Feb 15th, 2010
by Gordon.
This was an event we had been looking forward to since we were asked back after last years performance. It was a case of same crowd, different venue as last years event had taken place in The Balmoral in Edinburgh…..not quite as posh as Prestonfield but very close.
We arrived early as we had been made aware of a quick change over and were keen to check out the venue. On arrival we received the great news that we wouldnt have to set up a PA as the in house one was more than capable of providing what we required. BONUS!
After bringing in the remainder of gear we got changed and Daz realised he had brought 2 different shoes, both RIGHT ones! He did initially think Iain had one of his shoes but it turned out he had indeed been a “fud”. We were all still in stitches when the other act appeared. Signature from Britains Got talent were the post dinner act and we were booked as the post awards act. We watched their act from the side of the hall before returning to the dressing room to get prepared for our own slot. Pictures of us with Signature will be on the website shortly.
We kicked off our slot at around 11.15pm with Sex on Fire which immediately filled the large dancefloor. We followed this up with Stereophonics Dakota and powered through the set 1 song after another with hardly any breaks. The event was running late so we wanted to get as many tunes in as possible. By the time we got near the end of the set we felt it was time for the song they had previously requested we play – Journey’s Dont Stop Believin’ – once again the dancefloor was packed as they sang along to every word. We finished off with another sing-a-long with the Killers’ All These Things That Ive Done before ending the night with Twist & Shout and 500 Miles.
Another highly enjoyable gig albeit overshadowed by Daz’s “Shoe Gate”.
Thanks to the staff at Kwik Fit Financial Service for making the night a great success!!
Gig Rating: RRRR+
Posted in: Uncategorized.
Feb 15th, 2010
by Gordon.
Falkirk’s newest live music venue appears to be getting more and more popular as the weeks roll in. It was a far contrast from our first visit and was even busier than our last and thats saying something.
We kicked off proceedings around 9.00pm to a pretty full venue, all of the seats were taken and it was minimal standing room only. The standing room got smaller and smaller as we started our first set and by the time we got into gear the pub was as busy as Ive ever seen it. It took the crowd a few songs to get into the spirit but from our rendition of Jason Mraz’s “Im Yours” onwards I felt we had them by the short and curlies.
After a short 10 minute break we returned to the stage and treated the crowd to a fat helping of cheese including the highly requested “Don’t Stop Believin” which brought with it a crowd sing-a-long. By this point the pub was rammed and the makeshift dancefloor was beginning to move. After another 10 minute break we rattled through till midnight with a mix of indie anthems which left the crowd shouting for more. We gave them one more then went home to rest as we had a high profile gig the following evening in Edinburgh.
Gig Rating: RRRR+
Posted in: Uncategorized.
Feb 12th, 2010
by Gordon.
Apologies for the lack of gig reviews recently. Ive been finding it difficult to find the time!
Here is a brief overview of 2010 so far…….
We had to cancel our first gigs of the new year due to the adverse weather conditions however we have added a further weekend in Johnny Foxes, Inverness. The gig guide will be updated very soon.
Our bad luck continued the following week at Brightons Inn when I lost my voice after struggling through 2 sets. The locals ended up helping us out with a few songs to get us to the end of the night. Special thanks to Airchy and Tunga for their assistance. They did well but never made me think I had any chance of losing my job!
The following evening after a full day of lemsips, strepsils, menthol face sauna’s and no talking we turned up at Glenskirlie Castle very apprehensive as to how my throat would hold up under the pressure of a 3 hour gig. To cut a long story short….I forced my through the night and it was one of the best wedding crowds we’ve ever had. I couldnt speak for a few days but that pleased Mel, my folks and everyone at my work.
Our next gig was our 2nd visit to Full Stop in Falkirk and it was far better than the first. We had a great crowd in and played a blinder. There were no unecessary fire alarms activated on this occasion and we even had a make shift dancefloor full.
Next up its another visit to Full Stop followed by a massive gig at Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh where we end the night after a peformances from Britains Got Talent finalists – Signature!
I promise more in depth gig reports will follow. A new laptop means I have no excuse.
Posted in: Uncategorized.
Dec 21st, 2009
by Gordon.
This was very much a last minute booking and as we already had all our gear at the concert hall we were more than happy to accept another night. While we were sound checking we noticed several children enter the hall and by the time we had finished sound checking there were about 50 children and 50 adults. This obviously wasnt what we were expecting and we were a bit reluctant to say the least.
We were supposed to start off 8.30 and play till 9.45 but as the awards ceremony ran late we didnt get started until 9 and as Santa had been booked and there was a raffle we only had to play a 45 minute first set. They also ran late for the 2nd set so we only had to do 10.45 to 11.45 instea of the intended 1 hour and 15 minute slot.
The kids were up dancing from the beginnig and we were all amazed by one particular boys dance moves. He was like a 5 year old Justin Timberlake and I would say his next stop should be Britains Got Talent. It took some of the older ones a while to get up but by the end of the evening they were all on the dancefloor. What started as a worrying time for us ended up turning into a pretty good night.
Thanks to all at Motherwell Concert Hall for looking after us as always. We will miss you all next year as the hall is being refurbished and will be closed but Im sure we will be back in 2011.
Gig Rating: RRR1/2+
Posted in: Gig Reviews, Motherwell.
Dec 21st, 2009
by Gordon.
We were a bit late arriving to the concert hall for our penultimate party night and didnt have time to sound check. The night went very much like the last 2 as we had dancers from the outset and by the end of the night the place was bouncing. I had a bit of a sore throat however apart from the occaisional squeek I managed to get through the evening without the need for a Strepsil.
Gig Rating: RRRR+
Posted in: Gig Reviews, Motherwell.
