Further Festival Frivolity
Ooh, we had a great day at the Eastleigh Festival. A lovely site near the leisure centre in the town and a really beautiful sunny day. We arrived in plenty of time and had chance for a good look round. Clare and I managed to do some serious shopping including being able to buy some new ‘shaky eggs’ to replace the ones I’d lost playing at Jemma’s party! Facilities for the bands were great – fabulous loos – flowers, carpet, scented soap - I tell you, Clare and I thought we’d arrived! At one point, we thought we might not have a full line-up and were contemplating how to fill that enormous stage without percussion when 10 minutes before we were due to play a text message arrived ‘In car park. F’ Felix had made it! We had a small but appreciative audience and the sound engineers did a terrific job. There were a couple of class moments on stage such as during a stonking, angst-ridden and powerful rendition of ‘One Man’s Poison’ with Alan’s electric really giving it some, I managed to completely miss hitting the cymbal! And then on the very , very last Cymbal clash, my drum stick flew out of my hand, over the stage and hit Felix on the head! Well, serves him right for being late! All part of live performance and we just had a great time playing. Then, we had a real result. Steve Harley’s band arrived whilst we were still on stage. They were due to set up and sound check immediately after our set ready for the evening. But consternation all round. They had left behind a couple of Steve’s guitar stands. Fortunately, State of Undress was there to save the day. And in return for the loan of our stands, we were given tickets and ‘Access All Area’ passes for the whole band. Steve Harley was just brilliant with an amazing line up of musicians. What an evening. Steve gave us a signed pass thanking us for our help; we gave him a signed Undressed CD thanking him for the gig. We’re just waiting for the call to be his support band now ……!
And then on to Earthwise. What a breathtakingingly beautiful festival site: an organic farm on the clifftop near Weymouth. As you came over the brow of the hill on the single track going down to the site, the view across the cliffs to the sea and the coves is probably one of the best views in Dorset. We’ve just returned from Earthwise – our tent and duvets are still lying in the hall – (mind you, that’s not saying much, with our housekeeping tendencies, they could still be there this time next week). We are still reeling from the experience. So, so friendly – and in fact we did meet some old friends: singer/songwriter Chris Tempest and local performance poet Fiona who had both been at our showcase gig back in January. It was great to see them again. They were guesting in the Purple Penguin tent. We did two gigs: one on Thursday evening in ‘A Small World’; the other on Friday evening in Henry’s Beard which incidentally serves the best food to be had anywhere). We had the late slot on Thursday and it was quite magical to be on stage looking out at an audience lit by nightlights and warmed by charcoal braziers. They sang alright too joining in on Another Shot of You and This Time. We were missing Clare – who was living it up at Sidmouth – and Felix; but were joined once more by the charismatic and very rhythmic Nick on African Drum and didgeridoo. On Friday, it was just a tad scary because we had to manage with just Alan, Nick and Me on a bigger stage to a bigger audience but d’you know? It went really well. Even sold some CDs – not bad eh? The sound was great and all powered by solar energy. I have to say, the festival has really set us thinking. We’re not the ‘greenest’ people in the world: we’re getting better on the old recycling and things but we’re careless with our use of electricity and leap into our cars for the shortest journey. It’s always about time, I suppose. But there’s no doubt about it, our world is a fragile place and at Earthwise you got a sense of some of the little things we can all do to make a difference .And it wasn’t ‘worthy’ or ‘preachy’ just one fabulous fun time …fuelled by sustainable energy! Please invite us back Bob!
Well, that’s it for the moment. Getting ready now for our Ottakar’s gig on Tuesday with Julie Hearn and then there’s Party in the Park at Portsmouth next Saturday. Hope to see you there.
And then on to Earthwise. What a breathtakingingly beautiful festival site: an organic farm on the clifftop near Weymouth. As you came over the brow of the hill on the single track going down to the site, the view across the cliffs to the sea and the coves is probably one of the best views in Dorset. We’ve just returned from Earthwise – our tent and duvets are still lying in the hall – (mind you, that’s not saying much, with our housekeeping tendencies, they could still be there this time next week). We are still reeling from the experience. So, so friendly – and in fact we did meet some old friends: singer/songwriter Chris Tempest and local performance poet Fiona who had both been at our showcase gig back in January. It was great to see them again. They were guesting in the Purple Penguin tent. We did two gigs: one on Thursday evening in ‘A Small World’; the other on Friday evening in Henry’s Beard which incidentally serves the best food to be had anywhere). We had the late slot on Thursday and it was quite magical to be on stage looking out at an audience lit by nightlights and warmed by charcoal braziers. They sang alright too joining in on Another Shot of You and This Time. We were missing Clare – who was living it up at Sidmouth – and Felix; but were joined once more by the charismatic and very rhythmic Nick on African Drum and didgeridoo. On Friday, it was just a tad scary because we had to manage with just Alan, Nick and Me on a bigger stage to a bigger audience but d’you know? It went really well. Even sold some CDs – not bad eh? The sound was great and all powered by solar energy. I have to say, the festival has really set us thinking. We’re not the ‘greenest’ people in the world: we’re getting better on the old recycling and things but we’re careless with our use of electricity and leap into our cars for the shortest journey. It’s always about time, I suppose. But there’s no doubt about it, our world is a fragile place and at Earthwise you got a sense of some of the little things we can all do to make a difference .And it wasn’t ‘worthy’ or ‘preachy’ just one fabulous fun time …fuelled by sustainable energy! Please invite us back Bob!
Well, that’s it for the moment. Getting ready now for our Ottakar’s gig on Tuesday with Julie Hearn and then there’s Party in the Park at Portsmouth next Saturday. Hope to see you there.
