted to come cos of White Rose Movement were doing a DJ set at 60 Million Postcards but couldn't when he heard that Fran was going to be there! He was gutted. So me, Lisa, Kim and Paul head off - Lisa was driving and had to leave early cos she had a family commitment the next day. It was a pretty damn phenominal night. After that we headed for the Consortium to continue the drinking and dancing with some pretty old school alternative music (think Pixies, think Charlatans, think Beastie Boys). It's all good fun. Staggered home at 4.30 in the morning and was completely sparko til the next morning
Then on Sunday I had a Mezzotints come round to practice for an acoustic gig tonight. I was acting as sound engineer/producer and recorded everything for them. After that we WERE gonna go back to 60 Million Postcards cos Hot Chip were doing a DJ set before playing at the Old Firestation. We were gonna head there for a sunday roast and check out their set (maybe slip them a CD of some of my band's stuff) but the recording went on for too long and I was too knackered! I hadn't eaten all day (couldn't face food) so by now I was starving. We ordered a take away curry and watched Clerks on DVD.
Monday was 'struggle at work' day. The weekend was starting to catch up with me but by the evening I was fine. Completely forgot about Lee's solo gig at The Portman until he texted me during my lunch break. Told Lisa and we HAD to go to that. Lisa had an interview for a new job. Lee's gig was cool - pretty empty but that's kinda better cos people actually listen to the music instead of chatting all over it.
Other acts included Si Genero's final gig EVER (I think he said he's going to America next week apparently). I missed the last act (Stuart O'Connor) cos I was knackered and wanted to go home.
On Tuesday night was the acoustic Mezzotints gig at Centre Stage. Other acts playing that night were Steven W Lake from A & E Line, and Stuart O'Connor once again. Stuart played first this time so I actually got a chance to hear him. Pretty darn good I thought. Utilising loop pedals to great effect. After him Steven W Lake played what I think he said was his first solo gig and he said he was "shitting himself". He had nothing to worry about cos his usual quirky creative genius saw him through. His short films were being projected onto the screen behind him while he sang randomly and experimentally over his piano playing. Cool. After him was the Mezzo's with their set of 7 songs. They too were nervous. Their usual front-man, Ben, sat out of the first 5 songs and then was beckoned onto stage by Mooro for the last two. Considering they only had 4 hours practice (at my place) they sounded alright I thought! After the set Me, Scott, James and Lee were discussing what actions to take with Blind Voyeurs and decided to book our first gig!! Woohoo!! Now we have something to work towards. We set the date for January 4th 2007 so put it in your diary folks! We've got something special lined-up for you!
And last night I spent most of my evening experiment with video footage and creating test demo's with Premier Pro. I also had a wicked Chinese take-away with Lisa!... and now I'm knackered! Not going out tonight that's for sure!
Friday was mufti day at work... Jeans for Genes day. Everyone had to pay £2 to charity. We met Kirsty in the Bell at lunch for a pint and chips. Me and Lisa totally convinced her that we couldn't make her party on Saturday night. Mwahaha.
Saturday morning mum was a bit ill so I didn't get my usual 10:00 wake-up call so I slept in til about 11!! Rang my mum, she was ok... she just fell back to sleep. So Me and Lisa went into Bournemouth to see if we could get her a birthday present. Couldn't find anything (she wanted a cardigan) but we bought ourselves some stuff. We also bumped into Kim and Paul (and Kim's parents) in Debenhams. Went back home and had some food before Kim and Paul came round ready to go out. Scott wanted to come cos of White Rose Movement were doing a DJ set at 60 Million Postcards but couldn't when he heard that Fran was going to be there! He was gutted. So me, Lisa, Kim and Paul head off - Lisa was driving and had to leave early cos she had a family commitment the next day. It was a pretty damn phenominal night. After that we headed for the Consortium to continue the drinking and dancing with some pretty old school alternative music (think Pixies, think Charlatans, think Beastie Boys). It's all good fun. Staggered home at 4.30 in the morning and was completely sparko til the next morning
Then on Sunday I had a Mezzotints come round to practice for an acoustic gig tonight. I was acting as sound engineer/producer and recorded everything for them. After that we WERE gonna go back to 60 Million Postcards cos Hot Chip were doing a DJ set before playing at the Old Firestation. We were gonna head there for a sunday roast and check out their set (maybe slip them a CD of some of my band's stuff) but the recording went on for too long and I was too knackered! I hadn't eaten all day (couldn't face food) so by now I was starving. We ordered a take away curry and watched Clerks on DVD.
Monday was 'struggle at work' day. The weekend was starting to catch up with me but by the evening I was fine. Completely forgot about Lee's solo gig at The Portman until he texted me during my lunch break. Told Lisa and we HAD to go to that. Lisa had an interview for a new job. Lee's gig was cool - pretty empty but that's kinda better cos people actually listen to the music instead of chatting all over it.
Other acts included Si Genero's final gig EVER (I think he said he's going to America next week apparently). I missed the last act (Stuart O'Connor) cos I was knackered and wanted to go home.
On Tuesday night was the acoustic Mezzotints gig at Centre Stage. Other acts playing that night were Steven W Lake from A & E Line, and Stuart O'Connor once again. Stuart played first this time so I actually got a chance to hear him. Pretty darn good I thought. Utilising loop pedals to great effect. After him Steven W Lake played what I think he said was his first solo gig and he said he was "shitting himself". He had nothing to worry about cos his usual quirky creative genius saw him through. His short films were being projected onto the screen behind him while he sang randomly and experimentally over his piano playing. Cool. After him was the Mezzo's with their set of 7 songs. They too were nervous. Their usual front-man, Ben, sat out of the first 5 songs and then was beckoned onto stage by Mooro for the last two. Considering they only had 4 hours practice (at my place) they sounded alright I thought! After the set Me, Scott, James and Lee were discussing what actions to take with Blind Voyeurs and decided to book our first gig!! Woohoo!! Now we have something to work towards. We set the date for January 4th 2007 so put it in your diary folks! We've got something special lined-up for you!
And last night I spent most of my evening experiment with video footage and creating test demo's with Premier Pro. I also had a wicked Chinese take-away with Lisa!... and now I'm knackered! Not going out tonight that's for sure!
Monday, October 02, 2006
Mezzotints Last Thursday
...at the Portman pub. It was good!
There was also True Swamp Neglect and Shyhawks.. pics of that up as soon as I've stopped getting problems with the Flickr uploader!!
Read a review of it HERE on bhone.co.uk.
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