So here we are on the second week of the eighth month of the year with a pair of gigs 300 miles apart! Friday night we had been offered a slot at Gillespies Bar in Blackpool. This is a major weekend in the Punk Rock Calendar as The Winter Gardens plays host to the Famous Rebellion Festival. This years big name acts include The Boomtown Rats, Less Than Jake, The Buzzcocks and The Damned to name but a few!
But let's not forget the satellite bars and sub venues, the Rebellion fringe if you like, which we were more than happy to be a part of! Big thanks to Kev of From The Gut for the heads up for this gig and Darren for putting us on! Our stage time was 7:30pm so we loaded the LoGOz bandwagon and headed out of NE63 at 3:45pm with a sense of smart arse confidence we would make it to Blackpool in under 3 hours. Piece of piss! But as ever a LoGOz road trip wouldn't be the same without a hiccup or two! We hit some serious roadworks on the A66 with a few stop start snail manoeuvres which really knocked us back! The clock was ticking and at one point it really was touch and go whether we'd actually make it in time for our allocated slot! But after a little patience, sonic assistance from The Wildhearts and some motorway driving from Paul that Lewis Hamilton would be proud of, we were back on track! Even the sat nav ETA was now on our side going in reverse, and not even the appearance of a bastard tractor that we convoyed for a few miles, could stop us now! I was worried if we hit 88 mph the flux capacitor might have sent us back in time to 1955 and end up playing the annual Blackpool quiff and skiffle Festival!
Meanwhile back in 2015 we pulled up at Gillespies Bar just after 7:20pm and dived straight into the venue and threw our gear onstage and set up as quick as poss! Soundman Paul was on hand to help set things up and before we knew it, without any line or soundcheck we were blasting straight into a raucous LONG TiME DEAD. There was a great busy bustling crowd in already, which to our joy contained a few familiar faces! Sweet. As we were slightly behind schedule we just ripped through an 8 song set tearing the place a new arsehole in the process! Again it was all over too quickly but the band played a blinder and got a brilliant reaction! The feedback afterwards from fellow bands and punters alike was great and added to the experience of it all. We even had time to sample the shabby delights of Blackpool fried chicken, against our better judgement! As night fell we headed out of the bright lights of Blackpool with another successful gig under our studded belts, and a Doc Marten booted foot in the door of the Rebellion Festival! This time next year, who knows? Cheers to Sound guy Paul, everyone at Gillespies. No sleep til Ashington. Roll on The Conchie :)
But let's not forget the satellite bars and sub venues, the Rebellion fringe if you like, which we were more than happy to be a part of! Big thanks to Kev of From The Gut for the heads up for this gig and Darren for putting us on! Our stage time was 7:30pm so we loaded the LoGOz bandwagon and headed out of NE63 at 3:45pm with a sense of smart arse confidence we would make it to Blackpool in under 3 hours. Piece of piss! But as ever a LoGOz road trip wouldn't be the same without a hiccup or two! We hit some serious roadworks on the A66 with a few stop start snail manoeuvres which really knocked us back! The clock was ticking and at one point it really was touch and go whether we'd actually make it in time for our allocated slot! But after a little patience, sonic assistance from The Wildhearts and some motorway driving from Paul that Lewis Hamilton would be proud of, we were back on track! Even the sat nav ETA was now on our side going in reverse, and not even the appearance of a bastard tractor that we convoyed for a few miles, could stop us now! I was worried if we hit 88 mph the flux capacitor might have sent us back in time to 1955 and end up playing the annual Blackpool quiff and skiffle Festival!
Meanwhile back in 2015 we pulled up at Gillespies Bar just after 7:20pm and dived straight into the venue and threw our gear onstage and set up as quick as poss! Soundman Paul was on hand to help set things up and before we knew it, without any line or soundcheck we were blasting straight into a raucous LONG TiME DEAD. There was a great busy bustling crowd in already, which to our joy contained a few familiar faces! Sweet. As we were slightly behind schedule we just ripped through an 8 song set tearing the place a new arsehole in the process! Again it was all over too quickly but the band played a blinder and got a brilliant reaction! The feedback afterwards from fellow bands and punters alike was great and added to the experience of it all. We even had time to sample the shabby delights of Blackpool fried chicken, against our better judgement! As night fell we headed out of the bright lights of Blackpool with another successful gig under our studded belts, and a Doc Marten booted foot in the door of the Rebellion Festival! This time next year, who knows? Cheers to Sound guy Paul, everyone at Gillespies. No sleep til Ashington. Roll on The Conchie :)
So Saturday comes and it's also the start of a brand new Premier League Footy season! And with it comes the predictable disappointment with my beloved lads in red and white receiving an opening day spanking by the mighty Leicester City! Nevermind, I have other business to attend to! A return to old stomping ground The Conchie in Ashington. The sound tonight is supplied by Steve Leyland and son Connor, marking their debut as LoGOz sound men. First up tonight was Robert Mcdonald from Sunderland punk band Spitfire Bullets and he opened the night on his first public solo gig with a 25 minute acoustic flurry of Ramones, Sex Pistols tracks as well as a few Spitfire originals. Well done mate. Next it was my turn for my debut hometown AcoustiCalendar performance, which I must admit had me slightly more nervous than usual, but not as shaky as Sunderlands back four! But after the first track THE BALLAD OF THE DISENCHANTED and the reaction from the healthy crowd gathering the nerves were soothed! This ended up being my favourite solo gig to date as everything just flowed perfectly and the sound was spot on, everything just felt right! With confidence soaring I even slipped in a brief cover of the Minder theme tune in tribute to the late George Cole. As ever I closed the set with OLD PUNKS NEVER DIE, complete with HOOKY STREET / THATS LIVING ALRIGHT outro! A great end to a very personal self satisfying set!
So onto LoGOz set as we blasted into action in front of our spanking new backdrop! After a few technical issues with Mr. V it was a return to action for my cream Epiphone SG which slipped on champion and played like a trusty old friend! To be honest we played one of our best sets but we were kinda disappointed by the turn out tonight! It wasn't the worst by far, but on another night it could've been better, put it that way! But the hardcore family, friends and followers who made a noise with us definitely enjoyed the show as did we! There was even an old member in the crowd in the shape of Mr Carlos Bennett! So after a friendly invite from Harry, Carl got up with the band for a thunderous version of JOIE DE VIVRE. Nice one. We closed with set favourite MEXICOLA and our rocking roller coaster weekend was all but over! It's been a hectic few days but we did ourselves proud this weekend! Big thanks to Steve and Connor for the sound tonight and of course everyone who came to see us! It's always great to play your hometown but it can be a bit like a school play or an assembly sometimes haha! As long as we're all singing from the same hymn sheet right? :)
So onto Monday and AcoustiCalendar Song #32 THE DECADE THAT MADE ME. This was originally titled I LUV THE 1980s! But that title sounded too much of a throwaway and cheapening of 1980s cheesy nostalgia! Cos really the song is about the most transitional decade of my life. The one where I grew up and remember the most significant changes on a personal level! It's all in the lyrics haha! So download it from www.logozworld.com/52 As ever the track will be available for FREE until the next track is uploaded!
Phew! That's all for now lads and lasses!
Cheers
Peesh
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