ReTrio at the Shepherd and Dog Onehouse Stowmarket

Chris the bass (accompanied by Bridget) swang round so we could form a 2 car convoy at 6:15 pm.  Jacqui was letting me out on my own tonight!  It had been another marvellous Indian Summer day sunny,  still and warm; and it was still warm as we headed East towards Stowmarket.  Chris took a strange left at Woolpit and then it was across country towards the South of Stowmarket where the pub was situated in a rural idyl opposite a campsite in a farmer's field (potential audience?).  We reversed onto the drive right in front of the load in door and strode into the pub.  First impression was it was very small and questions came to mind like where are we playing? and how did the soul band advertised the previous month fit in?  Chris had a word with the landlady who said they would shift the pool table after the next game.  So we got some beers in.  Chris the drum arrived with Trudy about 7pm and we started to get the gear in.  The only way we could see of fitting in was to block off the door to the gents - people would be able to access it via a short diversion outside!  It turned out the landlady expected that anyway and now I could see a workable space.  We soon had things set up and I checked the PA.  The room was prone to high frequency feedback - I tried priming the feedback suppressors but the frequencies kept changing so I had to take the levels down a bit.  Even so it was still ringing and the suppressors were working hard.  It was quite a bassy room and I didn't want to lose any more top so I left it and hoped for the best from a fuller room.

 

A big enough gents to 'comfortably' get changed into our black shirts, white tie smart outfit.  Tonight would be the first outing for our white hats (with black band).  It seemed to take ages for the last 10 minutes before show time to tick by,   but it was warm enough to sit outside and contemplate the nice evening.  Finally we entered a busy performance room with maybe 30 people across a wide age range in attendance.  I tried to get the boys to join in our 'We are ReTrio' shout to open things but it was only me!  We got underway with "FBI" and it sounded OK if a little bass boomy at about 70Hz.  More down to the Bose than Chris's bass rig I think.  We got a smattering of applause for "FBI" and carried on with the usual show.  I was bracing myself for a disinterested audience,  but we soon got a connection going with relatively slick banter and applause started to increase as we completed the rock and roll phase of the set and introduced the band.  We did "Act Naturally and Ring of Fire" to introduce the two Chris's and these were very well received -  there were some country folk in the bar (in both senses of the word).  I decided to skip "Eyes" and we abandoned hats and wigged up for the short "Beatles Sequence".  This went pretty well and we got a great reception for it and even better as we completed the "Searchers Medley" in relatively good order.  (Note: I still need to get the Chris's to synch their accents at the start of "Needles and Pins").  We were still being plagued with bits of feedback as the resonant frequencies of the room kept changing,  but I didn't think it would be too noticeable out front and I didn't spot any adverse audience reaction to it.  We ploughed on to the end finishing with "Wonder of You" to warm applause from a crowd we had clearly won over.

In the break Trudy mentioned she had heard the feedback so I lowered levels for our return for set 2.  I went out front for the Shads Apache Limp (sciatica is on the mend but any excuse!).  The band sound wasn't as bassy out there and it was quite a good mix - we could afford to drop the bass and guitar levels a tad,  but I settled for as we were as I returned to the mic to do "Do You Wanna Dance".  We don't mention 'Sir Cliff' nowadays - not unplayable like Gary Glitter yet,  best wait and see events progress before we mention Cliff's name I think! After a fair performance of "Happy Together" we continued to win this audience over as we got them singing along to "Daydream Believer" and "Delilah".  One of the 'country' boys had had a few more drinks and kept asking for a Johnny Cash song so we obliged with "Folsom Prison" - it went pretty well considering we haven't done it for a while - just a bit of finger trouble in the first solo!  We carried on through the usual numbers and I was pleased with a more relaxed "East Anglia Girls" and surprised at how many in the crowd immediately got the joke - especially when I sand about the 'Stowmarket farmers daughters'.  We finished the set with "American Trilogy" which really brought out the ultimate in audience response at this gig - they were most loud and appreciative!  The Chris's wives set off home in the break as did a few of the older ones in the audience.

