Friday April 1st saw LoGOz back in Live action at one of our old haunts The Three Tuns in Gateshead. This was supporting local punksters LOADED 44. As we entered the venue and checked in with the gear I made a beeline to the guys for a catch up with Beki and Steve. It had been a while. As we reacquainted and swapped stories etc I jokingly reminded them and myself of the electrical curse of the Tuns haha! You see, over the years it seems to be the only venue where we've encountered the dreaded multi string snapping phenomenon as well as some worrying electric shock treatment! A statement I would come to slightly regret as later on my arse received a slight bite on the cheek, shall we say!
Soundcheck time. We breezed into NO WIN SITUATION and everything was fine, apart from not much vocals in my monitor, which yet after pleas to the sound guy seemed to fall on deaf ears. Oh and I snapped a fucking string didn't I haha? You should never tempt fate. No big deal anyway. New string strung and we're ready to roll. 9pm showtime and pleasingly a healthy bustling crowd had now gathered. Apart from one local drunkard shouting above everyone else, the good punk punters were looking forward to brilliant night of original live music we were only to happy to be a part of. As we ripped into our set something just didn't seem to be quite right. Paul's guitar amp appeared to be cutting out during the first few songs. So this caused a dip in sound in places and made for a slightly uncomfortable opening to our set. By the time we hit the halfway stage the technical issues were put to one side and I even found time to snap another bastard string haha! It added an extra edgy focus to our set in my opinion with both Paul and me experiencing these minor issues that just often happen onstage and are out of our control. Carlos didn't even notice haha he was locked in drum world and played a tasty blinder. Yum yum. Also at one point someone was carried out of the bogs stretcher like! God only knows what happened there! It was an interestingly strange night. But by the frantic climax of MEXICOLA it didn't matter as the audience were well on our side. More new faces voiced their appreciation as did their fellow LoGOz hardcore. Another successful gig with a difference for the band and a job well done in the circumstances, even if we do say so ourselves :)
So, onto headliners LOADED 44 and it had been years since I saw these guys so I was looking forward to this! The band formed in 1996 so they certainly know their way around a stage. Fronted by the confident attractively striking figure that is Beki. This lass knows the crack. Think Debbie Harry meets Brodie Dalle. And like a modern day cross between Vicious and Matlock, Steve Racket drove the punk energy through the heart of the songs with a tight rhythm section, leaving lead six stringer Dave free to buzz away on the chainsaw guitars. They gave their audience exactly what they came to see! No nonsense in yer face balls out punk rock! They also treated us to some new material which went down champion. As we bid our farewells and headed out of Gateshead we were happy to be back on track and the LoGOz bandwagon was back rolling full steam ahead!
Sunday came and it was time for my acoustic solo debut at Surf Cafe in Tynemouth. We almost missed the intimate venue as we drove past the seaside establishment. Heading into the venue we were greeted by the friendly scouse host Phil who made us feel more than welcome. Stage time was 7:15 and a young southern lad by the name of Jack Rosies was just starting his set. Personally not my cup of tea, but the packed venue certainly took a shine to the laid back soul bearing quiet guitar picking boy. Respect.
Before I had time to take in this refreshingly different atmosphere I was up there sounchecking! No sooner had we agreed I was ready to roll, Phil was introducing me and I was away! I kicked straight into THE BALLAD OF THE DISENCHANTED and it seemed like the unsuspecting folk of Tynemouth didn't know what had hit them! I must admit the intimacy and occasion got to me a tad and the adrenalin fuelled nerves were rushing through me! But I think this only added to the performance. After every song my confidence grew and the cool vibes swept through the room as the receptive crowd listened and joined in and appreciated exactly what I was doing here. I was beginning to really relax and the banter was flowing and was probably the most story telling I had done in between songs ever with CHARLIE CIGARETTES and KEEP YA TIMBER IN AND YA POWDER DRY particularly going down a storm! It was all over too quickly before I had shot my bolt to be honest! But I knew I had delivered and it was one of the most rewarding solo gigs I've ever played. All in all, another excellent gig and a step in the right direction. Thanks to everyone at Surf Cafe and all who came to show their support this weekend, you know who you are. Special mention as always to Clemmy and Jill for all their hard work!
That's it for now folks
Cheers
Peesh X
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