NICE DISCO LADS... WOT - NO ENCORE?!!

May 12, 2008 at 12:30pm

s'up dawgs? where the hell did april go anyway? got five gigs worth of re-capping to do, so here goes...
first off is a regular haunt of ours, the turnpike in middlewich, town of barges and salt. we first met landlord Tony way back in the day, when we played the boat and folk festival at the cheshire cheese. since then, having upped-ship to the turnpike, Tony has always been a firm clay faces supporter and it's been our pleasure to return time and again for the lovely crowd in there, who always give good craic and say lovely things about us too... which is nice.

a week later we were in that neck of the woods again, this time at the witton chimes in northwich [yes, all the towns in south cheshire end in 'wich']. we played here years ago with jugopunch to some mixed receptions, but mostly good. i dont know, it's a funny one, ya know when you think you've died on your arse, very little applause, and then as you're leaving you get punters coming up to you saying how much they enjoyed the gig, and of course you say "oh thanks very much"; when really you're thinking 'well why the fook didnt you give us some applause?'... hahar, different strokes i guess...

next day we were up in stockport, the venue: the bakers vaults. a well established music venue and a place we always enjoy playing. a good room, good sound, friendly and vocal crowd, good gig i reckon.

so we're pretty much up to date here. saturday just gone we had a little session up the road at the museum in newcastle under lyme. cracking boozer run by our good friends Steve and Karen. though, to be perfectly honest, not a great venue for us [a bit cramped - and nothing winds me up more than not being able to move around when im playing] and, following a day in the baking stoke sun, motivation wasnt exactly forthcoming either, but we scraped through like the heroes that we are...

and finally last night, upon the hallowed stage of hanley's sugarmill, supporting the mighty king creosote. i'll say it again: what a refreshing experience it is to play a mid-size venue like that and have total confidence in the sound crew, thanks a lot fellas - you expose a lot of your peers for the brainless fuckwits that they are. pardon my french, but a message to some other sound men with whom we have worked: if you can't get our sound right then, it's not a random glitch in the equipment, it's YOU not knowing what you're doing. the reason these dudes get away with sonic murder is because it's invariably the bands who end up looking the twats when things go pear. anyway, none such antics at the 'mill where the dudes on the desks are totally on the money and fair fucking play to 'em.
and yeah thanks to king creosote for last night, great gig and a pleasure to meet such lovely fellas. even invited us up to join them for their last number, unfortunately davey and meself, thinking they had finished, had nipped out for a fag and missed the opportunity for a further five mins of fame. anyway cara leapt up and threw in some fine djembe work so that was cool. and anyway, as i said to the king after, there's always the future...

...which, as we all know, is untrodden ground...

laterz