I opened set 3 with "Dance the Night Away" and that did indeed bring up a few dancing.   By now the audience had dwindled to about 20 in the 20 - 40 something age range,  but they danced and sang their way through our long 7 song sequence from "Pretty Woman" to "All Right Now".  At the end of that a rather inebriated young man came over and asked if we could do something from the eighties - like Spandau Ballet?  Don't know that I said but, thinking quickly of something simple the band could busk I replied:  I can do "Wicked Games" by Chris Isaac - a number one on the eighties!  I do know this quite well so I just told Chris the bass the three chords: Bm A E and Chris the drum to follow me on a slowey and away we went.  Actually I took a bit of license with the words,  but the guitar parts were accurate and, to his credit, the young fellow got a few girls up to dance it with him and they all sang along in the chorus so no one noticed my verse errors.  Well -  it got a fantastic response; even the landlady came out from behind the bar and danced and sang and applauded.  Chris the drum said 'keep that one in the set Adrian!'  It was approaching show close time so we set off into "Johnny B Goode" doing a good set of outro's where the audience gave it up big for each of us.  I milked my outroduction a bit holding Chris the bass on the E until the applause died down a little and then took them into the opening riff again - it all worked most professionally and I was very pleased.  Well! there was a lot of shouts for more and the boys were in a wild mood - so we set off into a another venture of varied pace and timing with "Born to be Wild" - to my ears it is really messy;  we must have a conversation about this sometime!  Despite a few more shouts for more,  we were done and so we took our final bows and set off to the gents.  It had been another good night for the band and we were all up beat about it.  As we packed up Chris the bass was called over to see the landlady who said it was excellent.  They only have a few bands a year (usually in the Summer),  but they would love to have us back.   Pack and load didn't take too long and I was on the road by 12:40am getting in for a cocoa at 1am ish.   The gamey leg was sore but not as bad as it had been so I had a good nights sleep.

ReTrio at Felsto Arms Felixstowe

Woke up with bad leg pain,  but it loosened up in time for an early departure for this gig.  Chris the bass had the impression it was a 7:30pm start and a small venue so we geared up accordingly.  Chris was taking Chris the drum and I said I'd meet them there about 6pm.  A very good run over on another fine day. 

Parking looked difficult but Chris had arranged for me to pull into a small yard behind the pub.  It meant a slightly longer gear lug than on the street but it was out the way of traffic. 

The boys had found it would be an 8pm start and the landlady would clear the playing area by 6:30pm.  It was a small but workable room provided the door to the patio was locked which it now was!  I would set up in front of that with a Bose and after a bit of consideration we decided to put up a Line 6 speaker on its stand in the bay window on Chris the bass's side.  We worked quickly on set up.  Chris the drum would have to enter and exit his kit on Chris's side, which gave me quite a good sized performance area, so I set up all the foot pedals but missed the synth/graphic EQ rack out.  No sound check but I ran the PA into feedback and rolled it back.  I have found the Line 6 speakers need quite a hot line level signal from the mixer so at some point I am going to have to sort that out on the mixer,  but for now we just turn the speaker up close to max ( I most have a poke around and see if there is a pad switched in somewhere?).  We had come prepared to play in jeans and open necked black shirts so we were well ready for the 8pm start. 

The pub was busy but not as crowded as we had been led to believe it would be.  We tried a new start with me announcing "We are ReTrio---!"  then I got going with FBI - think I might ask the boys to join in next time?  We were soon into "Heartbeat" where I took the PA level down a little to lose some bits of feedback.  With a Bose right behind me the sound was very good;  and on Chris's side he claimed to have enough fold back to get a good balance.  Not sure how much Chris the drum heard in his corner but he just ploughed on.  People were quite close to the band and you could see they were engaged by the live music and we got a more than polite round of applause at the end of each song.  I found interacting with this responsive crowd easy going but I kept the banter tight as we progressed through a well appreciated first set.  Once again the rock n roll energised people (even though we didn't play it quite as well together as the previous night).  We ran out of time to do a slowey to finish so,  once again,  it was "All Shook Up" and they did! 

