The Dawn Chorus / The Retrospective Soundtrack Players - Blogging all over the World

After Drift Bar show 03/05/09


4 or 5 Magicians, 900 Spaces, A-Custom, Acropolis, Action Speaks Louder, Afrosnatchers, The AKA Band, The All-Singing Razorblades, Allo Darlin', Andy & Jack, Angelgear x 5, Apologies I Have None, The Arkwrights, CM Arnold & the Delta Breaks, Arty Karate, Ashford, The Autons x2, The Aviators, The B of the Bang x 17, Rob Ball, Philip Barebones, Emily Barker, Chris Bath, Batrider, Beans on Toast, Belligerence, Bendigo, Black Carrot, Steve Bland x 4, Blue Fox, Emit Bloch, Bodyhost x 2, The Boicotts, Adam Boucher x 2, Brenda, James Bright, Burn the Witch, Captain Fantastic, Carmen Rosa, Carmichael, Citizen, Lester Clayton, The Clowns, Cocos Lovers, Contra, Kurt Cooder x 2, Alex Cornish, Covernote, Creepythinguy, Cymbiotic, Dali's Cat, Steve Dalzell, Tom Dangerous, De Squeran, Dan De Squeran, Dead! Dead! Dead! x 2, Deadbeat Descendent, Del Nil x 3, Stanton Delaplane, The Deads x 2, Delboy French, Depot, Deville, Different Day, The Dirty 38s, Dlugokecki, Dropstone, Dumbfounded, Alex J Dunne, Dutch Husband, Echobeat, Elaine Dismissed, The Elements x 2, Elle Milano, Enjoy Destroy, Fade Out x 2, Fake Ray, Luke Ferre x 2, Fly Monkeys Fly, Fresh Legs x2, Frisbee in the Jewel Box, Funk Yer Mum, Geko, Get Amped, Gilbert, Gilkicker x 2, The Glad Rags, Golden Section x 2, David Goo x 2, The Good Intentions, Alaistar Goodwin, David Greeves GROOVE, The Gun Show x 5, Luke Haines, Frank Hamilton, Hardly Heroes, Hats are for Heads, The Heights, Hexicon, Higgy, Rob Himself, Hobos and Eskimos, Hold Fast x2, Holy Roller, The Housewives, Hudson 10 x 2, HUMANS, I Am Jack, Idiot3, The Incredible Flight of Birdman x2, The Inklings, Introducing: Emergency Music, Ida Jacobsson, Joey Nightmare, Jukebox Vandals, The Kabeedies, Karmatribe, Kate Goes, Kid Idiot, Kill Kasper, Kody, Last Days of Lorca, Leptany, The Levels, Life of Byron, The Light Divided, Lisa Lindley Jones, The Lights Shine, The Little Ones, Little Things, Living in Cities, The Lonely Cardinals x 2, Looking Through Glass, Lost Aura, Peter Lyons, Richie Madisun, Mantis & The Prayer, Mantra, The Marvellous Mechanical Band, The Masters x 3, Jo McCafferty, Dave McPherson, Melodramas x2, The Metropolise, The MFV, The Mindless Ones, Misty's Big Adventure, The Model Village, Momentum, Mono, Monsters Build Mean Robots, The Mopes, Moses x 2, Mr & Mrs, Mrs Poopars Automobiles, Mumble, The New Root, No Skidoo, Stuart O'Connor, Octograph (?), Operahouse, Openroom x 2, Ornament Birds, Otaka, Matt Park, Mrs Burns, Palais x 2, Jackie Paper x 2, Joe Parker & the Power, The Plymouths x 2, Poppy, The Racketeers, Kyle Rage, The Rebs x 2, Red Campion, Reikidogs, Relentless, Retrofect, The Ridgeway, Rivers of Sound x 3, Rockshore, Roland Shanks, Rolling Dog, Room 6, Rosie and the Goldbug, Rossco x 4, The Rudimentary Confusion, Rushing With Apathy, Sallyforth, Salvage, Sarah & Lewis, Saturdays and Sundays, The Shake, Shit Hot Llamas!, Silent Radio, Silhouette Showgirls, Sine Star Project, Sister Divine, Six Nation State, Something Pretty, Charlene Soraia, Spearmint, Jessica Spencer Band, Niall Spooner-Harvey x 2, The Stations x 6, Leigh Mary Stokes, The Strange Death of Liberal England x 5, Straylings, The Summons, Supergrass (DJs), Surprise!, Chris T-T x 2, Tali Trow & The Well Being, Tamerlane x 2, Paddy Taylor, Temple, They Don't Sleep, Thomas Tantrum x 2, Tim and Sam's Tim and the Sam Band with Tim and Sam, Tomboy, Trinity, Frank Turner x 3, Umdongskulen, The Undefined, The Veils, Venice Ahoy!, The Vice, Videosprint, The Visitors, Jon Walbrin, The Waves, The Way, The Waysters x 2, Rich Webb, Whitewash, Wilf, JD Williams, Vaughan Williams, Winners, Wireless, Wiservice x 2, Michael Wookey, Wyldside, Yellowgroove, Zodiac

