Well some of you may have received an update last week but most of you won’t have due to me being on a last minute break for a week.
Gig news this week is
Saturday July 16th
The Griffin
Earlestown/Newton Le Willows
A staple of the live circuit we have had some good gigs in The Griffin and some mediocre, just depends who is there really. Let’s hope it’s a good one.
Last weekend saw us gigging twice on Saturday.
First off – we were at Fakefest in Birkenhead Park. We were the third band on at just after 3:00 so the audience was still building up. Having said that we played well, it sounded good to us and we got a good response from all there. It was a well organised event, a shame the weather didn’t help. It was pretty warm in the Marquee though.
Yep – a good gig.
Then it was pretty much straight off to the Witton Chimes in Northwich. We have there played many times so they are more open to a few more Clan originals in a two hour set. I was a bit concerned about having to use their in house PA (we feed our mixer into it) and it turned out I was right to have reservations. We had to stop pretty much straight away after starting the first track due to a feedback howl which never happened at the sound check .Anyway once we twiddled a few more knobs we resumed and actually it sounded great for the rest of the night once the nerves had settled down (I am always anxious about the sound once it has gone wrong).
The promoter was happy so we will be back there next year I am sure
News since the last update? Well fellow Ritchie fan Keith and I made the trek down the M6 to the NEC (or whatever it is called these days) to see a certain Mr Blackmore who was coming out to play. Being described as a Rainbow gig seemed a bit daft to me as it was basically always going to be a Ritchie Blackmore gig as far as I was concerned. However it is obviously easier to merchandise a brand like Rainbow judging by the abundance of T-shirts in evidence.
We both bumped into a few people we knew at the bar of course which was good and then like everyone else who also seemed to have ignored Mostly Autumn’s support slot we entered the arena at just after 8:30.
So what did we get? Well we got a 71 year old Ritchie Blackmore delivering a masterclass in taste, tone and rock guitar playing. The set list is detailed elsewhere and there are also hundreds of hours of phone camera video footage on YouTube etc. but no matter it is never the same as being there.
Purple and Rainbow classics delivered with professionalism over two hours by a good band and an excellent vocalist who managed to cover songs by 3 previous Rainbow vocalists and 2 Deep Purple vocalists with amazing ease. I was asked a few month ago by a friend, who should know better, whether Blackmore is still relevant? Well if you have any genuine interest in rock guitar I (and thousands of others) can tell you that he most definitely is. Like David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler and others it shows you don’t have to have your gain/distortion up to the max or play at a million notes an hour using both hands to get some extra ones in.
So our next “big event” is appearing at Cambridge Rock Festival in August of course. I expect t-shirts to be available by then. Eternal Optimist.
Rants
So we have now had the EU referendum and a whole can of worms has been opened?
The debates continue at home and throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Not sure anyone really knows what is going to happen next.
Well despite all their warnings my virgin.net and virginmedia.com emails are still operating however in case they do suddenly cease as indicated please use TheClan@honeybeet.co.uk from now on.
A week away has seen the grass and weeds thriving no a job to be done there. Just need some sun now so I can do it.
Groups of people behind you in a queue and some of them grab seats so that there is nowhere to sit when you have bought your coffee/food. A good hint, take a cheap book and a cheap pair of sunglasses and dump them on a table before getting in the queue if on your own. Should stop people pinching the seat.
Arrived back at Manchester airport, several escalators out of order. Welcome to the UK folks. A great first impression.
People these days want everything for nothing. Fakefest being an example. The organisers of this (and other such events) are taking a gamble. They have to pay for the venue (in this case paying the council for use of some of the park), provide the marquee, sound system, light system, security, toilets, advertising, ticket printing and distribution , headline bands, etc. etc. yes they will get some money back by selling concessions (bar, burger vans etc.), merchandise but basically they rely on ticket sales. If they sell X tickets they break even X+ Y = profit. Less than X means a loss. Quite obvious and simple really.
So is £20 for 8 bands over 10-11 hours expensive? What does a two hour football match cost? What does it cost to see a major artist for two hours? Not for me to say but it is up to everyone to make their own minds up how and where they spend their money. But come on – Is it free?
Music
All sorts this week, everything from Van Halen, Sheryl Crow, David Gilmour, stereophonics and Saxon.
Anyway time to go – So much to do and so little time.
So until next week
Keep rockin’
Craig