We did quite a bit of meet 'n' greet in the break.   For set 2 I simply removed my black shirt to reveal a white T underneath and donned my waistcoat for a 'Status Quo' look.  We opened with "Apache" and I strode forward to do the Shadows sciatic stagger.  To my amazement several people lined up to do it as well.  After the first verse I turned to face the band and,  apparently,  it was like a scene from 'Saturday Night Fever' with a V of dancers behind me all following my moves - fantastic fun that got a great response from the pub as we finished!  In the break we'd had a request for a Stones song so we did that next - "Honkey Tonk Women".  It went really well considering we only air it occasionally.  The boys now feel confident enough to join in the vocal on the chorus and the 'crowd' sound gives it a better feel.  We went on to play most of our set 2 songs with the landlady filtering through requests such as 'anything from Eddie Cochrane? - Certainly madam Summertime Blues fit the bill?' and 'Happy Birthday' three times.  Of course we were well buoyed up with all this and confidence was high as we set off into the set closer "American Trilogy".  No strings to fill it out but judicious use of echo on the guitar created enough effect in this small room.  Quite a few in the audience were singing along which took the pressure off my vocal.  Unfortunately I ran into a bit of finger trouble in the flute solo (played on guitar this night).  Possibly due to two successive nights gigging the fingers just wouldn't slide up the neck as usual and a couple of bum notes emerged.  I kept a straight face and played out the end of the solo as though nothing had happened,  but I was beating myself up inside.  The song continued,  reached its climax and we ended to a roof raising roar of approval. 

Set 3 ran its usual course but my voice was tiring in the last 15 minutes.  With the voices croaking a bit as we ended with Johnny B Goode we got great applause and shouts for more.   We encored with "Mustang Sally" to complete a great night by our standards.  Pack up was slow as we did a lot of glad handing to a truly appreciative crowd.  Eventually we were all aboard and I set off home slightly ahead of the boys who were still discussing the idea of another booking there.  Apparently it was a low turn out in the night but next time they reckon the word would have got around and it will be packed.  Once clear of Felixstowe I finished my sandwich and pushed the car quite fast along the A14 to try and get home before the sciatica kicked in.  But by Stowmarket the pain in the backside was agony.  I struggled on through the next 12 miles or so and was pleased to be home so I could take a dose of Nurafen before bed.  Exhausted but happy with the weekend's performances -  the band has come on a lot in the last few weeks. 

ReTrio at Five Miles From Anyware Wickham Fen Cambridgeshire

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. 

ReTrio at Moreton Hall Community Centre

A local gig with ReTrio returning to the scene of Glastonbury St Edmunds 2013 to perform a '60s 70s' night in the club room.  Lovely sunny, warm evening.  I left home at 6:20 and arrived at the centre at 6:28 to find the two Chris's already loaded in.  I walked in with my suit bag and Chris the bass said 'bring you car down the back to the patio doors' - which I duly did and from there it was an easy load into the alcove that formed the performance area.  There was quite a bit of room in the alcove but I agreed with Chris the bass's idea that the Bose on his side should be sited outside the alcove to give best line of sound into the club room.  Set up was relatively easy the only problem was getting a long enough mains lead over to Chris's side - I just doubled up adding another extension to the usual extension.  He had been busy setting up the lights from another power supply and by about 7:15pm we were nearly ready to switch on.  I switched on and all worked! I spent a few minutes adjusting the bass drum sub-bass sound going for a deep rather than heard sound.  My final flourish was to replace my usual Audix OM5 mic with an OM6 I had treated myself to in the week.  The OM6 is said to be slightly more favourable for female singers as it boost the lows a little which I thought would suit my voice;  also it a little more directional,  hence feedback resistant, than the OM5. I powered up and  was immediately impressed.  The change was subtle but definitely an improvement for my vocal sound. Once I checked all was working,  I set up the Boses so that the one on Chris's side was about 45% and on my side about 40%.  The idea was that this would reduce the risk of feedback from sounds bouncing round the alcove whilst tending to fill the hall from the Bose outside the alcove.  It worked well - feedback headroom on the OM6 was huge and it was only when I brought in the boys mics that we got feedback - but I could easily back off from that on the mixer master volume whilst maintaining quite a high performance level in the hall.   





View from my new mic!

