All of us at R4 would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas!! We hope Santa is good to you and look forward to seeing you all again in 2011.
We would like to apologise to anyone who came to see us in Johnny Foxes in Inverness at the beginning of December. Unfortunately we were unable to travel due to the adverse weather. We are due back in Foxes on 28th and 29th January 2011 and its our first gig of 2011 as I am leaving all this cold weather for 3 weeks in Australia!! Yes, im rubbing it in!!
From today we will not be adding Gig Reports to the blog for each gig. If there is something worth writing about we will let you know but there will be no more reports for each gig as we simply do not have the time plus I can never remember exactly what actually happens at each gig anyway…..its my age!
We will now use the blog to keep you posted on forthcoming gigs, cancellations or changes to our public gig schedule.
We had planned to get away really early and enjoy some dinner in Inverness before heading out to Culloden however when Iain went to pick up the van, Robinsons was closed. We later found out that it shuts at 12.30 on a Saturday. This meant Iain having to drive to Stirling to get a van from Arnold Clark which meant our time for departure changed from 1.30 to 3.00. We arrived in Inverness around 5.45 and had to settle for a Burger King instead of the sit down meal we had originally planned for. We arrived at Culloden House Hotel at 6.30 and I have to say I was impressed with the venue and surroundings. On entering the venue we were informed that the wedding was running late and we would not be able to gain access to the venue to set up until after 8pm. By the time we got in, set up and started it was 9pm and with last orders being at 11.30 our 4 hour set was cut to just over 2 hours due to the 30 minute break for the buffet. The evening started well with dancers from the outset but quietened down during our first set although there were dancers for most of the songs. We started the second set with 5 or 6 modern numbers which immediately filled the dancefloorand it remained like that for the restof the night. We finished up at midnight and left some music playing while we got packed up before heading home. I was in bed for 4am thanks to Iain’s excellent driving. It did cost us £75 in diesel though……..well done Lewis!
Friday started quietly but got very busy during our second set and then quieter as the night went on.
We started at 10.30 and it wasnt long before the dancefloor started to fill up. During our “cheese set” the dancefloor was packed however we were subjected to an idiot interfering with our equipment mid song and by the end of the song he was removed from the premises.
We played a blinder of a third set however as per usual in Foxes now on a Friday night the punters who arrived at the pub straight after work start to fade and the crowd shrunk slightly by the end of the evening. Still a decent Friday night though!!
Saturday was rammed from start to finish and was a great night. Lizzie arrived and despite her age stood at the front of the stage with her “musical instrument” and showed the younger crowd how its done. She must be in her 80’s now but has been coming to see us for more than 15 years. The crowd singing back to us in Sit Down, Sex on Fire and All These Things That Ive Done was loud and proud and we played a bit later than usual after being shouted back for a couple of extra songs.
Friday Rating: RRR+
Saturday rating: RRRR+
We return to Inverness on 1st and 2nd October for our only scheduled dates in The Room. See you there!!
Please note that due to unforseen circumstances our forthcoming gigs in Brightons Inn on 16th October and 5th November have been cancelled. Our next gig up at Brightons is now 27th November 2010.
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.