Ooh La La!
State of Undress 
SilverDream
L'Encre de Coni
Malcolm French Fashion Icon
Well, since Save The Whale Week, we've been rushing round all over. We returned from Scotland just in time to unpack our gear, pack it again and go off to France to play at a little outdoor event at St Macoux Vienne. This was organised by Mike Boe of La Roc Musique Association. He used to run a music pub in Derby before moving to France to enjoy their sun, food and wine. Mind you, the weekend we were there, the weather was no better than here. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We set off at 5.30am to catch the 7.00am ferry from Portsmouth to Caen. We had the world's worst crossing early on the Friday morning - there wasn't a loo not being used. And as I was lying there, prostrate on the floor, the ferry rolling from side to side, the bar closed because all the bottles and glasses were crashing to the floor, I was thinking 'That's it. I'm getting a day job again. No gig is worth this.' Probably lost a few pounds though - so there's always a bright side. Anyway, we were going in convoy - 4 vehicles - 21 of us in total - although my mum, sister, Dee and Susan had gone ahead the day before - we're getting a bit like the Rolling Stones: all of the entourage, none of the money! We stopped off at Poitiers Airport to pick up my brother who had flown in from Australia - he wasn't going to miss out on a weekend in France with us all - and finally arrived at Mike's and Diana's about 5.30pm to find the rest all sitting on the patio in the sunshine with the wine already uncorked. How else would we find them? My sister and Dee were almost on their knees. Mike had had them practically building the stage! And before we could settle for the night, there was the little job of putting up the tents. Our tent was my birthday present. It was still in its box. Just as well David was there or we'd have been sleeping under the stars! Sam and Glen hacked back the undergrowth behind the barn and set up camp very happily amongst the thistles and brambles. Those two just love the outdoor life! My brother slept in our old tent affectionately called the pimple - supposedly a four-man sleeper but only if you're a hobbit. Everyone else slept in various places somewhere in Auntie Di and Mike's beautiful rambling chateau - including our bass player Malcolm who slept under the dining table on a pile of cushions. We slept like a log ...apart from the four kids who somehow ended up sharing our tent and were playing games on their mobile phones and performing competitive bodily functions as only boys can do; my brother blowing up his mattress - again! - with the electric pump at three o'clock in the morning as it had quietly deflated over a couple of hours; and next door's cockerel - which was seriously in danger of becoming a feather duster - joining in the dawn chorus from 4.30am. Apart from all of that, a wonderful night's sleep. We woke to a shimmering summer's day and had a lazy morning - the guys slipped off to Ruffec Market whilst I was on kid duty and working on the set list. A typical and gorgeous French lunch of cheese, cold meats, tomatoes, fruit, bread and wine of course. And then off down to the site to help Mike with the stage. Well, he and the girls the day before, had done a magnificent job. The stage was fantastic and the site absolutely beautiful - a park next to a lake, the stage under the trees.If the weather stays like this, we thought ... That night, after yet another fantastic meal, we sat out under the stars and had a little acoustic rehearsal, which turned into a bit of a singalong, a really lovely, magical evening. The next morning, we were up and loading the sound equipment on to the lorry by 6.30 and down to the site. But, oh, what had happened to the weather over night? Where had the glorious French sunshine gone? Mike had ambitiously told the other two bands to arrive at 8.30am for a soundcheck ... I think L'Encre de Coni finally got a soundcheck at 1.00pm - but no matter. The gang had brought down loads of sausages, bacon, french bread and flasks of tea and coffee and a cold box of beer so we were all OK. David was brilliant and took on the role of project manager and finally it all came together. L'Encre de Coni went on first. A really interesting band, with didgeridoo and mournful violin with some hard-edged, angst-ridden songs - they'd go down brilliantly at world-music festivals and venues. Excellent. And then came SilverDream - more mainstream, with a really tight rhythm section - drums and bass were fab - and their singer, Julie, has a great voice very reminiscent of Dolores from The Cranberries. Both are definitely bands to watch. Then we came on. Very different from the others. We played happily in the rain. Chatted to the audience in our somewhat stilted French. We asked them if they wanted us to stop playing as it was piddling down. But they wanted us to continue. My sister magicked a couple of large umbrellas out of thin air for some of the die-hards; we handed out the shaky eggs and a great time was had by all who were willing to brave the elements. I have to say Mike produced a great sound for us too. Then it was back to the house for Susan's home-made curry. It was Alan's birthday so we had copious amounts of sparkling wine and candles in the pudding. We'd bought him a satnav so we can find our way to gigs...! Next day, back in the car for the long drive home. We were all booked on to the same ferry .. except our car managed to miss it as we'd stopped off for a rather pleasant little lunch at a typical French bistro and spent rather longer over the wine and coffee than we intended! Certainly a weekend to pass into State of Undress legend.