All three wives had come out to see the band and with a few friends and followers,  there were about 10 on our side by 8pm.  Chris bass looks after the venue management and sorts timing out.  I was a little confused by the timings on this night but I think it was an 8:45 start we were geared up for.  So about 8:35 we set off for the 'Directors Room' to change into our smarter black shirt, white tie outfits.  We had been a bit concerned about the poor attendance but there must have been an influx while we were getting changed because it was a lot busier when we emerged.  We took our spots and opened up with the usual set 1.  I thought the sound was good but well absorbed by the hall - it seemed a bit on the quiet side to me.  I pushed the master volume up a notch after "F B I" and we carried on through "Heartbeat and Smiling" with good response from the audience.  As soon as we opened with our little rock and roll set, a couple of our entourage (Nathan's GF Leanne and her sister Elaine) got up to dance and soon after a few locals were joining in.  This was good because we had been working on getting a more dancey tempo going in these rock n roll numbers.  We did "Act Naturally and "Ring of Fire" to introduce the Chris's and got a good response to the country sound. Chris the bass introduced me as a former member of that number 1 hit band the Checkmates.  I did the false intro for "Eyes" and a couple of voice wailed back 'What do you wanna....' !  That's enough for me to deliver "Eyes" and it went well.  We did the Beatles "8 Days into Can't Buy Love" after a bit of a hic up while Chris the drum found his wig.  I thought we played them well and we got a good round of applause.  So far so good!   Next up was the Searchers medley.  Once again we got off too fast into "Sugar and Spice" - my fault on the count in doh!  I managed to slow it a little on the run into "Needles and Pins" but the rhythm section was still going at full bore for this song.  But what made the transition worse was Chris once again got into the wrong key.  Again I had to shout F (key of not expletive!) across the stage to get it sorted.  After that it went fine and after "Walk in Room" we finished to big applause so it hadn't been too noticeable out front.  As I announced "Halfway to Paradise" Chris signalled one more number.  Once underway, I kept it short with just one middle 8 so I could actually finish with Runaround Sue.  Despite Chris drum forgetting his vocal parts at the beginning,  we played this well - tight and a good tempo and we finished with a good tight ending.  We came off to a good round of applause and Jacqui told me it was a good sound - so I was well pleased. 

In the break I pushed up the volume on the Boses a couple of per cent. As I was doing the final bit of tuning preparatory to doing "Apache" the other two started.  I had to let them do another couple of bars whilst I got sorted and it took me half the song to get comfortable - we guitarists are sensitive things that can't handle the unexpected easily!  Also in the break one of Chris the drum's mates had requested a Hollies number - we were pleased to have a request and we decided to do the only one we knew "Just One Look".  I announced it and the chap requesting at the bar was clearly delighted.  We had a bit of trouble with the count in but we got going second time around.  No problem remembering it and we played it well; and the requestor and his mates gave it up big at the end.  I skipped the usual Sir Cliff song to get Chris drum going with "Happy Together".  I thought we played and sang it well and the audience was clearly tapping and singing along but some little bits of feedback crept in -  unfortunately not enough to trigger the feedback suppressors.  I quietly remonstrated with myself for not pushing the pa into feedback at set up to prime the feedback suppressors.  Without causing a scene in front of an attentive audience the only option was to drop the volume a tad.  We carried on through the usual sing a long sequence of "Daydream Believer and Delilah" and the crowd was giving it up vocally, and we got a great response for them at the end.  I had made a couple of changes to the set running order and we now arrived at the first:  "Wonder of You".  Actually I was pleased with this.  Doing it a bit earlier my voice was stronger and I thought we did a good version.  And the audience did as well 'cos we got a really big round of applause.  Next up was a little rock n roll sequence with "Move It, Summertime Blues and Rip It Up".  Went very well:  good sound,  strong beat and several dancers up and jiving.  I was particularly pleased with "Rip It Up".  Chris the drum doesn't get my idea of a sort of 'jungle beat' in the verse,  but tonight he tried out a driving bass drum for these sections and it worked well and sounded particularly  good -  cos of the sub-bass mic up.  But even better, as we got into the chorus the two Chris's really cooked and the band swang on though the solos so well I even got the guitar fingering spot on.  I was so pleased I called for "Jailhouse rock" to continue it.  Chris still doesn't get the drum answer backs on the verse but again he replaced it with a driving bass drum - that will do nicely for the time being! We got underway with "Proud Mary" which entertained the dancers with its slow beginning.  Towards the end Chris drum and myself got at cross purposes - I was sure he had reached the final verse which I harmonise a high line to,  but he was using words from the previous verse?  Anyway,  I took the decision to force it to an ending as I saw it and got straight off into "Don't Stop" which we did well with the boys joining in on the 'Don't Stops' adding a bit of oomph!  Made a slight mistake reversing the stopped bit in the final two chorus's but the Chris's followed without losing a beat. I was thinking we would now run down to the finale with "Hot Love into our debut performance of East Anglia Girls" and announced it as such.  Despite Chris the bass starting it a bit too fast for my liking "Hot Love" went very well and filled the dance floor nicely.  The idea was to go up a tone on the same rhythm and then into "East Anglia Girls"  But, because we were going quite fast, it all happened too quickly to settle into the new song - so it came across as hurried.  I mixed up some of the words in my haste and the Chris's were equally flummoxed by their vocal lines.  Still we got the gist of the song out and we all finished together on the final 'girls---',  It will get better and next time I will slow it down before we get into the vocal.   I announced "Amercan Trilogy" as the set closer and we played it pretty well.  We got a massive response as we finished and we left the stage feeling 10 feet tall!  A good set I thought.  Chris the bass agreed but said we had come off a couple of songs too early on his schedule.  I was still confused 'cos I thought we had done a good 45 minutes,  maybe the slicker between songs linking / sharper banter is leaving us more playing time?  Anyway we agreed to try and do an hour for the final set. 

