Post by DAVE HURRY on Jul 3, 2007 19:10:10 GMT
HI-ON IPSWICH, DUDLEY & MAIDSTONE
Ipswich. Well.
Just as the rain started pelting down on Dartford Town, I escaped on a train bound for Ipswich. Well, five trains bound for Ipswich.
I arrived at the venue well early just before four o'clock. Young Joe "Look what Nicko gave me this week!" Lazarus was scheduled to arrive about 5, with the rest of the band in tow soon after. Sadly, both hit traffic, so poor me sat there on me tod drinking the end of a barrel of Guinness and wondering what the gig would be like. It was another smallish pub, similar to The George II in Luton which - despite it's size - had wielded a very responsive and enthusiastic crowd.
Joe turned up with roadies (proper rock star) and started setting up his kit, complete with custom Nicko bass drum head. Nice! Adrian "I've missed the bloddy turning" Swift and Speed "Have you shit?" Harris arrived soon after with Andy (the singer for the night) and we started setting up. Another venue sans soundman, so after a bit of PA jigerry-pokery we ran through a couple of songs. Joe did a grand job and the small crowd of innocent bystanders seemed pleased.
Showtime crept up on us, and we went on a little later than planned. A good show, not our best but a workmanlike performance. Andy did a fine job on the voice, some small screw-ups by all - we were all grateful of the warm up before the next show at Dudley - brush the cobwebs away, so to speak.
I'm writing this section in the hottest hotel room in the world ever, waiting to set off for Asbury Towers for some pre-JB's silliness and dog bumming.
----
On to Dudloi! We were all really excited about this one. JB's has hosted some legendary gigs in the past (in fact, my very first gig with Hi-On was here in November 2003).
A brief visit to Jason's house (for the record, he wasn't wearing a white t-shirt!!!) was a well-needed respite, especially after the temperature of that hotel room. Yow! Jason and Carmel laid on some grub and Speed & Joe played basketball in the back garden. Many thanks to Jason and Carmel for having us in their house, smelly as we were! We set off around half 5 to pick Matt up from Sandwell & Dudley train station, and drove on to JB's with the delicate sound of Pink Floyd filling the cab - poor Joe sat in between myself and Swifty harmonising beautifully (?) aling with Gilmour and co.
Soundcheck was tight, and a marvellous curry was provided by the benevolent Sam. Top bloke! I went off to visit the fanclub in The Fellows for a bit, and then headed back to get ready. There's nothing quite like the feeling you get just before going on a stage like that with such a large crowd. I was bricking it!!
The show itself went well - I wasn't best pleased with my performance, but the overall reaction was overwhelmingly positive and I had a really good time on stage. The owner and many long-time fans in the audience said that it was the best Hi-On gig they'd ever seen!
After setting down and setting off (with more Floyd and more dodgy harmonies - poor Joe in the middle again was probably grateful for the ringing in his ears!!!), we pulled into a drive-thru McDonalds. Sadly our van wouldn't drive through - a bit on the tall side, it seems! Height restrictions for drive-thrus! Whatever next!. We settled for the petrol station over the road and Joe & I got our Ginsters fill - Ginsters is the food of the road, we ought to have an endorsement!!l.
A good morning's sleep and a hearty (or not-so-good-for-the-hearty) McDonalds breakfast, we set off to Maid(en)stone. I'm writing this in the back of the van, fuelled by Relentless (me, not the van!). Before this weekend, I hadn't had a McDonalds in YEARS. And now I remember why! Makes me feel more than a little queasy - and rules out any possibility of a really good shit! AAAHEEEE!
----
F**K ME!!!
Maidstone was bloody amazing!! The venue was in a banquet hall above the main restaurant - it had chandeliers and everything! The staff were really friendly and after soundcheck we disappeared backstage where the staff get changed into all their Henry VIII-period gear. The place started filling up as soon as the doors were open, putting to rest any fears the venue staff had about only a few people turning up. Apparently they'd only recently started putting on live music, and we were the first tribute band. They needn't have worried - the locals packed out the venue, embellished by friends and family of the band (including a few members of Steve Harris' family - causing Speed a few brown-trouser moments before going on!!!).
Everyone had a really good gig - it's not often in a venue of that size that the crowd are loud enough that we can hear them over our din. But bloody hell - Maidstone is LOUD! We all played a blinder (especially young Joe, putting in his best performance of the weekend - and the other two weren't bad either!!!). Three gigs on the trot is always a little bit knackering, but more often than not you find yourself at the third gig playing like you've been gigging every night of your life - we were really tight and had locked into each other's playing styles really well.And
Big thanks to both vocalists this weekend. Andy was a top bloke and a fine vocalist, and Matt always lifts us all to another level. Top stuff.
The rest of the band had a bit of a long drive back home, whereas I was home half an hour after leaving the venue. More Sunday gigs in Kent please, Speed!!! Though I got home and realised I"d left me Breeg t-shirt at the venue - BUGGER!
And now...the Memorable Mistake Mentions! We all make mistakes from time to time, and there were some corkers this weekend...!
1) Dave Hurry, "The Evil That Men Do", Ipswich - it's all well and good sitting back and enjoying the pre-solo harmony, but remembering to come in with the right chord afterwards is probably advisable in future!!!
2) Speed Harris, "Run To The Hills", Ipswich - what's the second to last chord? That one? No, this one. No! This one! AAAAAAGH!!!
3) Adrian Swift, "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns", Dudley - "It's authentic - I make the same mistakes as Adrian Smith does!!!"
4) Quicko Junior, "Iron Maiden", Dudley - doesn't end with the same beat as Hallowed, young chap!!! The look on his face afterwards was priceless
5) Bruce Wiginson, "No More Lies", Maidstone - we'll play the missing verse twice next time, chap!
