Let's see if I can get this straight
Feb. 18th, 2006 12:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shermaramaSo on Thursday night we played with a band called Videostarr and they were technically everything you could ask a pop-rock three piece to be, especially the drummer, which was ace to see. Not quite so certain they've got the strength of songs to go with it but I was having fun watching anyway, and the drummer says he puts a night on in Cambridge and would like to put us on there - top stuff. Now it was only two weeks ago that the Bad Fucks were playing with Pissed Resistance and their drummer went through my bass drum's skin, but knew the cunning trick of turning the whole drum around and using the other side. Thus it was handy that I was there as Videostarr's drummer went through his bass head and, having never had it happen before, was just sat there giggling slightly frantically and wondering what the hell to do. It took me a while to convince him it'd work but he tried it and it did so that was cool.
On Friday we played the Montague Arms again, with Shy of Silence, the Cherry Reds and this mystery headlining band who hadn't made it for soundchecks. They arrived about half eight with an entire coachful of fans so there was an instant audience, all of whom were in a cheerful party mood. We were on first and it went really well - the sound on stage was good, which means Jodie gets a lot more into it because she can actually hear her voice properly and I get really into it because the drumkit sounds big and rock. Jodie was running round signing up a record number of people to the mailing list afterwards, and found that a lot of them had come from somewhere near Brighton. I wondered about that, so went over to ask one of the and where they'd come up from. I got an odd look for my trouble because they were Pangea, a band I'd shared a bill with in a different band only about three weeks ago. They were confused because they recognised me but not the rest of me band. Just for extra link value, Pangea's drummer is the son of the Montague Arms's landlord.
The barman at the New Cross Inn on Thursday liked us enough to stand us a round of tequila and it turned out Jodie had never done the tequila thing before so we did that. But the Montague Arms wins as there were plates passing round with these small battered things that turned out to be deep-fried battered Mars Bar chunks. Yes, I can see the point of them right enough. Top stuff.
Shy Of Silence turned out to be, hmm, in the general area of the stoner/southern rock sound, but on the edge of it I don't like, over with COC in the dangerously close to Metallica direction. They did it very well, mind. I was wearing my new Clutch t-shirt and their bassist asked if I'd been to the recent gigs.. he'd gone to both the Astoria one and the Brighton one, and got stranded in Brighton, which was a shame to find out three weeks after the fact. Anyway.
As soon as we got there I thought I recognised the Cherry Reds, and decided that if the blond bloke turned out to be the bass player, I definitely knew them, though I couldn't remember where from. The soundcheck showed him on guitar, and the sound to be more sedate than the punk band I remembered, so I thought I'd got that wrong. Only when they played the actual set they were far more energetic, frantic tuneful punk-flavour rock, so I had to have a chat with the lad afterwards. We couldn't pin down where I must have seen them at all, but I was right, about two years ago when they were only a three piece he *did* play bass, so I must have seen them. The lad's also Head Of Sport at Goldsmiths, so had seen the metric shedload of posters that Jodie and Debz had left around the place on Thursday afternoon, and just to complete the circle of references, is also the brother of Pissed Resistance's singer. It was one of those nights all round.
I always forget how far it is from the Montague to the station. Pangea don't exactly rock my musical world but I was caught up in the atmosphere and having a laugh so I didn't leave in time, and missed the last train home. Pangea's bus was only going to Haywards Heath, which is close to Brighton but not close enough at that time of night. Happily Jodie's parents offered me a lift as far as East Croydon; Jodie herself was off to a local club with a freshly-ensnared soundman (well, I can see how that works) so we got to do general character assassinations the whole way, which was fun. Unfortunately driving in london is such an arse, even at that time, that it took more than an hour to get to East Croydon station and I'd missed the 1am out of Victoria, the last train that goes all the way to Brighton. Forty minutes wandering the streets of East Croydon was a depressing experience full of shrilly drunken arguments (not that I was dead sober myself, but I felt it in comparison) but at least I found a late-opening Subway. A train to Gatwick, which is always the best plan if stranded as it's warm and clean and generally open for business at any time of night, and I even got some kip, and then the 4.45 first train to Brighton. Home by half five, neatly twelve hours after I'd left. As evenings go, it did the job.
On Friday we played the Montague Arms again, with Shy of Silence, the Cherry Reds and this mystery headlining band who hadn't made it for soundchecks. They arrived about half eight with an entire coachful of fans so there was an instant audience, all of whom were in a cheerful party mood. We were on first and it went really well - the sound on stage was good, which means Jodie gets a lot more into it because she can actually hear her voice properly and I get really into it because the drumkit sounds big and rock. Jodie was running round signing up a record number of people to the mailing list afterwards, and found that a lot of them had come from somewhere near Brighton. I wondered about that, so went over to ask one of the and where they'd come up from. I got an odd look for my trouble because they were Pangea, a band I'd shared a bill with in a different band only about three weeks ago. They were confused because they recognised me but not the rest of me band. Just for extra link value, Pangea's drummer is the son of the Montague Arms's landlord.
The barman at the New Cross Inn on Thursday liked us enough to stand us a round of tequila and it turned out Jodie had never done the tequila thing before so we did that. But the Montague Arms wins as there were plates passing round with these small battered things that turned out to be deep-fried battered Mars Bar chunks. Yes, I can see the point of them right enough. Top stuff.
Shy Of Silence turned out to be, hmm, in the general area of the stoner/southern rock sound, but on the edge of it I don't like, over with COC in the dangerously close to Metallica direction. They did it very well, mind. I was wearing my new Clutch t-shirt and their bassist asked if I'd been to the recent gigs.. he'd gone to both the Astoria one and the Brighton one, and got stranded in Brighton, which was a shame to find out three weeks after the fact. Anyway.
As soon as we got there I thought I recognised the Cherry Reds, and decided that if the blond bloke turned out to be the bass player, I definitely knew them, though I couldn't remember where from. The soundcheck showed him on guitar, and the sound to be more sedate than the punk band I remembered, so I thought I'd got that wrong. Only when they played the actual set they were far more energetic, frantic tuneful punk-flavour rock, so I had to have a chat with the lad afterwards. We couldn't pin down where I must have seen them at all, but I was right, about two years ago when they were only a three piece he *did* play bass, so I must have seen them. The lad's also Head Of Sport at Goldsmiths, so had seen the metric shedload of posters that Jodie and Debz had left around the place on Thursday afternoon, and just to complete the circle of references, is also the brother of Pissed Resistance's singer. It was one of those nights all round.
I always forget how far it is from the Montague to the station. Pangea don't exactly rock my musical world but I was caught up in the atmosphere and having a laugh so I didn't leave in time, and missed the last train home. Pangea's bus was only going to Haywards Heath, which is close to Brighton but not close enough at that time of night. Happily Jodie's parents offered me a lift as far as East Croydon; Jodie herself was off to a local club with a freshly-ensnared soundman (well, I can see how that works) so we got to do general character assassinations the whole way, which was fun. Unfortunately driving in london is such an arse, even at that time, that it took more than an hour to get to East Croydon station and I'd missed the 1am out of Victoria, the last train that goes all the way to Brighton. Forty minutes wandering the streets of East Croydon was a depressing experience full of shrilly drunken arguments (not that I was dead sober myself, but I felt it in comparison) but at least I found a late-opening Subway. A train to Gatwick, which is always the best plan if stranded as it's warm and clean and generally open for business at any time of night, and I even got some kip, and then the 4.45 first train to Brighton. Home by half five, neatly twelve hours after I'd left. As evenings go, it did the job.