Re: Too hot to play

LouisB25/07/2006 15:46

The UK is in the grip of a heatwave which is probably the equivalent of a
cold day for most board members from warmer climes. It is currently 31c
(88F) and 43% relative humidity. After 30 minutes of trying to get my act
together I had to give in to the heat and give up for the day. Is anyone
else finding it hard to get motivated to play guitar in this weather?

Well it's a bit cooler than that here in Buxton (29 and cooling down to
about 16/17 by 5 am) But I spend most time in the attic here which does
heat up and I have a fan going which makes it bearable. The rest of the
house is cooler with the ground floor north side very pleasant. We have
trees which shade that side too. Best place to play guitar is down there.

This weather is not good for the elderly. Fi's mother usually complains when
its less than 15 degrees (she can add clothing, turn the heating on, shut
doors etc) but over 26 degrees and they complain too. Nothing much I can do
about it. She does have the coolest space in the house though (warmest in
winter too) - so our two cats spend there time mostly in there.

As little rushing and gadding about as poss.' and staying stress free too if
I can. The highest here has been about 31 degrees and about 75% humidity
but in London it has topped 37 degrees. I know what that feels like 'cos I
lived in central London for 15 years and south London for another 15. It is
dire down there.

Saturday... well I may as well tell you about Saturday... it was an
altogether strange day and the band had two gigs - one outdoors in a
shopping mall and another one indoors at a local festival. The weather
having been hot and dry all week - as luck would have it - the weather Sat
promised severe lightning storms and a shower or two.

It is a paid gig + busking at the mall and we were scheduled to play from
about 11.00am-ish until about 3.00pm-ish, but we often play at this place a
bit longer if there is an audience. We were playing as a trio in the early
afternoon and a quartet later on in the day. We had guitar, banjo, fiddle
and accordion + mandolin later on.

Just got to the gig and unloaded the stuff to the *stage* area when the
heavens opened and lightning crashed down like I've not seen it for ages.
There was water everywhere and with the storm drains backing-up our gear was
up on cafe tables under cover but still getting a bit wet. So we got the
gear set up after the rain died down, choosing a spot in the mall cafe where
we'd be under cover if it rained like this again.

The sun soon came out and it all dried up and a pleasant warm and a light
breeze for the early afternoon. We usually do 3 sets and take some breaks
for food and drinks. The audience come and go as this is a cafe and some
choose to linger and listen. One of the nice things is watching the kids
watching you and we had one or two nice moments where the little toddlers
were hopping and tripping around to the music. One middle-aged guy came up
and said we'd made his day and put

So we're just getting to end of the final number we plan to do (nice because
we had a growing and appreciative audience all the way through) and in the
space of a minute, the sky blackens and we get more torrential rain.

This time it was even harder than before and a wind started up and in
seconds was gusting at 70mph. I'm talking monsoon + here - black sky green
lightning, deafening thunder and water - lots of it. The last time I saw
water like this was in Northern Spain and before that in Arizona.

It soaked instruments and everything else - picked up the music stand we'd
been using, bits of clothing, hats, sunglasses, music sheets, cups and all
kinds of stuff and shot them all off through the arcade and the vortex
brought the rain in solid and sideways. So we were stranded for about half
an hour until it died down (we were already half soaked) before we could get
it all loaded up again and off for our next gig.

Managed to retrieve most of the stuff that went flying - music sheets and
books managed and soaked went in the garbage can. Luckily we have a spare
copy of everything with us for the next gig. Straight on to the next gig
then...

For all the rain it had been a good day, a good practice for the band, some
new tunes run through etc - and good tips - about 35 quid - covers the
petrol, food and drinks for all and a tad more. Plus we still get paid for
the gig.

So we get back to Buxton and to the next venue. This is part of the Buxton
Festival Fringe which accompanies Buxton Festival. This is the best Festival
presentation of unusual opera and classical stuff outside of London and very
affordable. The Fringe which has grown up with it is the biggest outside of
Edinburgh.

The brick barrel vaulted basement of the Old Hall Hotel (reputed to be the
oldest hotel in England) is Elizabethan and the place belonged was used to
hold Mary Queen of Scots a virtual prisoner for some time. She liked Buxton
for its higher altitude and spa waters which she took to for her many
ailments. As Daniel Defo wrote in 1727 while staying at the Hotel ....'This
is indeed a very special place'.

The present building dates back to 1573. The New Hall as it was known then,
was built by the Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury. The Countess being the
redoubtable 'Bess of Hardwick' who built Hardwick Hall and Chatsworth. The
children from her first marriage to Sir William Cavendish created the line
of the Dukes of Devonshire whose generations have lived at Chatsworth House
until the present day. Henry Cavendish the scientist who calculated the
mass density of the earth etc was one of them too.

