Blog Gigs Facts Music Shop Links
Blog: Derby: GOOD TIMES
| < previous | next > |
It all begane fifteen years ago (ROCK TIME) on Thursday, when I went up to Derby. Francis A Machine picked me up and we went back to his... for five minutes before hitting THE PUB. HOLIDAY BEERS! Back at Machine Mansions Miss J Machine had made CURRY, which was ACE, and then The Pattisons arrived. We headed over to Joanne's Dad's SPARE HOUSE and got set up. The Tiger arrived and soon we began what was MEANT to be a complete run through of the show...
This plan didn't last for long, as every time I tried to tell a story EITHER someone would disagree with my account OR want to talk about The Fall OR be otherwise distracted. I could see several Validators thinking "Hang on, is this what the show is going to be? Hibbett being called a pillock by a range of close associates? I'm not sure that's very good" so we SKIPPED the talky bits and carried on with the songs. This, I feel, was GOOD.
Job done we set off home, Francis and I doing so via the PUB, getting back to Machine Mansions feeling quite ROCK, but also being tucked up in bed well before midnight. SENSIBLE.
Next morning involved quite a bit of lolling around in the back garden, although i DID have a plan - as I hadn't got much to do all day I thought I'd treat myself to a trip to the pictures to see BATMAN. However, as Master Jimmy Machine was at home it felt a bit MEAN, to go and see BATMAN on my own when there was a 12 year old in the house, so I asked if he'd like to go with me. As it happened it was more like ME going with HIM, as I hadn't got a clue where we were going but he lead us calmly and clearly up about 90 flights of stairs and into the cinema. He coped well with me being a bit EXCITED - firstly about the fact that the film was a 12A and he was 12 and I was an A, and secondly about the small squeaking noises I made when the Watchmen trailer came on. ZOINKS!
The film itself was, as everybody else says, BLOODY GRATE. It actually felt more like a SPY film than a superhero film, even down to having Morgan Freeman as Q, but it was FAB, especially the bit where the car blows up and the BAT BIKE flies out of it. It was GRATE!
By the time we got home it was pretty much time to get out again and soon Frankie and I where on the 91 Bus from Derby to the Midland Railway Museum, to play at Indietracks. I'd been looking forward to this for, well, a YEAR but it didn't feel quite as GLAMOROUS as I'd hoped. As we trundled along past Denby Potteries on the 91, stuck in a traffic jam on the A38, "We're really living the rock and roll dream here aren't we?"
Things DID get a bit more rock and roll, but not before we'd nearly got off at the wrong stop (WARNED by a friendly bus driver) then got hopelessly lost at Butterly station, where the footpath to the main site was cunningly HIDDEN behind an ill-placed train. Soon tho we were wandering down a country path beside the rail tracks, Frankie thinking happy thoughts of "Stand By Me", me sweating quietly and looking at the rabbits. Apparently "Stand By Me" is one of the BEST FILMS EVER - I shall have to get it on DVD.
At last we arrived at the Festival Site, feeling less ODD than I might have expected, it felt like we'd never really gone away. Anne, one of the organisers, also known as The Nice Lady Who Was On The Door Last Year booked us a taxi home for later, Stuart The Big Chief said hello, and we made our way to the BUFFET CARRIAGE where I bought THE FIRST PINT OF THE ENTIRE FESTIVAL! HOORAH!
Horowitz had just arrived and came up to the train, which then shunted along the platform a bit. I leant out of the window and said "Yes, as we're The Headline Band" (OK there were only two bands playing but IT STILL COUNTS) "we asked them to give us a lift ten feet down the platform." I'd like to think they believed us.
The Tiger arrived and had gone to the wrong bit, so we got him to give us a lift the 20 feet to the Marquee where we'd be playing. NOW we felt like we were acting like ROCK STARS! A quick chat with the sound guys and an abortive trip to the cafeteria (CLOSED) lead to us having FLAPJACK for tea and more beer.