Dec 21st, 2009
by Gordon.
I left work in Glasgow to head into Royal Exchange Square at 4.30pm and didnt get there until 5.30pm as the traffic was crazy. It was the last late night shopping Thursday before Christmas and the city centre was rammed. After the sat nav sent me to a few strange places I eventually ended up at the venue only to be confronted with a security guard who wasn’t for letting me through a chain locked alleyway. After some negotiation on my part I was eventually allowed in only to be told that I would need to walk a fair distance with the PA through the snow and ice. He was kind enough to let me know that I had 5 minutes to unload before he would be locking me in until 6am the following morning, lovely chap! Luckily Manny from Maximillion Events came to the rescue with a trolley and we managed get the gear across to the venue within 5 minutes. Next it was time to find a parking space……to cut a long and stressful story short…..I drove all over Glasgow and there werent any so I parked on double yellows outisde the venue. Later I found out that Iain had also parked on double yellows as had Daz, luckily none of us got tickets.
Anyway…..to the gig – We had drafted in Alex to play bass as Robbie was unavailable and as we were only asked to play 7 songs it saved us cancelling the gig although after all the problems with parking and unloading I almost wish we had.
The event itself was like a game show and we were just part of it. There were 7 groups of 10-13 people who all had to get up and sing a song, the crowd cheered or jeered and a highly technical “clapometer” rated the performances. Iain was having kittens as his drums were being played by the well oiled guests, they also threw blow up guitars at him. Nice!
We had another nightmare trying to load out as the area we had played on then became a dancefloor and we had 2 flights of stairs to take the gear down to the ground level before having to park on Buchanan Street and carry all the stuff a fair distance.
By the end of the night we were all mentally and physically knackered, hats off to the Maximillion Team who do all this stuff on a daily basis. Its not for me – I prefer the easy life!
Gig Rating: R+
Posted in: Gig Reviews, Glasgow.
Dec 14th, 2009
by Gordon.
When we arrived they hall had been changed into a shrine to James Bond and there were images scattered throughout. They were a bit late getting started so we didnt get started until 9.30pm. We started off with our own tribute to 007 with our version of Nobody Does it Better then went on to play the same first set as the night before but the set up of the hall meant the crowd had to queue to get onto the dancefloor as it was a good but smaller. As the set wore on people got fed up attempting to reach the dancefloor and just danced in the aisles. Once again, Mr Brightside was a definite highlight of the first set!
We were late starting the 2nd set due to a delay with the raffle. The crowd were treated to a visit from Santa before we started off our 2nd set with Sex on Fire. The sing back was even better than the night before and they again packed the dancefloor right to the end of the night. We ended our set slightly differently and had to cut a few songs due to the delay however Twist & Shout had everybody on their feet as did Chelsea Dagger. After we finished the crowd screamed for more so we came back on and gave them the Proclaimers’ 500 Miles which raised the roof.
Once again a fantastic bunch of people who really seemed to enjoy themeselves.
See photos!
Rating: RRRRR1/2+
Posted in: Gig Reviews, Motherwell.
Dec 14th, 2009
by Gordon.
We took to the stage at 9pm and kicked off proceedings with Sweet Home Alabama. The 600 strong crowd immediately took to the floor and were there for the remainder of the set as we powered through song after song. They danced and sang along throughout our first hour’s set and after finishing off the set with The Killers’ Mr Brightside they were demanding more. We passed over to the DJ who played from 10-11 before we made our way back to the stage to commence our 2nd set. We started the 2nd set with The Kings of Leon’s Sex on Fire and again packed the dancefloor. The sing back to Sex on Fire and Hi Ho Silver Lining were exceptional and by the time we got to Chelsea Dagger at the end of the set there was a whole lot of bouncing going on.
A great way to kick off our festive dates in Motherwell.
Rating: RRRRR+
Posted in: Gig Reviews, Motherwell.
Dec 13th, 2009
by Robbie.
I’ve just uploaded a few pictures from our most recent gig at Motherwell Concert Hall. There was a James Bond theme going on, hence the white shirts and bow ties.
Click here to see the rest of the pictures.
Posted in: Photos.
Daz and I arrived about 8.30pm and were delighted to see that Iain and Robbie had already unloaded most of the gear from the van into the pub. Happy times!! Well………until we realised that we had left Iains drum stick bag and Darren’s bag containing guitar accessories back in Falkirk…..Sad Times!!
I gave Darren all of my accessories for my acoustic guitar and this allowed us to do the gig albeit without “The Hendrix Style Acoustic Sound”. Iain bought a set of sticks from a guy in a dark alley for a tenner and we were ready to rock!!
Friday started well with dancers from the outset, it wasn’t as busy as I’ve seen it on a Friday but the crowd enjoyed the night and were extremely complementary throughout the evening. We finished off at 12.30 and Darren and I had 1 more beer before heading to the kebab shop for some well earned grub…..the smell seemed to wake Iain up and he delved in from the comfort of his super king size bed and helped himself to some donner.
Saturday was absolutely rammed and we struggled to cope with the volume of people at the front as they seemed to be trying out a new “extreme dancing technique”. It was one of these gigs that was enjoyable and very stressful at the same time as the security staff and Robbie tried to fend the well oiled crowd away from our equipment. Believe me when I say that taking a microphone in the teeth is a sore one and could easily leave you with a few missing. We did however manage to make it to the end of the night unscathed but decided against doing an encore, just to be safe!
We wont be returning to Inverurie until May 2010 and have asked that they build a small wall between the band and the crowd 
Friday Gig Rating: RRR+
Saturday Gig Rating: RRRR+
Posted in: Gig Reviews, Inverurie.