SilverDream
L'Encre de Coni
Malcolm French Fashion Icon
Well, since Save The Whale Week, we've been rushing round all over. We returned from Scotland just in time to unpack our gear, pack it again and go off to France to play at a little outdoor event at St Macoux Vienne. This was organised by Mike Boe of La Roc Musique Association. He used to run a music pub in Derby before moving to France to enjoy their sun, food and wine. Mind you, the weekend we were there, the weather was no better than here. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We set off at 5.30am to catch the 7.00am ferry from Portsmouth to Caen. We had the world's worst crossing early on the Friday morning - there wasn't a loo not being used. And as I was lying there, prostrate on the floor, the ferry rolling from side to side, the bar closed because all the bottles and glasses were crashing to the floor, I was thinking 'That's it. I'm getting a day job again. No gig is worth this.' Probably lost a few pounds though - so there's always a bright side. Anyway, we were going in convoy - 4 vehicles - 21 of us in total - although my mum, sister, Dee and Susan had gone ahead the day before - we're getting a bit like the Rolling Stones: all of the entourage, none of the money! We stopped off at Poitiers Airport to pick up my brother who had flown in from Australia - he wasn't going to miss out on a weekend in France with us all - and finally arrived at Mike's and Diana's about 5.30pm to find the rest all sitting on the patio in the sunshine with the wine already uncorked. How else would we find them? My sister and Dee were almost on their knees. Mike had had them practically building the stage! And before we could settle for the night, there was the little job of putting up the tents. Our tent was my birthday present. It was still in its box. Just as well David was there or we'd have been sleeping under the stars! Sam and Glen hacked back the undergrowth behind the barn and set up camp very happily amongst the thistles and brambles. Those two just love the outdoor life! My brother slept in our old tent affectionately called the pimple - supposedly a four-man sleeper but only if you're a hobbit. Everyone else slept in various places somewhere in Auntie Di and Mike's beautiful rambling chateau - including our bass player Malcolm who slept under the dining table on a pile of cushions. We slept like a log ...apart from the four kids who somehow ended up sharing our tent and were playing games on their mobile phones and performing competitive bodily functions as only boys can do; my brother blowing up his mattress - again! - with the electric pump at three o'clock in the morning as it had quietly deflated over a couple of hours; and next door's cockerel - which was seriously in danger of becoming a feather duster - joining in the dawn chorus from 4.30am. Apart from all of that, a wonderful night's sleep. We woke to a shimmering summer's day and had a lazy morning - the guys slipped off to Ruffec Market whilst I was on kid duty and working on the set list. A typical and gorgeous French lunch of cheese, cold meats, tomatoes, fruit, bread and wine of course. And then off down to the site to help Mike with the stage. Well, he and the girls the day before, had done a magnificent job. The stage was fantastic and the site absolutely beautiful - a park next to a lake, the stage under the trees.If the weather stays like this, we thought ... That night, after yet another fantastic meal, we sat out under the stars and had a little acoustic rehearsal, which turned into a bit of a singalong, a really lovely, magical evening. The next morning, we were up and loading the sound equipment on to the lorry by 6.30 and down to the site. But, oh, what had happened to the weather over night? Where had the glorious French sunshine gone? Mike had ambitiously told the other two bands to arrive at 8.30am for a soundcheck ... I think L'Encre de Coni finally got a soundcheck at 1.00pm - but no matter. The gang had brought down loads of sausages, bacon, french bread and flasks of tea and coffee and a cold box of beer so we were all OK. David was brilliant and took on the role of project manager and finally it all came together. L'Encre de Coni went on first. A really interesting band, with didgeridoo and mournful violin with some hard-edged, angst-ridden songs - they'd go down brilliantly at world-music festivals and venues. Excellent. And then came SilverDream - more mainstream, with a really tight rhythm section - drums and bass were fab - and their singer, Julie, has a great voice very reminiscent of Dolores from The Cranberries. Both are definitely bands to watch. Then we came on. Very different from the others. We played happily in the rain. Chatted to the audience in our somewhat stilted French. We asked them if they wanted us to stop playing as it was piddling down. But they wanted us to continue. My sister magicked a couple of large umbrellas out of thin air for some of the die-hards; we handed out the shaky eggs and a great time was had by all who were willing to brave the elements. I have to say Mike produced a great sound for us too. Then it was back to the house for Susan's home-made curry. It was Alan's birthday so we had copious amounts of sparkling wine and candles in the pudding. We'd bought him a satnav so we can find our way to gigs...! Next day, back in the car for the long drive home. We were all booked on to the same ferry .. except our car managed to miss it as we'd stopped off for a rather pleasant little lunch at a typical French bistro and spent rather longer over the wine and coffee than we intended! Certainly a weekend to pass into State of Undress legend.
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