Psycadelic look - but not actually a Pink Floyd song!

I risked another shandy in the break and we resumed for the final set opening with "Great Balls".   I counted Chris straight into "Saw Her Standing There" and we played without stopping for about 25 minutes through "Dance the Night, Pretty Woman,  Saturday Night, Sweet Caroline. Hey Baby, Amarillo,  Hi Ho and All Right Now".  All well appreciated and danced to!  Chris the bass indicated we still had half an hour to go so I called for some numbers skipped earlier: "Do You Wanna Dance, All Shook Up".  Then I called for "Shakin All Over" which we hadn't done for a bit.  We played it surprisingly well and it went down well.  We dropped in "Help Make It Thru the Night" as the test slowey.  Unfortunately I started in A rather than D.  I switched to D but Chris was now singing in A.  We should have stopped and restarted!  It took a verse to get sorted and must have sounded very Karaoke. Despite this there was a little bit of dancing thanks to our entourage indulging a couple of blokes in a slowey!  It was 11:30pm so I announced "Johnny B Goode" as the last number and we played it just fine.  We all got good audience responses in the outros and big shouts for more at the end.  So as per the previous outing we encored with "Hippy Hippy Shake" (good for sciatica) and still we got shouts for more!  We finally signed off with "Wonderful Tonight" at about 11:45pm .

As I came off the chairman came over to congratulate me (and band) on a great evening's entertainment - he had really enjoyed it.   Leading the band performance does take it out of me and I enjoyed a few quiet minutes in our dressing room getting changed.  Then it was back into the fray of pack up. Jacqui had sensibly got a lift home with Bridget.  My leg was quite sore as I packed up and I was glad to get the gear in the car.  I was home by 12:40am and we had cocoa and toast before turning in.  A very good night for the band building on the success at Searles.

ReTrio at Mariners Bar Searles Holiday Village Hunstanton

Chris the bass had secured us a promo showcase gig at Searles Hunstanton.  If it went well we would have opportunities as Searles and other venues run by the agent who managed Searles entertainment.  Prior to the gig there was some confusion as to which hall we would be in.  I was a bit fearful soundwise it might be the big Sundowners hall;  but Chris rang and found that, if we were in there, we could use their big 12KW house pa.  But when I looked on the web site I found we were actually in the Mariners bar - this was good because I recall it was smaller and more our kind of audience in there.    Chris maintained it was still a big hall so we agreed to pack the Line 6 PA as well - we could double up PA if needed.  He had also arranged that we could get access in the afternoon to set up and soundcheck.  I was quite keen on a soundcheck 'cos we hadn't had one for over a year and we were now using the Line 6 mixer.  So, on the day, we had Chris's drums in Chris the bass's car and I took one of his bass cabs as well as all my gear - my car was pretty full and the spare guitar had to travel in the front passenger seat!  Nice day to go to the seaside - sunny and still.  We set off in convoy at 1:30 and arrived at a crowded Searles about 3pm.  We acquired the trolley to shift the gear and started to set up on the good sized stage in the Mariners.  It is a big room but I thought the Bose would cope so we set just those up - towards the middle (either side of the drums) to get a clear 'line of sound' into the hall.  The TV was showing football on a big screen in the centre of the stage but we set up in front (and under it).  We had hoped for a quiet afternoon to soundcheck but Man United were playing so, after making sure all was working, we decided to take a walk into town to get a beer and a meal and come back after 6pm to check the sound.  It was still good weather and we managed fish and chips in town (pensioners for me) before we returned to find the Mariners suitably quiet!