Sunday 3rd May 2009
Portsmouth Drift Bar

The Dawn Chorus
The B of the Bang
Hats are for Heads
Dan De Squeran
Rossco

There seems to be no such thing as a normal DC/BOTB show any more. You know, where we turn up at a normal venue, play our sets and then go home. Not applicable any more.

The Bang had double booked themselves tonight and had an acoustic show at Porters at 8 o'clock, so we all trundled over there to help them out on 'Last Day...' and then popped back to Drift. They were obviously very very good and their musicianship shines through when playing acoustic.

Lyrebirds were meant to be playing but pulled out, so Hats are for Heads stepped in at the last minute with a splendid set of acoustic spontaneity (sp?). At a conservative estimate I'd say that Wit and Jack BOTB probably played about 5 different instruments each tonight, and sang. The bastards.

We had a surprising amount of fun considering it was Drift, the only downside of the evening was that people couldn't get to the function room upstairs where we were because downstairs was rammed with a soul band and lots of, well, chavs getting their groove on. I should also mention that instantly after we played some DJs started playing incredibly loud shit music, including Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face' (which i regret to say is growing on me) which they managed to fuck up and have to play 3 times.

No more shows for a while now; a few festivals and new album writing. Can't wait for album 2 now, it's going to be a beaute.

Saturday 2nd May 2009
Bridgwater Labour Club

The Dawn Chorus
The B of the Bang
JD Williams

An interesting weekend which we christened 'The MegaBunny Reprise'. We had a practice in the morning to hammer out a few newies, we probably have 10 songs at least 80% ready to go now. The latest is 'Heartbeat in 5/4' which we rolled out this weekend for the first time. It isn't in 5/4 though.

We got to Bridgwater (where's the 'e'?) at about half six, it would have been earlier but we drove and then walked past the venue - it was literally a Labour Party club. We thought we'd be playing to 5 old men at the bar. How wrong we were....

First however, we had to deal with a couple of quite pissed off sound guys who weren't expecting a drum kit - we forgot to put it on the tech spec. We thought it was assumed. Though they turned out to be top blokes and did a good job. When we finished soundcheck and left the venue we noticed that there was actually a queue of teenagers outside, which isn't usually a hallmark of a DC show. When we returned from our fish and chips - I had a nice vietnamese Pengasious - the place was full of jailbait dressed up to the nines and guys who looked even younger than me. It was like a less fashionable version of Skins.

Of course the inevitable downside of this is that I'm about to complain that no-one was listening. It's always the way - either there aren't enough people or the people present aren't listening. Bloody self-important folk'n'roll stars. We played our set loud and fast - after the raffle - and got out of there, though not before someone had stolen our post-gig doughnuts. Most not good. Oh, and I forgot to mention, the first thing we saw when we got into Bridgy was someone lying in the road who'd been run over. Good times.