It was with Bess's third husband, George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury
that they built the New Hall in Buxton, on the foundations of an earlier Inn
or hostelry known as the Auld Hall. The New Hall was built with the sanction
of Queen Elizabeth I, to provide accommodation for Mary Queen of Scots who
was under house arrest and in the keeper-ship of the Shrewsbury's.

But I digress...

Saturday the 8th July two weeks earlier we'd done an unpaid 45 min duo set
down there to a half full house and this Sat (22nd) it was a lot busier. I
was pleased about this turn-out because one guy is coming on a 50 mile trip
to play with us and he's just arrived. The sound man had unlike last time -
materialised too.

Scheduled time was 17.45 to 18.30 and it amounts to a warm up slot for the
main act of the evening which is an 8-piece choir act from Zimbabwe but it's
now 18.00 and the previous band are still on stage...

I knew it would be less than good organisation... Truth is, the only reason
I've agreed to do it is because it is on the return run for us. But now we
have a guy coming specially to play with us and that adds a bit of extra
pressure to make it worthwhile... As we carry the gear down I bump into the
Festival director coming up followed by a guy who says to me * I hope you're
better than that shower*... I am hoping so too...

I order a pint of Taylor's Landlord and virtually down it in one gulp. I'm
better when a bit mellow and right now I'm not mellow. It's warm down here
where it's usually cool... It soon appears that they are also running very
late and so our stage time gets put back and back. I'm concerned... The
organisation is just crap to put it mildly. No-one knows who's in charge.

Turns out to be the drummer we can hear clattering away behind. These kids
were crap to put it mildly. If you can do pure improvisation you do it, if
you can't you don't. They couldn't. But that's what happens at free entry
festival fringe time gigs.

Then it is suggested that we should perhaps cancel the slot and let the band
who are running late just play on for even longer. I say definitely no -
no-way Jose @!!... so the young duo are asked to leave the stage after an
hour of music and get up and leave - leaving all their gear on stage set up
- 3-tier stand with 3 keyboards, full drumkit, guitar stands etc.

And the room now starts to fill up with audience again... I've got six
people come to see us play... some of them arrive... Imagine a basement like
the Liverpool Cavern Club but smaller, narrower with a lower barrel vaulted
brick ceiling and you have it about right... about 5 feet wider than a
London Underground train and a bit longer... tables of six down each side
set in alcoves...

There is no chance of going over the 7 o'clock limit, but it is now 18.15
and they're still clearing the stage. I'm trying to stay cool but Bernie is
getting agitated... We're going to play come hell or high water. Eventually
we get on and set up hurriedly - the mics plug in and go. Not enough mics
(all SM57 copies) and no instrument mics to do it properly - but off we go.

The stage lights are too bright in my face to see a damn thing... but I know
the room is packed now... first number and great applause... it is sounding
good through this crap PA and it is quite loud too. Change of song order -
keeping it more up-tempo...

My voice is on good form this evening (it's been well oiled all day) so is
Bernie's and the balance sounds good to my ears (this with no foldback at
all). Can you hear all the instruments and voices?... and I hear local Jim
Davy's familiar Scots twang come back *Aye it all sounds great to me...*

I try to relax even though its just as hot as hell with those damn lights in
my face 3 feet away from my nose. So we did 22 mins - about 5 songs and get
great applause and then some young girl tells us to pack up and get off now
- it's now 18.46. So I say fine after the next number we finish - and we do
our final number and we get great applause for that too.

A woman from the audience comes up to the front all excited telling me that
she wants to book us for a private party gig soon - so I give her a card...
Need to get our gear off straight away...

But the boys are not happy that they've been short changed with the time -
neither am I... but I'm also too hot to give a *** right now. Bernie tells
them exactly what he thinks and they just look at him like he's a dog act.
Chris our fiddle player is angry... says to me that we were treated badly
and I say yes indeed we were...

I'm pissed-off too now even though I know we played well. What's the point
of complaining to people who simply don't give a ***... But after I cool
off a bit, I complain just very quietly and succinctly to the guy in charge
and they all at least listen... I have gone to great trouble to help them
these three weeks... I don't like being treated like this...

I get apologies for the over-run etc... excuses and bull***... then he adds
that we're *the surprise really good act of the day*... we should have had
longer... (Insult or injury... I'm not sure...) They're all youngsters
18/19 years old; they're all tired it has been a long three weeks for
them... So I make allowances...

I can only imagine how we'd have fared if we'd had the whole allotted time
to do the nine/ten songs we'd chosen - and a good PA. Next year, we'll do
our own thing in our own acoustic venue in this Fringe and it will be a
really good mix of low cost, minimum management music.

I like this band now and we can make some great music together whether duo,
trio or quartet... We'll also have a quintet - a bass player (and a good one
lined up) - when the money allows and it has potential and it's fun - even
on the bad days. If we can turn a crap gig to our advantage, I'm well
pleased. Next weekend we're doing a Christening party... if the weather is
good it will be fun.

Damn that was meant to be a short-ish post and it turned into a right ramble
didn't it...

CR



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