Post by DAVE HURRY on Jul 22, 2007 20:24:53 GMT
HI-ON NARBERTH and YORK
My weekend started in a rather excellent way when I found out that I'd been promoted at work. All that hard work (and making coffee for the right people!) had paid off. I also learned that a very good friend of mine had been accepted on a PhD course, which was another reason to smile. After celebration on Thursday night I awoke on Friday morning and got ready for my early departure. My trip to Narberth would involve four trains (not quite as bad as Ipswich!), including three hours from London Paddington to Swansea!
The first two legs of my journey was shared with hundreds of commuters, all in a mad race to get to their obviously very important jobs (why is the world in such a rush all the time???). This proved interesting, lumbered as I was with a gig bag that seems to get heavier every week and a Fender Stratocaster in a hard case (great for bashing pillocks out the way with - I'm sure I nearly broke someone's hand with it last week!). For the trip from Paddington to Swansea, I'd decided to book myself in First Class (as it was only £20) and have the entire three hours in comfort rather than cramped in (I even had a power socket for me laptop!) Oh, the glamour and excess of being in a (tribute) band. I made sure to annoy the toffs around me by relentlessly picking my nose and singing boisterously along with my MP3 player. I toyed with the idea of running up and down the carriage in various states of undress, but decided I'd rather be on board the train when it pulled in to Swansea rather than dragged off at Swindon and straight into a police cell! Free coffee though - lovely jubbly.
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Well. I made it to Narberth. Speed "I wonder why there's holes in the wall" Harris made it to Narberth. No-one else did!!! The floods, which threatened our recent 3-gig weekend (see Ipswich, Dudley and Maidstone) finally got us this weekend. Poor Joe "That's really going to smell" Laz (who was on the next train from the one I was on) got stuck and terminated finally at Reading. After FIVE HOURS of sitting still. Adrian "One step closer to my free coffee!" Swift and Bruce "did you know..." Dugginson got stuck in traffic. It really couldn't be much worse.
At least I got to see a bit of the countryside and a nice Welsh town!!!!!!!!!
Swift and Bruce went to rescue Joe, while myself and Speed watched the support bands (now the main acts!). We were invited to share the stage with both of them, and a very enthusiastic crowd went ballistic as we plowed through impromptu versions of a few Maiden classics. After the gig we packed up and went back to Castle Speed for a bit of kip.
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On to York, then. Speed and I thought we'd get stuck in the major traffic jams that threatened to keep us from getting to York. The rest of the band had headed off to stay at Bruce's gaff oop north. Thankfully, the road was clear and we arrived at York around half past three. A couple of pints in a local establishment filled the time before load-in and soundcheck, with Speed showing Swifty some new magic tricks.
We were then told by the venue that we had to be off-stage by 10:30pm! On a Saturday night!!! We decided to go on about quarter to nine, leaving us plenty of time - it felt like a matinee. Despite this silliness, we played really well. Some very good friends of mine came to see us, which was great. We went off after the end of Iron Maiden, all ready to start the intro tape for Number of the Beast when the DJ turned his "music" up instead. Bastards! We feel our audience was cheated out of at least 20 minutes more music (and how the hell can you NOT end a Hi-On Maiden gig with Run to the Hills?!?!?). The audience voted with their feet however, and damn near all of them promptly left when they realised we weren't coming back on!
Not only this, but the venue decided to take a hefty "room hire" off our pay (which was NOT agreed in advance), leaving us with less than nothing after expenses.. Hence, boys and girls, we definitely will not be going back to Fibbers again. People paid £7 to get in, which is more than we normally see venues charging, and their seven quid didn't even get them a whole show. The rudely enforced early finish, the rushing us out the door (we had to be out by 11:30, apparently), the money taken off the top without any agreement...it all adds up to a bad venue. We played really well and should have left the venue with the feeling of a job well done, but they robbed us of taking any joy from what we do. It was a real shame, as the staff were really nice to us up until that point. A HUGE thanks to the very enthusiastic and appreciative audience - you're the ones we do this for, it's just a shame that this particular venue robbed you!
After a bit of a chat, we went our seperate ways. Joe and I headed back to Swift Towers while Speed and Bruce went back to the Dugginson homestead. Poor Joe collapsed from exhaustion - quite a weekend for our erstwhile tub-thumper. Swifty and I watched a Somewhere On Tour bootleg and eventually settled down for some kip.
Narberth - thanks. We WILL be back as soon as is humanly possible to give you the gig that Acts of God prohibited.
