Edmonton Millfield Arts Centre Friday March 23rd

Yes, yes, I know…usually I post some rambling pre-tour nonsense about how I can’t believe a year has gone by already and all that malarkey. This year, however, I have been, to use a phrase popular in the American Deep South, up to my ass in alligators, and so my very first chance to draw breath and collect my scattered thoughts is now, on the second show at Edmonton. Before I go on to describe the highs and lows of yesterday’s opening night, let me give you a brief outline of what’s changed since the last tour…..apart, that is, from having gained an extra year’s general decrepitude and significantly increasing the “bald patch to hair” ratio on my bonce, One major change is that the lovely Pug has taken a sabbatical from his missionary work amongst the colonial n’er – do –wells of Australia, and is back on board for this tour. As is often the case, it’s almost like he’s never been away….he’s still crap and has no idea how to operate a mixing desk…but it’s genuinely fantastic to see him again. His return meant that Chris “Junior” Stocker, our monitors guru from the last tour, has had to sit on the bench this time, but Junior’s not the forgotten man by any means….oh no. As Arthur was already committed to a period of work abroad which cuts across the tour, he’s going to have to leave us for ten days or so after South Shields, so Junior will be coming back for those shows, with Pug moving up to do the front of house sound. The other big change as far as this blog itself goes is that I’m trying to get other crew members and the band themselves to do the odd entry instead of it being my constant bleating. To be honest, I think there’s more chance of Sylvester Stallone donning a pink tutu and singing “ I’m A Little Teapot “ than this happening, but hope springs eternal….Some things HAVE stayed the same, luckily….all the usual suspects are on board….the band, of course, and the Six Musketeers, Tomps, Nick, Arthur, Rodders , the returning prodigal Pug and yours truly….so if nothing else we know we’re in for a bit of a chuckle. Now, after the last tour I was berated ( again ) for talking too much about the crew and all the poo we have to wade through, and for not reviewing the shows enough. I’ve already gone through this once, but just to make the position totally clear, this blog ISN’T about reviewing the shows….I’ve never even seen the bloody thing from the front of the stage anyway, as I’m always stuck in the wings….it’s about having a little glimpse behind the curtain, of seeing how shows like these really run, of trying to give you, Faithful Blogreader, some of the sights, sounds and smells of the tour ( actually, forget the smells…..I have to sit next to Tomps every night and it’s taken me nearly a year to repair the olfactory damage his rampant trouser-coughs caused last time ). Let us go, then, directly to the Millfield Arts Centre in Edmonton, scene of some of our finest gigs. So fine, in fact, that they asked us to come and do two nights this year, and we were more than happy to oblige. As I’ve described the strains,stresses and mild hysteria of opening – night shows in previous postings, I’ll not mention the fact that this time we got a call to say the tour bus had broken down in Brussels and wouldn’t be arriving after all. Nor will I refer to the many bits of new gear that we had to learn to use, and the many bits of older gear that steadfastly refused to let us use them. Or the fact that two of the three projectors, having been fitted that very day with several hundreds of pounds – worth of new bulbs, virtually burst into flames and had to be switched off, meaning that Tomps and I spent the entire two hours of the show trying to work out what the hell to show on our one remaining screen. No, shan’t mention them at all. What I WILL say is that tonight was still pretty damn good…in fact, this band would play a great show even if EVERYTHING stopped working. With ten new songs in the set, one of them featuring another “ virtual “ guest star, it’s yet another step up in the growth of the whole Bootleg Sixties project. This is our third annual tour now, and with Arthur’s sound, Rodders’ lights, Tomps’ AV and the band’s own performance, we’re actually getting established as one of the best shows on the touring circuit, and I honestly say that with no false modesty. Sometimes on an opening night things can be a bit cautious and tentative, but the only sign of ring-rustiness tonight was when Jamie wandered offstage after one number, anticipating a video insert that wasn’t actually there ! The new songs already sound like they’ve been in the set for ages, and everyone’s doing new intros and links. It’s not totally seamless, but there are plenty of bands who would be happy with this show as the LAST night of a tour, let alone the first. Part of this, as I’ve said before, is trust….we know the band will always deliver, and can deal with most of the chaos that sometimes goes on around them. They in turn trust us to do our jobs and to make them look and sound as good as possible. OK, the loss of the two projectors means a compromise on the visuals, as we’ll not be able to try and source replacements for another two days, but they know it’s out of our control and we’ll do the best we can to compensate for it. There’s a looseness about things now that we didn’t have at the start of this little journey of ours….problems are still problems but they don’t derail us… and even though it’s by definition a very structured show, we’re now at the point where we can all just shift that structure a bit if we have to and STILL make it rock. All we need to do now is find a tour bus and a couple of projectors, and the 2012 tour is well and truly up and running. Anyway, welcome back, an please stay with us on this latest little jaunt along the highways and byways of this Sceprt’d Isle. Before I go, here’s a thought to leave you with. God says to Noah “ Noah, I’ve got another Ark job, mate “. “ Not another bloody Ark “ says Noah. “ ‘Fraid so “ says God, “ but this one’s different. I want you to make it REALLY massive….at least twelve decks high…and this time I want to you fill it with fish . “ “ You don’t mean…..” started Noah” “ Yep” says God, “ I want you to build me a multi-storey carp Ark….”