Swingin' Swanage, Beautiful Brighton!

Another great weekend! Started off at the Swanage Folk Festival playing in The White Swan. We always have a great time at this venue. Friday was no exception. Lovely atmosphere and a lovely audience but SOOOOOO hot! We felt like waxworks in Madame Tussauds melting under the lights!Went out to get some air in the interval; came back in and the heat hit you like a sauna. You'd pay good money for that! Next day, we were off to beautiful Brighton, making our debut there. Our first stop was The Fiddler's Elbow in Boyce's Street just a couple of roads back from the seafront. Great old pub with a really lively atmosphere and a good reputation for live music. Parking was a pain - well, there wasn't any! - so loading and unloading was challenging to say the least but the gig itself more than made up for the inconvenience. We had a fantastic night! The gig was in part for local charity Passing It On so there was a modest entry payment on the door. Even so, the place was packed. And if we thought The White Swan was hot the night before ... well, why don't we just crank it up a few degrees? We had sizzling singer, grilled guitarist; fried fiddler; baked bass-player; and dripping drummer! We must've lost a stone between us so there is an up-side. But, what a night! Fabulous audience - very lively and responsive but really listened to our mellow songs as well as jigging madly to our foot-tapping ones. They absolutely loved Morning Glory and took a real shine to Keith, starting a chant 'Keith, Keith Give Us a Wave'. The rest of the band joined in with a funky little bass line and some jaunty fiddle and guitar. Keith was finally prevailed upon to give them a wave. Bless him, he's so bashful! Part of the audience was made up of about a dozen fellas on a stag night. They were supposed to be on a pub crawl - Fiddlers was their second stop. They never made any others. They stayed with us all night and bought our CDs to give as a wedding present. Don't know what the bride will say about that! We were also joined by some State of Undress friends - the lovely Kat who we'd met in Bath and had given us loads of help to get us down to Brighton; and a great couple who had seen us at Branksome Liberal Club. It really was a brilliant night. Icing on the cake was the bar manager telling us they'd never had a response to a band like it. Praise indeed. Then we drove to Eastbourne where we were staying. By this time, it's at least 2 in the morning. We had to stop for chips; then when we arrived, we had to have some bread and cheese and a couple of glasses of wine - what was I saying about losing a stone? Bed about 4.00am; up again about 9.30; breakfast of bacon sarnies and quails' eggs (delicious - thanks Catherine!) and then off to Brighton Bandstand. Well, it couldn't have been better. Glorious sunshine, blue skies, beautiful bandstand, a gentle breeze, joined by friends Tony , Angela, and Athena, and of course Kat, plus a host of other sun-worshippers listening to our music lounging on deckchairs or leaning over the promenade. Bliss, bliss, bliss! Completely different from the night before, so mellow, but still so enjoyable. Our thanks to Patricia and the Friends of Brighton Bandstand for inviting us and to Kat for suggesting we contact them in the first place. We'll be back in the spring. Brighton, brace yourself!
love to all
Charlie xxx
State of Undress
www.stateofundress.com

Just Steamin'!

Hot, sweaty, dusty, smutty, in fact downright dirty - aah, it must be the Great Dorset Steam Fair! We've had three steaming days there ...and didn't we love it! The sights, the sounds, the smells, but most of all, the people, - the Great Dorset Steam Fair has to be one of the best events to be found anywhere. For a week, a sizeable town rises up in the lovely vale of Tarrant Hinton not far from Blandford. Those glorious engines make their majestic way to the site along with hurdy-girdies, swingboats, rollercoasters and all manner of eccentric collectables and stalls. And in amongst all that, is live music including us. For the fifth year running, we were delighted and honoured to be a small part of this 'town'. And it's great to meet up with people, audience members, who have come back to see us each year. This year was no exception. We played three fantastic sets on Saturday, each time to a packed tent. Our last set on the Saturday night we reckon we must've had a 1000 people in there. Samantha Jane, looking lovely in her favourite Steam Fair outfit, jumped up on stage to guest on a couple of numbers; The response to our music was so warm and appreciative and fun. And we had such a good time chilling out in Rosie our caravan - all the band, partners and dogs, our friends Ronni, Sal and Steve who had come along for the ride and to help with merchandising. The weekend was full of inventive meals - what have you brought? Brill, just throw it in the pot! - and it's amazing how many people you can feed when everyone chips in together. Jerry and Malcolm trading songs; Steve, the experienced caravanner scrabbling around under Rosie trying to make all her bits work - Hey, we even managed running water! - Liz, Diane and Ronni all trying to get me into my corset - should it really be that hard? - hmmm, maybe I do need a bigger size; Alan strummin' away on his mandolin waiting for the sausages; Sal singing along and dancing to all our music in every set - and they say I'm energetic! - amazing playing and chemistry on-stage; melting under the lights; Keith's storming drums in the final set; Liz and Steve taking millions of photos; Marm, my sister,George, my niece Amber, all coming along to support us on the Saturday; a mellow set to a mellow audience on the Sunday; lovely comments from the audience like ''I love it! This band have changed my life!' and 'Marry me!'!!! Arriving home and staggering out of the car like a load of old crocks - who'd believe it? Great Dorset - we love you! See you next year! xxx

Charlie
State of Undress
www.stateofundress.com