R4

Our last set of gigs before our annual summer break so we were hoping for some good ones and once again Inverness didn’t disappoint!

Friday was much busier that its been for a while and the crowd bounced around from start to finish.  Saturday was even busier and once again the queues to get in were ridiculously long.

I can’t actually remember much else about it as it was so long ago and I had forgot to update the website - apologies for this!!

After driving down the road very early on the Sunday morning Iain, Darren and I headed off to Hampden Park to see the legend that is Paul McCartney and Robbie got ready to fly to California for his lengthy break.

See you all sometime in August when we are relaxed, tanned and ready to rock once again!!

Friday Rating: RRRRR+

Saturday Rating: RRRRRR+

Another gig for the staff at Kwik Fit, this time for those who were celebrating 10 years with the company. 

We arrived 2 hours before we were due on stage hoping to find a TV to watch the World Cup game.  Fortunately when we arrived we were given a plush hotel room in the 5 star resort and told we could order room service as long as we didnt….and I quote – “take the piss”

We had already had our dinner but couldnt resist the opportunity to have some free food in such posh surroundings.  We decided to be nice and all ordered sandwiches and 1 bottle of still water each.  When it arrived the butler brought it in on a massive tray and provided us with the bill for ………………£68.00!!   NICE!!!

Anyway….onto the gig itself!

As per most corporate gigs we had a very short time to load in and set up but we are getting pretty good at this these days.  We were set up in just under 25 minutes and kicked the night off with a pile of classics which to be fair didnt really go down as well as we’d hoped with the crowd of just 70 people.  As the night wore on the dancefloor started to fill and by the time we cracked open the more modern numbers it was full.

We’ve had better gigs but still thouroughly enjoyed the whole experience and would like to thank Graham at Kwik Fit for treating us so well!!

Gig Rating: RRRR (An extra star for the steak sandwiches)

Friday started with some bad news, Darren’s amplifier had died for the 2nd time in a matter of months and we thought it was going to be an acoustic night until the staff at Johnny Foxes managed to borrow an amp for us.  We started at 10.30pm and it was busy but I have to say that the crowd were one of the least interested we have ever played to in Inverness.  With all of the issues surrounding Darrens amp we never really had enough time to spend on the PA which seems to sound completely different every time we use it.  Anyway…..the 2nd set was better and by the third set normal service had been resumed and it turned out to be a decent night.  We were lucky enough to be bought a round of drinks from a guy in the crowd who was loving what we were doing, so much so that after buying 5 pints of Guiness for Robbie and 5 pints of lager for myself and Darren,  I had to ask him to stop buying us beer as there was no room left on the stage to store it.

Saturday was mobbed from the outset and like the last time we visited the queues were round the corner in both directions to get in.  Everything seemed to sound a bit better and we got off to great start by filling the dancefloor  from the first song. Stand outs during the evening were The Killers’ – Mr Brightside and Kings of Leon’s – Sex on Fire as both had the crowd bouncing around as if there was no tomorrow.  We finished off the evening with Chelsea Dagger by the Fratelli’s only to be cheered back on to do an encore.  We obliged by giving them The Proclaimers’ – 500 Miles and then packed up before briefly visiting The Den to collect our well earned wages and finish our beers before heading back to the hotel, via Subway of course…….

Friday Rating: RRR+

Saturday Rating: RRRR+

Not much to report really.  It was the Friday before the end of the month, started quiet, busy in the middle and quiet by the end of the night.  We did in my opinion play a blinder but the lack of crowd near the end of the night made it a bit of a struggle!

Gig Rating RR+

Unfortunately our gig on scheduled for 23/04 at Brightons Inn has had to be postponed due to being double booked.  We will provide further information on any further dates in due course.

We have had to change some of our dates in Brightons Inn and Johnny Foxes in June and September.  Please check the gig guide for more info.

I would say “Dont blame the messenger”  but it is all my fault so blame away!!!

Its been a while since we have have had 2 weekends in Inverness in such quick succession however after our last trip we were looking forward to getting up there again!

Friday night was busier than usual to begin with and we kept them all entertained all night as the dancefloor remained packed throughout.  A stand out from the 1st set was Jason Mraz’s “Im Yours” as the crowd seemed to sing a long with the entire song.  During the 2nd set an American dude was so annoyed he had missed Sweet Home Alabama he paid us £40.00 to play it again, so we did….cha ching!  The last set was as usual our best and the crowd got more and more into it as we rattled through a load of indie pop anthems.

Saturday was rammed from the moment we walked in 30 minutes before we are due to start and when news filtered through that the Ross County team were on their way to celebrate their glorius victory over Celtic in the Scottish Cup the crowd was only going to get bigger.  During our first break Ian and I nipped outside for some fresh air and the queue to get in was quickly growing.  By the time we started our 2nd set there was not a space to be had and everyone was in great form.  We were offered £200 to let a stag get on stage to sing Brown Eyed Girl and would have been more than happy to oblige however unfortunately he chickened out at the last minute.  Very much like the night before our final set was a belter and had the crowd screaming for more as we reached the end of the night.  After packing up we headed next door to finish our beers before heading home via the pizza shop for some well earned munchies.

Friday Rating: RRRR1/2+

Saturday Rating: RRRRR1/2+

The last time we visited Inverness was October last year and after internal discussions it was agreed that this is the longest period of time we have spent in 15 years without a trip north.  Needless to say we were all looking forward to it and it didnt disappoint.

Friday started slowly but we have noticed this the last few times we played in Foxes.  By the middle of the 2nd set the place was mobbed and even when people began moving through to the nightclub area the dancefloor area was packed for the entire evening.  We hadnt had a gig for a couple of weeks so played some jazz chords throughout but nothing serious enough to take the shine of a great night.

Saturday’s gig reminded us of why we come to Inverness – it was a fantastic night with a huge crowd and dancers to every song from start to finish.  Friday’s gig was enough to get us back to full form and we had the crowd by the short and curlies from the word go.  As the evening went on it was apparent that the crowd were loving it as some of their singing was louder than mine.  As we approached the end someone asked for Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, a song we have only ever done for bandeoke gigs hence one Ive never sang for a long time. Before I had the chance to veto the boys were already playing the classic riff and away we went. I managed to get through it with a few changed words which was done with a touch of (6 pints of) humour.

Roll on 3 weeks when we are back for more of the same!!

Friday Rating: RRRR+

Saturday Rating: RRRRR+

We play at Brightons so often now if I dont get a gig review up soon after the gig ive forgotten what to write so…….

From what I can remember – it was reasonably busy, we played well, had lots of dancers and got home before 1.30am!

NICE!

Gig Rating: RRR+

We were booked for our world famous “BAND-eoke” abilities for this private function at the Caves in Edinburgh.  We arrived early doors and set up most of our gear before heading to the nearest pub for some grub and to watch the Inter v Chelsea game.  When we returned we set up the rest of our gear but didnt get too long into our routine before we had a power cut.  Several attempts were made to get the power back on however as soon as we started playing again it went off.  We narrowed it down to a problem with Darren’s amp so decided to the rest of the night “unplugged”.

Thanks to our crowd who had all come over from Ireland for this event, they certainly knew how to drink, thats for sure!!

Gig Rating: RRR+