Blog: Totally Acoustic Returns!

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I had an EXTREMELY busy day on Thursday, featuring a training course (with me giving the training), an ART exhibition and a Christmas DO, all before 5pm! By the time I got to The King & Queen I was ready for some ROCK, and luckily that was available in plentiful supply.

For LO! I was there for the Christmas edition of Totally Acoustic! We hadn't done one of these for over a year so I was RIGHT looking forward to it. On the way to the pub I bumped into The Popinjays, who'd already been in, SOUNDCHECKED, and were now off to get some GRUB, and then once upstairs I found Mr D Green practicing his 80's singalong, so all the acts were ALREADY there, which is always a GRATE relief to me. I was thus able to concentrate on setting up the seating, saying hello to people, and having a much needed PINT.

By just after 7.30pm not only were all the acts in place but most of the AUDIENCE was too. It was delightful to see pretty much ALL of our regulars there (with Mr S Hewitt and Mr T Eveleigh arriving just as we began and making us COMPLETE) and also a good bunch of new people, including Mr T Parsons who had been on my mailing list for YEARS but had never actually seen me before!

I thus took to the stage area and, after a rousing choral rendition of the theme tune, did THIS:

Last Christmas (in the EU)

Cheer Up Love

Have A Drink With Us (Drink Doch Eine Met)

It Only Works Because You're here

It all seeemed to go pretty well - it's been AGES since I last did a gig so I'd wondered if I remembered how, but it seems to be like riding a bike i.e. smelling faintly of oil and with a good chance of falling over. Dave then came straight on for his SYNTH-led singalong, which was BRILLIANT. Dave could well do a gig without ANY music or other forms of entertainment, just TALKING, but here he had three AMAZING tunes and also SONGSHEETS, so the whole room sang along. More people should do this sort of thing! It climaxed in an Actually Rather Moving version of "Only You" which will be available for further enjoyment on the podcast!

After the traditional short break The Popinjays came on. The Validators and I had played with them in Cologne and found them to be a) GRATE b) DELIGHTFUL people, and that assessment was found to stand up in an acoustic setting. It was a bit weird actually - when I asked them to do it they said they'd NEVER really done anything remotely acoustical before and seemed to genuinely be a bit nervous about it, but they took to it INSTANTLY as if it's what they'd been doing all their ROCKING LIVES. It was fantastic, I really hope they do it some more!

And then it was time to settle in for the usual BEERS, WHISKY, and CHAT that traditionally follow at Totally Acoustic, which was as lovely as ever. It felt simultaneously like AGES since we'd last done one of these and also no time at all, and it reminded me, and I think all the other regulars, how much FUN it was and what a FLIPPING ACE pub The King & Queen is. Myself and The Dates In My Diary discussed the matter when we got home and agreed that perhaps some time COULD be found to do it a bit more regularly again, so look out next year for Totally Acoustic's RETURN, not monthly but perhaps on a QUARTERLY basis!

posted 10/12/2018 by MJ Hibbett

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