Blog: Tramlines

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After the ROCK AND ROLL of Saturday I could have done with a lie-in on Sunday, but sadly for me (but GOODLY for ROCK) I was up and off to the train station to head to Sheffield, where we were due to play TRAMLINES.

Once I'd arrived and got booked into the Ibis (USUAL ROOM) I headed back into town to meet Mr F A Machine off the train. On Saturday I'd met him at the station and we'd gone to the Euston Tap, today I met him at the station and we went to the Sheffield Tap. ON TOUR CRAZINESS!

We had a couple of DELICIOUS pints of Wild Swan then wandered across town to the Hop, where we met The Tiger. As we strolled through town i was amazed by how many people were out and about - I thought Tramlines was just a small do with a couple of venues, but it is RIDICULOUSLY IMMENSE! Everywhere you looked were hordes of people wandering off to see gigs and music rang from every window, it really was rather amazing!

I was booked to play on the Busker's Bus, so we found the bus stop and waited for it to come round again for my SLOT, which went a little something like this:

Summer Holiday

Glory Days

Back For Good

Can't Take My Eyes Off You

The Wheels On The Bus

Boom Shake The Room

Mull Of Kintyre

The Lesson Of The Smiths

Starting with "Summer Holiday" was a REALLY good idea... though people seemed surprised to find that I was going to sing the WHOLE THING! The organisers had advised performers to do cover versions as much as possible, so I learned up a couple of new ones and went through my whole repertoire - it was odd trying to work out a set as I wasn't sure how long the journey would take, which is why i RAN OUT of covers at the end and had to do one of my own songs to finish, and even then had to skip the third verse as we'd arrived at the bus stop.

It was a STRANGE experience all round - I was sat at the front on the top deck, perched on the BAR at the front window, and had a HECK of a time trying to remain upright. When it got to the "dance in the aisles" bit of "Boom Shake The Room" I thought I would do just THAT, and ended up wobbling about all over the place and falling over onto the front seat! ALSO it seemed that every time I looked out of the window we were EITHER passing a patch of desolate wasteland OR a fantastic pub. Surely there is more to Sheffield than just those two things?

It was tremendously enjoyable, and also SWEATY. It was a gorgeous sunny day (HEY! Of course it was - it always IS when I play Public Transport Themed Festivals!) so the bus was warm anyway, but GOSH it doesn't half get you worked up when you're trying to sing AND not fall over!

That job done we ambled over to The Red House, where we were playing that evening, and were soon joined by Tim and Emma and a gentle stream of old pals, some of whom I'd not seen for AGES. We thoroughly enjoyed August Actually, also some LARKS and CHATTING, before it was time for us to get onstage and do THIS:

My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once

Theme From Dinosaur Planet

Don't, Darren, Don't

Quality Of Life Enhancement Device

Please Don't Eat Us

Being Happy Doesn't Make You Stupid

Hey Hey 16K

Do The Indie Kid

The Lesson Of The Smiths

Easily Impressed

Why yes, yes it is almost the same as yesterday's set - it is a TOUR SETLIST! This one was FULL of ACTION and EVENTS. My favourite bit was just after THE TIGER'S ROAR (complete with DRUM ROLL this time), when I claimed it had been so sexy it had turned me Gay. "Me too!" called out a lady in the audience, to MUCH HILARITY. There was also quite a lot of DERBY RACISM as certain members of the band (hem hem) discussed how POSH people are in Derby and did a FRIGHTENINGLY REALISTIC accent. "That's how we all talk", said Frankie, PROVING MY POINT.

It was a bloody magic gig, and was followed by beer, pals, and general goodtimes. It was also followed by a CRACKING gig by The Sweet Nothings - I've not seen them for AGES and NEVER with Vinnie on Keyboards, and they were a REVELATION of ROCKING TUNES. Maybe it's because I've grown use to the Wistful Sounds of The Pete Green Solo Experience, but I wasn't expecting them to ROCK so very HARD - they were GRATE!

Knackered by now and FILLED with JOY I said more goodbyes and headed off into the night, drawing a marvellous, tho EXHAUSTING, weekend to a close. Best tour EVER!

posted 24/7/2012 by MJ Hibbett

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