Doing soundcheck I explained to the chaps that I was able to instantly record 20 seconds of the performance on the Line 6 M20d mixer.  Then they would need to play along with that so I could pop out into the hall and judge the sound.  We performed and recorded a chorus from "Smiling" with guitar,  main vocal,  harmoniser and strings.  Got it right on the second take and I had a wonder round while the 'band' played on - doing the chorus a couple of times.   I was impressed at how clear the vocal was and well it carried into this big hall.  The guitar sounded fine but the bass guitar sound from the Ashdown stack was a bit too strong in the mix and the drums needed to come up a tad.  After these small adjustments I thought we had a classy sound for start off.  I made a mental note to take the bass drum mic up a little as the show progressed and maybe add a bit more bass end to the mics when I got chance.   One of the entertainments girls came over to see if we were OK and she showed us how to operate the house lights.  We still had a couple of hours to while away until showtime at 9pm so we had another beer and a coffee before passing through the Sundowners to get to the dressing room.  There we met up with the band who were performing there - The Young Drifters,  nice bunch of experienced geordies.  They we going to do a popular soul show with a singer, keys,  bass and guitar,  and accompanied by a drum machine!  We wished them luck and set off to change into our smart black shirts, white ties outfits to do our stint in the Mariners.  As we passed though the Sundowners I was even more pleased we weren't in there.  There were a lot of young families and I thought it might even be hard going for the 'Young Drifters'.

We arrived in the Mariners,  got the TV screen rolled up, house sound off,  took to the stage and opened up with "FBI".  All sounded good,  Chris fluffed but didn't completely miss a change to D in the high bit - he relies on me nodding him in and sometimes I can't fit a nod in so I will have to get him to practice that.  As it was we got an enthusiastic reception from a busy room and I made my usual short intro of ReTrio before getting us underway with "Heartbeat".  I sometimes retain the lead sound (with echo) throughout this song.  I pick the verse chords damped and I think the boost in volume and echo suits that style.  On this night I thought this technique was very effective and we got another good response from the growing crowd who were spread right round the room and even applauding from the very back.  "Smiling" went equally well and we set off on our little Rock n Roll medley: "Rock Around the Clock,  Blue Suede and That's All Right Mama"  As we started it several teen/early twenties chaps came up and danced - much to our surprise!  Quire athletic and good to watch -  I gave 'em a big round of applause from the band at then end.  We did the band member intro's with "Act Naturally, Ring of Fire and Wanna Make Those Eyes".  There was quite a lot of foot tapping and arm dancing to the country songs and when I did a 'test' of "Eyes" by just doing the 'doo wappy' bit and leaving it to the crowd we good a good, loud "What do you wanna make those eyes..... "  from some of the older members of the audience - our kind of crowd!  The Beatles (with wigs) and Searchers went well.  I kept the banter slick and let the music do the talking and soon we were approaching the end of the 45 minutes - we finished with "All Shook Up" getting suitable audience responses when I called for it! 

In the break we had a look next door to see how the Young Drifters were doing.  A good tight sound through the house PA,  and some applause as they finished a soul standard,  but I sensed they were struggling to connect to the young mums and kids.

We returned for set 2 and the place was a little fuller.  I opened with a Shadows stagger to "Apache"   Chris played the sympathy card telling the audience I had a bad leg and I was on pensioners meals!  I laughed at that one.   Despite the sciatica, I went out front and  a lady came up to join in the dance.  I was impressed by the guitar sound out front and the boys sounded full; and we got a really big round of applause as we finished and I took my position back on the stage.  We proceeded to play a standard 2nd set and it all went very well.  Nor major errors,  some good tight endings and good audience response and singalong. 

In the break we got changed into white Ts and waistcoats.  I came back to have a sit in a passage just outside the Mariners and a lady came up to say how much she was enjoying the band and complimented me on my singing.  She said she holidays there a lot and they have too many duo's and solo artistes who can't sing in tune!  Well that buoyed me up a bit and, as I herded the band back on stage, I reflected that I personally had made a step up vocally recently;  last couple of gigs really.  And I was on the right track with the sound and repertoire. It was about 11pm as we started with "Great Balls" and the hall was still quite busy.  Maybe a few had gone,  but those that were left we now applauding louder so it was a pretty good sing-a-long set.  Even though there wasn't much dancing I thought we needed to keep momentum up so I skipped "American Trilogy and we played continuously through 7 numbers from "Pretty Woman" right through to "All Right Now".  A few were going home but the crowd sang on.  We tried a slowey in the shape of "Help Me Make it Through the Night" but no dance takers so we settled down to play out our last number "Johnny B Goode".  This was warmly received before we even started and it all went pretty well including the band outros we have been working on.  As we finished very tightly there was a roar of applause and shouts for more.  Fantastic!  Some wag in the audience called for "Amarillo" and I was about to do it when Chris bass suggested "Hippy Shakes".  A much better choice I thought - so I said our 'thanks for your appreciation and here is a song you wouldn't be able to dance to at this time of night" - and they didn't!  But when we finished we still got a great round of applause and several came up to speak to us as we came off stage.  They all said what a great sound we had and how good it was to see a live band with a drummer.  One lady said the band was so clear, even at the back, that they just wanted to listen and sing rather than dance.  Another offered to give us a mention to Mr Searle!   Of course we were delighted with this unexpected result and we were in high sprits as we set off to get changed.  The other band reported it had been a struggle in the Sundowners and they were off - driving back to Newcastle overnight.  As they left Chris sounded out the entertainments young ladies who said they had been asked to look in on us and were very impressed at how we had held the crowd - they would be giving a good report to Matt the agent. 