The Pattisons arrived, Penny Broadhurst and her band soundchecked, we piled our gear tidily away and people started to arrive. Penny and co played as more people wandered in and there was more BEER, more loafing around in the sunshine, and the Indietracks Usual of HUGGING lovely people who you usually see one by one around the country, but were suddenly all in the same place.
After Penny finished most people went down to the platform for the DISCO while we set out gear up and did a quick soundcheck. Being a little excited I decided to Play The Giddy Goat and do twenty second SPATS of songs with "humorous" word changes for the 20 people still sitting around... which didn't go down to well with Tom, who actually needed to get his levels set up, so we did a song PROPERLY, like GROWN-UPS.
More people arrived and soon there appeared to be REALLY QUITE A LOT OF THEM, filling the tent and spilling out onto the grass at the side. While the soundguy did some last minute changes I did some ORDERS OF BUSINESS, amongst other items I offered people the chance to have an intermission, saying if enough people raised their hands we'd stop for five minutes for a wee. Nobody did, much to the disconcertion of my friend Penny, who ended up asking permission to go on her own - I'm sure a wee can only be improved upon when 150 people have it pointed out to them that you're going.
Anyway, after a bit of extended fannying around we launched into the show, and it went GRATE. NOT doing the stories for The Vlads meant that they actually LARFED in some bits too, and once we got going the whole audience seemed to get into it, and MUCH fun was had, by ME especially. I was playing BAREFOOT, which was really nice, and I felt RELAXED, especially on the couple of occasions where HECKLES/REMARKS led to additional anecdotes. The poor old soundguy decided that my guitar needed miking up halfway through, so spent most of the gig LEANING in to me with it held in his hand, as there weren't enough microphones. This was GOOD, except that every time I played quietly (for EFFECT) he'd lean in a bit closer!
My favourite bit was the SECOND time we introduced the band - the first time around, when I'd said "Tom - they call him 'The Tiger' - McClure" I'd pointed out how BRILL it would be if he GROWLED. The second time around he DID so, it was possibly my most favourite bit of ANY gig we've ever done.
We even got to do an ENCORE, which was "Mental Judo" and basically had a FANTASTIC time of it. Afterwards I wandered round giving out and one chap even wanted his photo taking with me which, after speaking of it in the show, was ACE. I quickly discovered that walking around a damp field with bare feet isn't QUITE so much fun at 10.30pm as it is at 8.00pm, so put my shoes back on and went for the MASS HUG with the departing Pattisons. They had The Girls with them, who'd been EXTREMELY well behaved during the show, with Lola managing to UPSTAGE me again, just as she'd done last year, this time with her demonstration of how to dance The Indie Kid. Aaah!
Francis, The Tiger and I went down to the platform for the "How Does It Feel?" DISCOTHEQUE and had a GRAND old time - the rest of the festival is going to have about four times as many people there as last time, but last night felt JUST like last year, with us knowing about 90% of the people and REALLY LIKING the full 100% of them. There were a couple more pints, a bit of a dance, a LOT of chat, and all too soon we were back on the train to Butterley station. Our taxi arrived BANG on time and with only a tiny diversion to drop Penny and Markie off at Alfreton Travelodge, Official Festival Hotel, we were soon back at Machine Mansions, drinking whisky and playing GUITAR HERO with her and her pals.
It is thus a rather worn out but EXTREMELY pleased Hibbett who sits in a Leicester interweb cafe today. I do still sort of wish I was staying for the whole weekend, but it's a big DO in Peterborough for The Family tonight, and I had SO much fun last night I couldn't really wish for any more. Being in a band and doing gigs, it's FANTASTIC!
posted 26/7/2008 by MJ Hibbett
| < previous | next > |
Comments:
We got WELL lost too, ended up in a field somewhere and missed a bit off Penny Broadhurst ;(
But we did see the whole of your show, and it was so so so good.
posted 29/7/2008 by Jamie
An Artists Against Success Presentation