North East Calling

I have just - just! - returned from the first three shows of the twelve that Ruts D.C. will be playing in the month of November, and I'm pleased to say that barring the odd technical hitch they all went very well. Heavy traffic (and indeed heavy rain) meant that we were an hour late arriving at The Wardrobe in Leeds for the first show on Thursday but our new driver / backline man Jon got us all there in one piece - after an excellent support set from The Expelaires (who reminded your humble narrator of early U2, which is never a bad thing in my book) we took to the stage at 9.15 for a splendid 75 minute set with sound man Bob getting everything sounding pretty near perfect. After the show Rhiannon does a roaring trade on the merchandise and we chat many-an audience member, all of whom seemed to enjoy the show which is always good news. And it was great to see Phil from Bug with his wife Annette and my old mate and fellow Chicago Blues Brothers escapee Matt too. From there it was back to the hotel for a drink (ok then, quite a few drinks!) before bringing a long day to a close.

The next morning we breakfasted amid stories of cannibalism on the television news (Dave - 'if you were going to eat someone you wouldn't start with their face would you?') we all agreed that it had been a great gig to start the tour with. With the rain continuing to fall we left for Newcastle not long after checking out at midday, arriving at The Cluny a little after 2pm. I'd not been there before although it's a very well-established venue which has been putting on live music for many years - we'd not been there long before Martin McAloon appears to say hello to Segs and Dave, he's the former bass player in Prefab Sprout, brother of Sprout singer / songwriter Paddy McAloon and an old friend of them both. After setting up and soundchecking there time for me to help Segs solder a couple of leads in one of his bass guitars before we have a meal in the venue bar then head off to The Vermont Hotel to check in and have an hour-and-a-bit off before returning to The Cluny just in time to catch the guitar / vocals / backing tracks duo The Symptoms. Perhaps inevitably they bring Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine to mind, which can't be bad can it? Our sound isn't quite as good as the previous night, with a couple of monitor problems and a microphone failure but none of this bothers the audience, most of whom go crazy from the word go. Once again there's time to speak to some of the crowd afterwards before retiring to our hotel for, you've guessed it, a drink or two. And why not?

Saturday morning's weather was a distinct improvement on the previous couple of days, and with only a relatively short drive in prospect there's a chance to spend a couple of hours in Newcastle before leaving for the next hotel. This can only mean one thing - a visit to Guitar Guitar is in order. Within no time myself and Bob were ensconced in one of the demonstration booths there with a Vox AC30 - I'd wanted to try one for a while as I'd heard great things about the latest model, and I must say that it sounded absolutely tremendous. I've also been told that the AC15 is worth a listen so I'm hoping to find one or those at either the Edinburgh or Glasgow shops this weekend. We also auditioned an Electro Harmonix B9 organ simulator pedal which sounded frankly astonishing - there go the wages I fear... from there it was the afore-mentioned drive up to Stockton-on-Tees where we're returning to The Georgian Theatre around a-year-and-a-half on from our first visit. Steve and Martin of Big Figure Promotions were very helpful, support bands The Iron Hearts and The Filth both played well and we gave a good show despite more microphone problems - in Bob's words, 'I took 'em all of the shelf in the warehouse, and that's where they're going back to!' 

Today it's been the long drive home, and I don't mind admitting that I'm feeling very tired now. Still there are four shows in Scotland on the horizon - now that's something to really look forward to! Mind you, that'll be an even longer drive home...

Fever pitch

Well I don't know about you (obviously!) but it's been a bit too hot for me lately. I often think that I'm a bit of a miserable old bugger (ooh imagine that!) but once the temperature gets above 70 degrees Fahrenheit (that's 21 in new money) I find it all a bit difficult, not least because I've had hay fever for as long as I can remember. I've been taking some over-the-counter tablets in an attempt to keep it at all bay - they're either not working particularly well or it's really bad this year. I last went to my doctor about it a few years ago, when he cheerily advised me that the only real cure was for me to stop breathing. Yeah, thanks for that doc...

Despite financial woes I went down to Brighton last Wednesday as planned, where I tried a couple of Electro-Harmonix effect pedals. I was so impressed by the Neo Mistress flanger pedal that I found in Eastbourne last month that I decided to track some more of them down, and research revealed that GAK had a good stock of the company's wares - they're made in the U.S.A. and not everyone over here stocks them. I tried a Tone Tattoo multi-effect unit (I thought it might have been useful as something that I could take along as a spare in case my pedalboard went wrong at a Ruts D.C. gig) and a Neo Clone chorus pedal (I've been borrowing a Danelectro Cool Cat pedal from my good friend Paul Cope since I lost my old pedalboard back in November 2011) and ended up buying the latter (which sounded terrific) but not the former (the distortion sound was horrible!) which made the journey more than worthwhile. And it's always good to visit Brighton don't you think? It's impossible for me not to think of 'Quadrophenia' when I'm there - but more about that in a minute.

