I was looking forward to this gig out of our usual area. I checked it out on the net as a big pub / restaurant by the side of the river Cam. Jacqui said she would come as well and we set off on a nice, sunny evening just before 6:30pm aiming for a 7pm arrival. Arrived to find the 2 Chris's unloading through a pool room into a good sized performance area in the main bar. Setting up was no problem and we soon had things ready for test. All seemed to be working well as Chris the bass's missus Bridget arrived with son Nathan and GF Leanne. The band got a beer on the house! We had about 40 mins to have a drink then we got changed into our 'smart' back shirts white ties for the 9pm start.
The room looked busy (but not full) as we opened up with FBI which sounded fine and got a polite round of applause. We carried on through the first set pretty much as set out and it went well with a reasonable audience connection. Despite my running the PA into feedback at set up the room acoustics must have changed because we kept getting little bits of feedback. I was keen to maintain continuity so all I could fit in between numbers to fix it was adjusting the volumes on the mics. We did an amusing band intro where I indicated that Chris the bass had one foot in the river Cam - the lightweight (and brief) banter went well I thought so we wigged up for the Beatles. Once again we finished the set with "All Shook Up". When we came off our entourage said it was a well balanced sound and we came across as professional. Nathan had noticed the bits of feedback but, because it was only in short bursts, he didn't find it too distracting and he said he liked the way I built the set up. They all reported the mics sounded good and clear so I didn't want to unbalance the band by taking the PA down too much more.
Chris the drum was really hot and sweaty so he asked for a change into white Ts and waistcoats for set 2. Again we played it close to the set listing, I think I will have to shift "Wonder of You" because there are too many sing-a-longs this early in the set. The band really started to cook in the rock n roll sequence and we did a most together version of "Rip It Up" - I told the boys later I was very happy with that and I know they were too. This is a good example of the subtleties you can get going when you know the material - and several songs we are now starting to play like a band rather than 3 musicians. We had started to get some dance action and the only song change was me calling for "Bad Moon" to build on some dancing we got going with "Proud Mary" - could pair these two up regularly! "East Anglia Girls" went a little better, but still lots to do to get this effective - I think we should persevere because some in the audience do get it. We finished with a well performed version of "American Trilogy" which got a massive response as usual. As I came off Ms J said the band sounded good and she had been taking some phone footage I would be interested in. Wow, I said, I would have tried harder if I'd known! But, in truth, we had played and sung to the top range of our ability.
Here's a clip:
We came back on for set 3 at 11pm and the crowd had dwindled a little - some of them had been enjoying a drink so you can't blame them really. We got on and played a typical set 3. All fine, bits of dancing, good applause considering. Oddly enough "Mustang Sally" went down well with quite a full dance floor and some full harmonies on the answerbacks. A couple of numbers later it was 11:45 pm and I was feeling tired and the voice was starting to go. As we started our last number: Johnny B Goode, there were probably about 20 left watching and maybe 5 dancing. It all went well but, despite a half hearted call for 'more', we elected to close as it was getting close to midnight! Chris the drum thought we should have done more rock n roll in the last set because people were drifting off - can't say I agree it would make any difference but maybe we can try some out next time.
We were soon packed and loaded and I set off in misty but mild conditions for the 40 minute run home. Despite some patches of fog we had a good run home getting in just after 1am. My sciatic leg was playing up by then and I was glad to get to bed. Another good night for the band and hope we will be back there.
Chris the drum was really hot and sweaty so he asked for a change into white Ts and waistcoats for set 2. Again we played it close to the set listing, I think I will have to shift "Wonder of You" because there are too many sing-a-longs this early in the set. The band really started to cook in the rock n roll sequence and we did a most together version of "Rip It Up" - I told the boys later I was very happy with that and I know they were too. This is a good example of the subtleties you can get going when you know the material - and several songs we are now starting to play like a band rather than 3 musicians. We had started to get some dance action and the only song change was me calling for "Bad Moon" to build on some dancing we got going with "Proud Mary" - could pair these two up regularly! "East Anglia Girls" went a little better, but still lots to do to get this effective - I think we should persevere because some in the audience do get it. We finished with a well performed version of "American Trilogy" which got a massive response as usual. As I came off Ms J said the band sounded good and she had been taking some phone footage I would be interested in. Wow, I said, I would have tried harder if I'd known! But, in truth, we had played and sung to the top range of our ability.
Here's a clip:
We came back on for set 3 at 11pm and the crowd had dwindled a little - some of them had been enjoying a drink so you can't blame them really. We got on and played a typical set 3. All fine, bits of dancing, good applause considering. Oddly enough "Mustang Sally" went down well with quite a full dance floor and some full harmonies on the answerbacks. A couple of numbers later it was 11:45 pm and I was feeling tired and the voice was starting to go. As we started our last number: Johnny B Goode, there were probably about 20 left watching and maybe 5 dancing. It all went well but, despite a half hearted call for 'more', we elected to close as it was getting close to midnight! Chris the drum thought we should have done more rock n roll in the last set because people were drifting off - can't say I agree it would make any difference but maybe we can try some out next time.
We were soon packed and loaded and I set off in misty but mild conditions for the 40 minute run home. Despite some patches of fog we had a good run home getting in just after 1am. My sciatic leg was playing up by then and I was glad to get to bed. Another good night for the band and hope we will be back there.
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