Tolly Fest runs for 2 days on the sports field at the Sugar Factory Social to raise funds for charities. ReTrio had been booked to follow the Funky Voices Choir who opened the festival on the Sunday. Our 90 minute spot would be at 1:30pm. We arrived at noon on a sunny day and got ushered down the band entrance to park behind the trailer parked on the sports field that was the stage for the day. The 50 strong choir were massing as we unloaded and they started their set on the grass in front of the stage as we manhandled our back line up onto the trailer. We didn't have a lot to set up - I was using my Mesa Lonestar, Chris had his Harkte stack and Chris had his usual kit. I was going to operate without a music stand and the PA guys would look after everything else. So after about 20 minutes we were set and could retire for a beer while the choir continued their show. They do some nice songs I particularly liked their version of "Mr Blue Sky". Jacqui and her friend Sue arrived and I set them up in a sunny spot at the edge of the field.
The two Chris's entourage had also gathered so there were possibly a hundred people spread out across the site as the choir finished their spot. We went up to sound check about 12:50pm. The PA guys miked the Mesa up (SM57 to edge of the speaker) and DI'd Chris's bass. The kit was miked up with 2 AKG C1000 overhead and a proper bass drum mic. As soon as I got the Mesa powered up I realised there was a problem with hum. It was some kind of earth hum that became very intrusive if I took my hands off the strings. I briefly considered switching to the spare Fender Ultimate Chorus I'd brought along, but I (wrongly) concluded it was the diesel generator power supply that was at fault. The guys on the mixer indicated they could filter the worst out so - carry on! The sound guys were very efficient on the sound check doing sound for each member of the band in about 5 minutes in total. I ended up with quite a powerful sound on my guitar with the Mesa volume set to half and some coming back through the monitors. With hindsight I should have taken the Mesa down to third volume and pushed it up on the guitar a bit more, but 'hey ho'. I asked for a bit more top on the SM58 vocal mic and that seemed nice and strong as well - so we were ready to rock! We went to the back of the cars for a wee in the bushes and to get changed into the white Tees with black waistcoats. Climbing back on the trailer we took our positions and the sound man said it was all ours for 90 minutes. I started with a big "Helloooo Tolly Fest" and introduced the band and our chosen charity - cancer research. Then it was over to Chris to start "Flingel Bunt" and we were away. With a powerful sound we rocked a bit harder than usual and when I followed up with a vocal with "Heartbeat" we kept it faster and rockier than our usual easy listening feel.
We were getting applause from the field but the audience were very
distant so it was hard to judge how we were doing. We ploughed on with a variety of
country, rock n roll and the odd ballad, they all got applause but the closest to
dancing was a bit of drunken swaying near the club room bar! Playing a bit faster in the dry air I found a
couple of the solos a bit tricky to bash out - I made a few ad lib easings to
get by but nothing the crowd would notice.
After an hour I called a short toilet break and we took to the
bushes. Coming back from the hedge I
bumped into Jacqui who had popped over to report that the sound was very good
and the band was playing well. So we
clambered back enthusiastically to do the final 30 minutes. I opened with "Great Balls of Fire"
and kept it rocking. I was quite
enjoying the singing role and, taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere, I
gave it my best shot! With 10 minutes to
go I called for "American Trilogy".
We had talked about doing this without special effects and we were up
for it. I opened up with the
guitar. The vocal sounded strong and we
took it through at a steady pace without any significant mistakes. I switched the guitar echo on for the solo
and kept it on for the big ending crescendo.
The last couple of lines are demanding to sing but I was pitching it OK
and I went for the high chest voice on the last line. I could hold the final note for four bars but
then ran out of puff. As I backed away
from the mic I was feeling faint from the exertion and a recent drop in fitness
(hadn't played squash for a month); but
I dipped my head as we finished the song and recovered slowly taking my time
announcing "All Right Now" as our last number. Considering we hadn't done this for a while
it went very well, I had to improvise
some of the solo that I had forgotten but the crowd seems to like it and we
actually had a few up and dancing. We
finished to some applause and then it was pack the gear up and clear the stage
for the next band "The Keepers".
They were an interesting band with a young drummer and bass player led
by a 30 something guy on acoustic guitar and vocals. They also had a young lady on acoustic guitar
who looked new to the set up. The
drummer sometimes played cajon and it was good to hear one miked up out front. They did a varied set of covers and own
penned songs which I found pleasant listening on a sunny afternoon armed with a
beer. We stayed for the next band as
well - standard vintage rock with a 30 something female singer. Jacqui being supportively biased said we did
"Alright Now" better! We left
the field about 5:30pm to set off home - a good day out for ReTrio and its
supporters.
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