Last Friday was a very busy day in Balcony Shirts - and when I say busy I mean busy, with people everywhere and the phone all but ringing off the hook. Having a nosebleed is not a particularly pleasant experience at the best of times, but having one behind the counter on a day such as this really isn't recommended. Still there wasn't much that I could do about it other than to hold a tissue to my face amid various pieces of well-meant advice from customers on how to make it stop. 'Pinch the bridge of your nose' said a cheery lady who went on to tell me that her daughter gets them all the time, while another issued a 'don't put your head back' warning in a possibly over-stern manner.In the event it only lasted a short while which was good news - unlike the one I had an hour later which went on for about 20 minutes. Urgh! Whether or not this contributed to my light-headedness upon arriving at Hayes Working Mens Club for a Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks gig that evening is open to debate, but that was certainly how I felt when I got there. We'd had a rehearsal on Monday evening at which several new songs (well they're new to us, we didn't write any of them!) were tried out, all of which made it into the set with a steaming version of 'Baby Please Don't Go' (possibly not quite as steaming as this one, but we had a go!) something of a highlight. Pete joined us on guitar for the whole show (he often gets up for a few numbers but as he's depping for me at a couple of upcoming shows so it was a good chance for him to run through the songs) and although I must admit that by the time our third set ended I was flagging a bit overall it was an enjoyable evening.

Saturday in the shop couldn't have been different to Friday, being quiet without a nosebleed in sight. Well it was quiet right up until the last hour when it went crazy. This always seems to happen when one or more of us has to get away - I think they call it Murphy's Law? Anyway BAR and The BBs (now that saves on typing!) we due to be playing down the road in Iver at 6 o'clock as part of a 'Summer Fun Day' event so I'd hoped to get away on time at 5pm - I eventually left around 5.15 (a good Who reference there - more about them in a minute) which made for a somewhat fraught journey to The Swan, although when I got there the bouncy castle was still in place where we were due to be playing (now that's a line that I didn't think I'd ever type!) meaning that we had more time than than we thought we had. Ah well - it's better than having less time than expected... with the bouncy castle packed away we set up on an area of AstroTurf (now that's another line that I didn't think I'd ever type!) in the pub garden and were playing within a half hour or so of our allotted time. We all agreed that we got a really good sound - not always the case outdoors so maybe it was the AstroTurf? - except for poor old Pete who's amp kept blowing fuses. Bah! With Al on great form up front, Terry and Dave working well on bass and drums and Chris sounding as superb as ever on keyboards we all agreed that it was an even better show than the night before - and it was an early finish too! I was home by 9.30, and with a long Sunday looming it would have been sensible for me to have an early night - so I of course went to The General Eliott in Uxbridge to catch rock covers band Large Portion. I got there just before the interval - Gary the guitarist came up to me with the words 'you always come along when we're trying a Who song for the first time'. Well I don't know about that but sadly 'Who Are You' went wrong in the middle, and Gary broke two strings in the second set. Not a good night for him, and the band sounded as though the heat had got to them a bit. Mind you, it was bloomin' hot in there!

Sunday morning saw your humble narrator wend his weary way (I definitely should have had an early night!) over to Soundlab Studios in Loughton for a Back To Zero rehearsal. We're gigging at The Borderline this coming Saturday (we're on at 6.40pm as part of the 'Summer In the City' all-dayer) and since we'd not played together since the two shows back in May we all wondered if one rehearsal would be enough to get things back on track, but things came together remarkably quickly (it's good when that happens!) and we made such good progress that we finished early (it's good when that happens too!) with us all looking forward to the show. 
From there it was off to Hoddesdon for the third Buicks gig of the weekend. (That saves on typing too!) When Al first told us that we had a gig at a Mexican restaurant that puts on rock 'n' roll bands every Sunday afternoon I for one wondered if the big man was in a bit of trouble, but Sally B's really is a Mexican restaurant that puts on rock 'n' roll bands every Sunday afternoon. Excellent! It's also got air conditioning which was certainly appreciated by the band if not the audience - that said it's been a while since I've started a show to an audience of one solitary onlooker, as everybody else was downstairs watching the Wimbledon Men's Final. I think he felt sorry for us... fortunately people started drifting upstairs during the first couple of songs, although they did ask for the tennis to be put on the upstairs television with the sound turned down. With the third set looking crucial we had a word with Ian the guv'nor and mutually decided that a break from live music was in order - 'it's the first time that I've ever played support to the tennis' said Terry the bass somewhat ruefully. I sat on the edge of the stage feeling tired and none too well. The box of tissues that I'd had with me throughout the three shows was looking a lot emptier than on Friday evening, but at least I'd not had another nosebleed... the next thing I knew Dave's bass drum woke me up. It was time for our second set - like I say, I should have had an early night. Still with the atmosphere suitably lightened by Andy Murray's victory the rest of our show went very well indeed, with a fair bit of dancing and Ian the guv'nor taking to the microphone to announce that in his opinion we were one of the best bands that they'd ever had playing there. A good afternoon's work. And yes, I went home and went to bed! Well, I was working in the shop the next day...

