We didn't get up until about midday. We had some breakfast and I managed to
spill orange juice everywhere on several occasions. We discuss the future of
Simple Minds and despite our disappointment that this could be the last
hurrah for Jim and Co, decide that disceasure of their activities might be
good for our business!!!
;o)
We watched 'Jackass - The Movie' on DVD before going to The Hoppegarden to
see what the nights running order would be. There would be several bands
playing that evening and we would be on at about 10.30pm. There would be no
soundcheck and only 10 minutes to swap over between bands. Bugger!
Dave - "What? We don't get a soundcheck?"
Thorsten - "No Dave, we just set up and play".
Dave - "So we don't get to soundcheck at all?"
Steve - "No Dave, you plug in and we start playing".
Dave - "Not even one song to get the levels right?"
Jacky - "Not even one song. Soundchecks are for pussys, no problems".
Dave - "So there isn't a soundcheck?"
Me - "DAVE THERE IS NO SOUNDCHECK, THERE IS NO SOUNDCHECK DAVE!"
Dave - "Where's the toilet?"
It would have been easy (and predictable) to play just the greatest hits in
our short half hour set. Those who came to last nights show got the full
picture, tonight it was going to be our treat! We decided to play a really
full on set of the songs that we enjoy playing most (and Don't You Forget
About Me!).
As Dave starts to come to the idea of there being no soundcheck, we went
into Hamm's town centre and had a meal at an Italian restaurant. We treated
Thorsten and Angela as a thank-you for their wonderful hospitality.
As we returned to The Hoppegarden, both Thorsten and I were feeling a bit
ill (nothing to do with the food). We met Jacky and ran through 'New Gold
Dream' in the rehearsal room as we'd had problems the previous night. We
were told that one band had dropped out so we'd have a little more time to
play, so we thought we'd tag 'Belfast Child' on the end of our set list
(that was Steve's idea, I wanted to play 'Twist Run Repulsion'!).
There was a hospitality room, which the bands shared. The food looked a
little frightening (and out of date) so we stuck to the draft beer that was
available.
Suddenly, there was a loud rumble from above. At first I thought Dave had
finally found the toilet, but it transpired that the first band of the night
had started. I didn't see them, though I was told they were not very good.
Next on was heavy metal band B.M.F. who played Metallica songs. They were
very loud and toit, though maybe playing to the wrong type of audience. I
liked them and Dave made friends with their guitarist Sven.
We then rushed to get set up in our 10 minutes. I had the most to do as
Thorsten would be playing the drums already on the stage and Jacky and Dave
would plug into the amps that were set up. It was a mad scramble to get all
the keyboards and sequencers wired up and sub mixed, though somehow (with
Steve's help) I got it done. We were dripping with sweat and we hadn't even
played a note!
Then we immediately fired into 'New Gold Dream' which was slightly different
to the version we'd been closing the set with (and Dave realised that there
was no soundcheck!).
1. NEW GOLD DREAM
2. LOVE SONG
3. DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME
4. WATERFRONT
5. GHOSTDANCING
6. ROOM / BOOK OF BRILLIANT THINGS
What a rush! The songs raced by and Dave, Steve and myself all felt it was
the best gig we'd ever done. Musically it was spot on, performance wise -
we've never had so much fun on stage and there was a great buzz and
appreciation from the audience.
We had to abandon our plans to close with 'Belfast Child', as we were told
to get off stage by the following bands guitarist - the remarkable (though
badly dressed) Uli. This pissed us off somewhat as the next two sets both
over-ran their slots by 10 - 15 minutes.
As Dave, Steve and myself put our feet up and enjoyed a cool drink, Jacky
very kindly dismantled all of our really heavy equipment and carried it down
the stairs to our storage room. He then gave the gear a quick polish and
ironed our clothes. What a star!!!
Our full on 'Robo-Chubby' set would be a difficult act to follow. (Maybe why
we asked to cut it short?) Thorsten had remained on stage to play with the
following two bands.
'Dirty Pants' were up first, fronted by a guy who's recently had a couple of
heart attacks. The tension was excruciating as you contemplated if he'd live
long enough to finish each song and despite having to have an electrical
infusion on the middle 8 of 'Gimme Some Lovin', he was able to complete the
set and return to his infirmary! Uli was resplendent in a 1984 Dire Straits
kind of way and the saxophone player was clearly a big fan of Zoot from The
Muppets - except he wasn't blue!
Next up was 'The Empty Bottle Bluesband'. These were fronted by the epitaph
of all things masculine, none other than Mr Willi Wonker himself!!! Pure sex
on a colostomy bag!!! Uli also played in this band, and he wowed the
audience with a costume change into a little Huey Lewis / Miami Vice style
number. During their set, I was introduced to Uli's girlfriend who I might
have upset ever-so-slightly by saying "I thought Uli was gay - your
operation looks really good!" Jacky also played bass in this band and that
was the last I saw of him that evening.
I enjoyed a couple of songs by 'The Dirty Pants' but for the most part it
just wasn't my kind of music - and the drums were really sloppy!!!
The last band, Embassy were quite good, if you're into Cruise Ship style
music - and as I'd offended just about everyone and Dave was on his 23rd
pint (that's what happens when he doesn't get a soundcheck) we thought we'd
better be leaving.
All night we'd managed to avoid hearing the result of the crucial England vs
Turkey football match. (I'd toyed with the idea of trying to get the
commentary on my ear monitors - though felt this might be a bit distracting
when I'm playing a gig - especially if England score or if Beckham missed a
penalty - yeah, as if!!!)
Once back at Thorsten Towers we were excited about watching the recording of
the game. There were some nervous (and dangerous) moments when we thought
Thorsten had taped the wrong channel - though it was OK and we settled down
to enjoy the match. I'm a bit passionate about my football - though I don't
think the guys (and Angela) were prepared for just how 'loud' I can be. When
Dyer was booted in the face by that Adam and the Ants-w**ker-c**t
face-turd-Turk-goalkeeper my language was somewhat colourful!!!
It was a really tense game and 0 - 0 was a great result and job done. I was
pleased that both Wales and Scotland also secured play off places though
don't give much hope to either of them getting past Russia and Holland
respectively.
After we'd completed our naked victory lap of Hamm, we went to bed and slept
well we did!