 As we packed up we were in good humour and the trolley made load out quite easy.  We got on the road at 12:40am - I said to Chris you carry on I'll probably lag back for an easy run home.  Well the drive went well to Kings Lynn but, then the sciatic pain started to kick in.  By Thetford it was really painful and the last 10 miles home were agonising.  On reflection I should have stopped and walked it out a bit.  I was pleased to get to bed,  but had to take a pain killer to get to sleep.  Still it had been a very good night with the band (best yet) and in the following week I took steps in the form of exercises to try and work the sciatica out.  In the week I moved "American Trilogy" forward in the running order to be the second set finisher.
 

ReTrio at Moreton Hall Pub

This blog will be quite brief because we are fast becoming the resident band here with a gig about every three months and some of the moments are quite similar.  On this occasion it was a Friday and Chris the bass and I had planned to arrive ahead of Chris the drum to lay the cables and amps before he arrived - he was meant to be delayed at work!  Needless to say, as we arrived at 6:30 pm he was there already set up and eating a burger - so we had to work around the kit anyway.  Perversely I do find the twisting, bending and reaching of set up is soothing for my continued bout of sciatica.  I decided to miss out on the string synth which would make things easier.

In the week I had given a heavy old mic stand to Chris the bass to modify by halving all the bits to create a bass drum mic stand.  He had duly got it sawn up and re-assembled and it looked very good.  I had a general purpose T-bone (Thomann) mic I could screw on and lo and behold we had the bass drum miked up!  I ran it into the Line 6 mixer on channel 3 and put a sub-bass algorithm on it set to 'thump' and it sounded suitably deep so we were well pleased with it.  When I get chance I will tweak the mixer settings a bit more but for now it helps fill out our sound just as it is.  I'll get a better pic sometime.

Soon all the rest was set and working but my performance space was even more minute than usual.  To avoid a wooden pub beam I would have to face sideways and lift the guitar anytime someone walked past the band.  The osteopath I was now consulting had observed that my stage stance had some bearing on the sciatica and the tips he had given me definitely couldn't be applied here!

I had a good chat with a Michael Jackson tribute artiste on matters technical - he was doing the pubs and was keen to hear our Bose.  We were geared up to back one of Chris drum's mates on a few numbers (in strange keys such as C# for "Wonderful Tonight") but he hadn't turned up.  So come the performance we played standard sets.

These went quite well and I was pleased with the overall band sound, continuity and playing.  One blooper I heard was Chris the bass hitting the wrong key for "Needles and Pins" - I had to shout 'it's F' and miss a vocal line to get it back on track. I'm less bothered about finishing a set with a ballad nowadays and we stopped after "All Shook Up". Set 2 went similarly well and we had bits of singalong and dancing at times.  Some of the folks were getting a bit drunk by the time we went on for set 3 and, once underway, had to turn my back to the audience from time to time to repel boisterous dancers.  I decided to skip "American Trilogy" and we kept on rocking through to "J B Goode" where I let rip with the guitar giving it max volume which drove the amp simulation so that, even on the  clean setting, I was rewarded by a slightly dirtier, singing sustain which I was very pleased with.  A lot of shouts for 'more' resulted in our embarking on another voyage into the unknown with strangely changing tempos.  Because the guitar was sounding so dominant I tried to use it to push the band into doing it right as we got to the second time around with it - with mixed success.  Anyway the revellers revelled along to it and we closed to a good response.  