And on Monday evening I saw The Who at The Wembley Arena. I was optimistic that it would be a good show as I've seen them there on several occasions and the venue always seems to suit the band somehow, and I'm pleased to say that I wasn't disappointed - but first things first, as support came once again from the wonderful Vintage Trouble who played a barnstorming show to an increasingly appreciative audience. I can't help thinking that this band is going to be big. Very big. And rightly so, as they are brilliant both vocally and instrumentally, write great songs and have a dynamite stage act - you don't see many bands like that these days. I'll spare you a rant here about the state of the music business at this point and just say check them out as soon as you can. 
And then there was the 'Orrible 'Oo. With Pete Townshend resplendent in a white jacket and stripey t-shirt and Roger Daltery looking as mean as ever they tore through 'Quadrophenia' to give probably the best rendition of it that I've ever seen them play. Townshend was on particularly spiky form (witness his classic ad lib from 1.50 - 1.59 in 'I'm One' from the show) and played wonderfully as did the whole band - a classic Who gig from start to finish. As the man himself put it, 'it's not nostalgia, it's pre-history'. Indeed it is.

Then there was Tuesday and Wednesday as reported in the last posting (I've just about sobered up!) and today I was back in the shop. I've got a day off tomorrow. Good.

Whole lotta shakin' goin' on

As I think I mentioned a posting or two ago in the midst of various gigging expeditions both near and far over the last couple of months I've also been (somehow!) managing to do some days at Balcony Shirts. With the gigs a bit fewer and further between for the next few weeks it's been back behind the counter for your humble narrator, and I'd all but forgotten how busy it can get in there, with stag and hen parties, holiday shirts, corporate work wear and more alongside the t-shirts that the shop usually produces. Back to work in the real(-ish) world then! Still not playing as much myself gives me chance to get along to see some bands, starting with Lee Thompson's Ska Orchestra at The Dublin Castle in Camden Town on Tuesday evening. A great show saw the band joined by Bitty Maclean for a few songs including their excellent new single 'Fu Manchu'; fellow Ruts D.C. man Seamus Beaghen is on Hammond Organ, and with eleven people in the band the stage was almost as crowded as the venue. After the show Seamus introduced me to former Stiff Records boss Dave Robinson, who I met briefly many years ago when I was playing with Neck - he did a good job of remembering me, although I somehow doubt that he actually did!

Wednesday it was off to Bonners Music in Eastbourne to check out a secondhand Marshall Vintage Modern 2266C 50W combo. My good friend Paul Cope had lent me one when Ruts D.C. played in Southampton last month (you can see and hear the amp in this clip of 'Staring At The Rude Boys' from the show) and I had been so impressed with it that I immediately started looking for one - I found this one on eBay a couple of weeks ago, and as luck would have it Big Al Reed was doing some shows in the area - he went to the shop, tried it and on finding that it sounded good suggested that I went down to try it. Somewhat extravagantly I not only bought the amplifier but got myself an Electro-Harmonix Neo Mistress Flanger pedal as well. There go the wages! Well - the amp sounded great and the pedal will be useful for the dubbier parts of Ruts D.C.'s repertoire. Now I've just got to sell my Fender Blues Deville combo as quickly as possible...

Talking of Big Al Reed I played two gigs with him this weekend, the first of which saw The Blistering Buicks visit The Three Mariners in Bagshot. With Dave the drummer gigging elsewhere Howard made his first appearance with the band, and he did a very good job in my not-so-humble opinion. Mind you he usually plays for Shakin' Stevens so he must be pretty good if you think about it... as a show it was definitely a game of two halves - in the first set it was a case of 'if anything can go wrong, it will' - I had a faulty lead, Big Al's acoustic guitar wouldn't work through the P.A. system and then his electric guitar wouldn't work either before a drink was knocked over all-too-near to his effect pedals; most spectacularly of all Chris's keyboard stand collapsed during 'Hoochie Coochie Man'. He did a heroic job of putting everything back together, to such an extent that he was set up ready to play a solo before the song ended! Fortunately the second set could hardly have been more different, and it was definitely a case of 'all's well that ends well' - in the end. Compared to the dramas described above Sunday's duo gig at The Feathers in Chalfont St. Giles was a straightforward affair - three 30-odd minutes sets, some songs with backing tracks and some without, and good fun all round. As always Al conducted the meat raffle - he pulled the first number out with the words 'and the winner is - Big Al', then when he read what was actually on the ticket he discovered that he had indeed won; I was asked to pull the next ticket out and, you've guessed it, I'd won too. (Yeah I know a vegetarian shouldn't buy a meat raffle ticket - but I thought I'd try to support the pub. Would anyone like some steak? It's no good to me!) From there is back home to make my latest appearance on the Music Scene Investigation podcast. Tom was unavailable due to illness so has place was taken by John who along with Ian and myself reviewed three excellent tracks by new artists - I say it every time I'm on there but the standard of the material submitted really is very high as you can see if you watch the latest episode here - I don't think I was too hard on Ian... was I?

Yesterday it was another busy day in Balcony Shirts followed by a visit to the jam night at The Three Wishes in Edgware - all good stuff, and there's hopefully a good day in prospect today, as Ruts D.C. are rehearsing. There are no gigs on the immediate horizon so we're getting together to run through some different songs from the band's back catalogue and to try out some new ideas. Should be interesting... actually I'd better get going or I'll be late!