Until next time, UP THE HI-ONS!
Ipswich. Well.
Just as the rain started pelting down on Dartford Town, I escaped on a train bound for Ipswich. Well, five trains bound for Ipswich.
I arrived at the venue well early just before four o'clock. Young Joe "Look what Nicko gave me this week!" Lazarus was scheduled to arrive about 5, with the rest of the band in tow soon after. Sadly, both hit traffic, so poor me sat there on me tod drinking the end of a barrel of Guinness and wondering what the gig would be like. It was another smallish pub, similar to The George II in Luton which - despite it's size - had wielded a very responsive and enthusiastic crowd.
Joe turned up with roadies (proper rock star) and started setting up his kit, complete with custom Nicko bass drum head. Nice! Adrian "I've missed the bloddy turning" Swift and Speed "Have you shit?" Harris arrived soon after with Andy (the singer for the night) and we started setting up. Another venue sans soundman, so after a bit of PA jigerry-pokery we ran through a couple of songs. Joe did a grand job and the small crowd of innocent bystanders seemed pleased.
Showtime crept up on us, and we went on a little later than planned. A good show, not our best but a workmanlike performance. Andy did a fine job on the voice, some small screw-ups by all - we were all grateful of the warm up before the next show at Dudley - brush the cobwebs away, so to speak.
I'm writing this section in the hottest hotel room in the world ever, waiting to set off for Asbury Towers for some pre-JB's silliness and dog bumming.
----
On to Dudloi! We were all really excited about this one. JB's has hosted some legendary gigs in the past (in fact, my very first gig with Hi-On was here in November 2003).
A brief visit to Jason's house (for the record, he wasn't wearing a white t-shirt!!!) was a well-needed respite, especially after the temperature of that hotel room. Yow! Jason and Carmel laid on some grub and Speed & Joe played basketball in the back garden. Many thanks to Jason and Carmel for having us in their house, smelly as we were! We set off around half 5 to pick Matt up from Sandwell & Dudley train station, and drove on to JB's with the delicate sound of Pink Floyd filling the cab - poor Joe sat in between myself and Swifty harmonising beautifully (?) aling with Gilmour and co.
Soundcheck was tight, and a marvellous curry was provided by the benevolent Sam. Top bloke! I went off to visit the fanclub in The Fellows for a bit, and then headed back to get ready. There's nothing quite like the feeling you get just before going on a stage like that with such a large crowd. I was bricking it!!
The show itself went well - I wasn't best pleased with my performance, but the overall reaction was overwhelmingly positive and I had a really good time on stage. The owner and many long-time fans in the audience said that it was the best Hi-On gig they'd ever seen!
After setting down and setting off (with more Floyd and more dodgy harmonies - poor Joe in the middle again was probably grateful for the ringing in his ears!!!), we pulled into a drive-thru McDonalds. Sadly our van wouldn't drive through - a bit on the tall side, it seems! Height restrictions for drive-thrus! Whatever next!. We settled for the petrol station over the road and Joe & I got our Ginsters fill - Ginsters is the food of the road, we ought to have an endorsement!!l.
A good morning's sleep and a hearty (or not-so-good-for-the-hearty) McDonalds breakfast, we set off to Maid(en)stone. I'm writing this in the back of the van, fuelled by Relentless (me, not the van!). Before this weekend, I hadn't had a McDonalds in YEARS. And now I remember why! Makes me feel more than a little queasy - and rules out any possibility of a really good shit! AAAHEEEE!
----
F**K ME!!!
Maidstone was bloody amazing!! The venue was in a banquet hall above the main restaurant - it had chandeliers and everything! The staff were really friendly and after soundcheck we disappeared backstage where the staff get changed into all their Henry VIII-period gear. The place started filling up as soon as the doors were open, putting to rest any fears the venue staff had about only a few people turning up. Apparently they'd only recently started putting on live music, and we were the first tribute band. They needn't have worried - the locals packed out the venue, embellished by friends and family of the band (including a few members of Steve Harris' family - causing Speed a few brown-trouser moments before going on!!!).
Everyone had a really good gig - it's not often in a venue of that size that the crowd are loud enough that we can hear them over our din. But bloody hell - Maidstone is LOUD! We all played a blinder (especially young Joe, putting in his best performance of the weekend - and the other two weren't bad either!!!). Three gigs on the trot is always a little bit knackering, but more often than not you find yourself at the third gig playing like you've been gigging every night of your life - we were really tight and had locked into each other's playing styles really well.And
Big thanks to both vocalists this weekend. Andy was a top bloke and a fine vocalist, and Matt always lifts us all to another level. Top stuff.
The rest of the band had a bit of a long drive back home, whereas I was home half an hour after leaving the venue. More Sunday gigs in Kent please, Speed!!! Though I got home and realised I"d left me Breeg t-shirt at the venue - BUGGER!
And now...the Memorable Mistake Mentions! We all make mistakes from time to time, and there were some corkers this weekend...!
1) Dave Hurry, "The Evil That Men Do", Ipswich - it's all well and good sitting back and enjoying the pre-solo harmony, but remembering to come in with the right chord afterwards is probably advisable in future!!!
2) Speed Harris, "Run To The Hills", Ipswich - what's the second to last chord? That one? No, this one. No! This one! AAAAAAGH!!!
3) Adrian Swift, "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns", Dudley - "It's authentic - I make the same mistakes as Adrian Smith does!!!"
4) Quicko Junior, "Iron Maiden", Dudley - doesn't end with the same beat as Hallowed, young chap!!! The look on his face afterwards was priceless
5) Bruce Wiginson, "No More Lies", Maidstone - we'll play the missing verse twice next time, chap!
Until next time, UP THE HI-ONS!