Pack up was a bit tricky with people  in the way and a massive drunken dispute developing between 2 fellas who had drunk their way through the night.  In the end the governess got them out the pub and locked the doors.  So we couldn't complete load out for a while.  Jacqui had returned home with Chris the bass's missus and fortunately missed all this out. Got in a few minutes later and she had made me cocoa and toast a good finish to a good night for the band.


 

ReTrio at The Wok and Rock Lakenheath

Grandchild still hadn't arrived on the Friday so drove home in torrential rain late Friday (good job I didn't go earlier in the day cos A14 was badly flooded).  Woke up Saturday to check out the Line 6 2T that had returned having had its circuit board replaced.  All seemed OK - but we wouldn't be using it tonight.  Chris the bass now makes a rough assessment of whether the Bose's will fit height wise at gigs and he had reported this one as 'fit for purpose'.  I got the gear ready for load up and mooched around the house on various tasks until I got a call from Jacqui to say the new Grandson had arrived about 2pm and all was well.  What a relief!  I loaded up in the afternoon even though we weren't setting off until 7:30pm for a 10pm start.  Chris the bass led the convoy and we picked up Chris the drum at Fornham,  then it was about 30 minutes to Lakenheath.  The pub used to be known as 'The Plough' and had been completely refurbished as a restaurant, bar and lounge - looked good. 

Load in was round the back and more or less straight into the playing area where the Chinese guvnor had organised a move of the pool table.  There was not quite enough room to fit the Bose in on Chris's side so we put it the other side of an opened wall forming the alcove we were playing in.  The top few speakers would be blocked off by the top of wall but it seemed a good solution.  Set up went smoothly and we skipped sound check 'cos it was busy ish.  But I left it loud on the PA figuring they were used to live bands.  You could hear the feedback suppressors kick in and I am coming round to thinking it is good technique to let them do their work to seek out the resonances at set up rather than avoid feedback and it come as a surprise to the PA later in the evening. 

Enjoyed a couple of beers and then got changed into white T's n black waistcoats in the large disabled toilet.  We opened up with "FBI" which got a round of applause but the Chinaman came over and indicated too loud.  Strange,  we thought,  they often have rock bands here?  Anyway it suited me to take the sound down a bit so we were well below feedback risk and more in tune with our easy listen repertoire. By and large the set went well.  We picked and mixed through Sets 1 and 2 to do about 50 minutes which got increasingly sing-a-long.  A few errors crept in:  I forgot the arrangement for "Ring of Fire" (again),  Chris forgot key for "Needles and Pins" (but he did a good "Sugar and Spice" - if a little fast).  We dropped in a good paced "Aright Mama" which I was pleased with and we finished off with "Wonder of You" which went very well apart from my forgetting the words to the first line which I had to mumble!  We had about 10 minutes off at 10:50pm and looking round I could see some older folk had arrived.  The place was by no means full, but it was busy with a mix of ages and they seemed to be enjoying the bar!  Back on we went to play a standard set 3.  As we got into "Saw Her Standing There" we got some dance action going,  so I went straight into "Dance the Night Away" to keep it going.  Looking through into the restaurant I could see some more dancing starting up and,  incredibly,  the inscrutable manager had joined in. From then on it was a good night,  lots of applause,  banter and sing-a-long and bits of dancing.  We were a number short as we ran down to the finish so I called for "All Shook Up" which was a good choice as we managed to get the audience to do the answer back 'all shook up'.  I announced Johnny B Goode as the last number hoping to coax an encore out of them and we did.  I called for "Wonderful Tonight" but the boys fancied something faster so we settled on "Born to be Wild".  This turned out to be a good choice as the audience was getting a bit wild and was still drinking at midnight!  The performance was still messy with strange changes in time - Chris the drum must know a different version?  We finished to more applause but declined any more encores and wound down.  After I got changed one of the village elders came up and said he had really enjoyed the band and he could get us a gig at another local venue - I steered him onto Chris to talk business.  Pack up didn't take too long but getting the gear out the back was a tad treacherous it being very dark and the path a bit uneven.  But we were loaded and away just after 1am.  I got in about 1:40am still buzzing about a good day with arrival of grandson and an OK gig.  Went back to Manchester the next day (in more torrential rain from ex hurricane Bertha)  to meet the little fella and 'wet 'is head' with several drinks with Phil his dad.   I brought Jacqui back Monday morning - this was an agonising trip because the sciatica had flared up again.  Ended up at the chiropractor Tuesday and learned some new stretches!