York - thanks again to an amazing crowd. Sorry about the lack of encore!
My weekend started in a rather excellent way when I found out that I'd been promoted at work. All that hard work (and making coffee for the right people!) had paid off. I also learned that a very good friend of mine had been accepted on a PhD course, which was another reason to smile. After celebration on Thursday night I awoke on Friday morning and got ready for my early departure. My trip to Narberth would involve four trains (not quite as bad as Ipswich!), including three hours from London Paddington to Swansea!
The first two legs of my journey was shared with hundreds of commuters, all in a mad race to get to their obviously very important jobs (why is the world in such a rush all the time???). This proved interesting, lumbered as I was with a gig bag that seems to get heavier every week and a Fender Stratocaster in a hard case (great for bashing pillocks out the way with - I'm sure I nearly broke someone's hand with it last week!). For the trip from Paddington to Swansea, I'd decided to book myself in First Class (as it was only £20) and have the entire three hours in comfort rather than cramped in (I even had a power socket for me laptop!) Oh, the glamour and excess of being in a (tribute) band. I made sure to annoy the toffs around me by relentlessly picking my nose and singing boisterously along with my MP3 player. I toyed with the idea of running up and down the carriage in various states of undress, but decided I'd rather be on board the train when it pulled in to Swansea rather than dragged off at Swindon and straight into a police cell! Free coffee though - lovely jubbly.
-------
Well. I made it to Narberth. Speed "I wonder why there's holes in the wall" Harris made it to Narberth. No-one else did!!! The floods, which threatened our recent 3-gig weekend (see Ipswich, Dudley and Maidstone) finally got us this weekend. Poor Joe "That's really going to smell" Laz (who was on the next train from the one I was on) got stuck and terminated finally at Reading. After FIVE HOURS of sitting still. Adrian "One step closer to my free coffee!" Swift and Bruce "did you know..." Dugginson got stuck in traffic. It really couldn't be much worse.
At least I got to see a bit of the countryside and a nice Welsh town!!!!!!!!!
Swift and Bruce went to rescue Joe, while myself and Speed watched the support bands (now the main acts!). We were invited to share the stage with both of them, and a very enthusiastic crowd went ballistic as we plowed through impromptu versions of a few Maiden classics. After the gig we packed up and went back to Castle Speed for a bit of kip.
-------
On to York, then. Speed and I thought we'd get stuck in the major traffic jams that threatened to keep us from getting to York. The rest of the band had headed off to stay at Bruce's gaff oop north. Thankfully, the road was clear and we arrived at York around half past three. A couple of pints in a local establishment filled the time before load-in and soundcheck, with Speed showing Swifty some new magic tricks.
We were then told by the venue that we had to be off-stage by 10:30pm! On a Saturday night!!! We decided to go on about quarter to nine, leaving us plenty of time - it felt like a matinee. Despite this silliness, we played really well. Some very good friends of mine came to see us, which was great. We went off after the end of Iron Maiden, all ready to start the intro tape for Number of the Beast when the DJ turned his "music" up instead. Bastards! We feel our audience was cheated out of at least 20 minutes more music (and how the hell can you NOT end a Hi-On Maiden gig with Run to the Hills?!?!?). The audience voted with their feet however, and damn near all of them promptly left when they realised we weren't coming back on!
Not only this, but the venue decided to take a hefty "room hire" off our pay (which was NOT agreed in advance), leaving us with less than nothing after expenses.. Hence, boys and girls, we definitely will not be going back to Fibbers again. People paid £7 to get in, which is more than we normally see venues charging, and their seven quid didn't even get them a whole show. The rudely enforced early finish, the rushing us out the door (we had to be out by 11:30, apparently), the money taken off the top without any agreement...it all adds up to a bad venue. We played really well and should have left the venue with the feeling of a job well done, but they robbed us of taking any joy from what we do. It was a real shame, as the staff were really nice to us up until that point. A HUGE thanks to the very enthusiastic and appreciative audience - you're the ones we do this for, it's just a shame that this particular venue robbed you!
After a bit of a chat, we went our seperate ways. Joe and I headed back to Swift Towers while Speed and Bruce went back to the Dugginson homestead. Poor Joe collapsed from exhaustion - quite a weekend for our erstwhile tub-thumper. Swifty and I watched a Somewhere On Tour bootleg and eventually settled down for some kip.
Narberth - thanks. We WILL be back as soon as is humanly possible to give you the gig that Acts of God prohibited.
York - thanks again to an amazing crowd. Sorry about the lack of encore!