Sunday, October 16, 2005
Frankie Says No Chance
Up at 7am but I managed to stay in nod land for another couple of hours while Laura used me as her patient in the Hospital game. I didn't mind her taking my pulse and ensuring my heart was still breathing, but when she stuck an implement up my nose to stop my snoring that was the game over.
I checked my email and automatically went to open up the Fringe Fantastic manuscript when I remembered - it's done! There's no work left to do on it except maybe one final print off and triple-check and of course, the cover. It was a strange feeling that another major project is almost at an end. I can't wait to see it fully bound and in my hands as a physical entity though. That will bring a new level of excitement, I'm sure.
The evening entertainment had been planned many weeks before. Dave Graham had spotted an advert for a gig by the 1980's pop sensation, Frankie Goes To Hollywood (FGTH), in the Liquid Rooms. The idea was pitched and thrown about the back room of Clark's Bar for a while, before we finally decided to go ahead and get a couple of tickets.
The build up to the gig involved digging out all our old Frankie CD's and seeing if we could still remember the words to such classics like, Relax, Two Tribes and Rage Hard. It never bothered us that FGTH had a massive gay following, because we liked their music and as it turned out, we always wanted to catch them live.
I arrived at Dave's mid-afternoon with a bag of beer and my glad-rags on. While discussing the gig over an aperitif, we realised we were still in the dark as to who was supporting FGTH. We logged onto their website to see if it had any information. The message we were met with, went something like this:
++ INCORRECT TOUR DATES ON TICKET SITES!++
// 15 October '05
Because of various reports that FGTH have rearranged their October UK Tour to February/March 2006 FRANKIESAY.COM would like to the clarify this situation - FRANKIE will NOT be performing at any of the advertised shows which are currently (and incorrectly!) posted at various online ticket sites.
FRANKIE can only make apologies, on behalf of those responsible for this confusion. FGTH are looking into how this situation arose and as to why tickets for February (and even still, October!) are being wrongly advertised for sale on the Internet.
As you can tell, we were gutted that this was how we found out and at such a late time in the day. We scanned the gig guides but found nothing else on we could go and see at such short notice. And so with bowed heads we went out for a couple of pints anyway.
First stop, The Last Drop for a pint and then we went to a nearby seafood restaurant. It was most romantic as we ate our mussels and pasta over a bottle of Pinot Grigio by candle light. If FGTH had still been playing, we would surely have been mistaken for die-hard fans.
Our plan was to go for another couple of beers then head into Bannerman's pub, where we would get to see some unsigned bands play - at least it would be live music. We stopped in Finnegan's for one when Zander sent a text message to say that a band called Proud Mary were playing in a club called The Venue. They supported Oasis on one of their tours and Noel Gallagher picked them up for a record label he's involved with, so their credentials were looking slightly better, as was our evening.
We stopped in Pivot Bar for a drink when Zander joined us - in case Noel Gallagher would be there! There were some blokes already standing to the side with long hair, leather jackets and country-style shirts. Dave reckoned they were the band; either that or die-hard fans because he heard that was their kind of dress sense.
When Zander arrived he confirmed it was indeed the band and went over to talk to them. He returned with the news we were all on the guest list. Result! Free entry partly made up for the disappointment of Frankie, but suddenly with a bottle of wine and some beer inside me, the night was looking quite rosy.
Proud Mary were in fact, pretty damn good. It's kind of hard to pigeon hole them, but there is a definite 1970's - Alabama 3 - country and western feel to their rock music. Many of their songs seemed like top album tracks and you could feel a lot of influence by some major hits in the past, but it left you with a feeling of being unable to identify the tracks after they were finished. They kind of blended into each other so although they were foot-tappingly good and executed with some great guitar work, only a few were truly memorable in a stand out way.
Still, I can't complain. We got in for free and ended up having a great night out when it looked like we were heading for disaster. I'm thinking about writing a review about the gig as part of my column for The Scruffy Dog Review. In fact I will write it, but I'm not sure if it will make the final submission.
We headed back to Pivot Bar for another couple before heading off for the night. Somehow, I had managed to get quite drunk, and on a Sunday night this was not good, for after Sunday comes Monday. And I hate Mondays on the best of days, let alone with a hangover I knew would be hard to avoid.
I checked my email and automatically went to open up the Fringe Fantastic manuscript when I remembered - it's done! There's no work left to do on it except maybe one final print off and triple-check and of course, the cover. It was a strange feeling that another major project is almost at an end. I can't wait to see it fully bound and in my hands as a physical entity though. That will bring a new level of excitement, I'm sure.
The evening entertainment had been planned many weeks before. Dave Graham had spotted an advert for a gig by the 1980's pop sensation, Frankie Goes To Hollywood (FGTH), in the Liquid Rooms. The idea was pitched and thrown about the back room of Clark's Bar for a while, before we finally decided to go ahead and get a couple of tickets.
The build up to the gig involved digging out all our old Frankie CD's and seeing if we could still remember the words to such classics like, Relax, Two Tribes and Rage Hard. It never bothered us that FGTH had a massive gay following, because we liked their music and as it turned out, we always wanted to catch them live.
I arrived at Dave's mid-afternoon with a bag of beer and my glad-rags on. While discussing the gig over an aperitif, we realised we were still in the dark as to who was supporting FGTH. We logged onto their website to see if it had any information. The message we were met with, went something like this:
++ INCORRECT TOUR DATES ON TICKET SITES!++
// 15 October '05
Because of various reports that FGTH have rearranged their October UK Tour to February/March 2006 FRANKIESAY.COM would like to the clarify this situation - FRANKIE will NOT be performing at any of the advertised shows which are currently (and incorrectly!) posted at various online ticket sites.
FRANKIE can only make apologies, on behalf of those responsible for this confusion. FGTH are looking into how this situation arose and as to why tickets for February (and even still, October!) are being wrongly advertised for sale on the Internet.
As you can tell, we were gutted that this was how we found out and at such a late time in the day. We scanned the gig guides but found nothing else on we could go and see at such short notice. And so with bowed heads we went out for a couple of pints anyway.
First stop, The Last Drop for a pint and then we went to a nearby seafood restaurant. It was most romantic as we ate our mussels and pasta over a bottle of Pinot Grigio by candle light. If FGTH had still been playing, we would surely have been mistaken for die-hard fans.
Our plan was to go for another couple of beers then head into Bannerman's pub, where we would get to see some unsigned bands play - at least it would be live music. We stopped in Finnegan's for one when Zander sent a text message to say that a band called Proud Mary were playing in a club called The Venue. They supported Oasis on one of their tours and Noel Gallagher picked them up for a record label he's involved with, so their credentials were looking slightly better, as was our evening.
We stopped in Pivot Bar for a drink when Zander joined us - in case Noel Gallagher would be there! There were some blokes already standing to the side with long hair, leather jackets and country-style shirts. Dave reckoned they were the band; either that or die-hard fans because he heard that was their kind of dress sense.
When Zander arrived he confirmed it was indeed the band and went over to talk to them. He returned with the news we were all on the guest list. Result! Free entry partly made up for the disappointment of Frankie, but suddenly with a bottle of wine and some beer inside me, the night was looking quite rosy.
Proud Mary were in fact, pretty damn good. It's kind of hard to pigeon hole them, but there is a definite 1970's - Alabama 3 - country and western feel to their rock music. Many of their songs seemed like top album tracks and you could feel a lot of influence by some major hits in the past, but it left you with a feeling of being unable to identify the tracks after they were finished. They kind of blended into each other so although they were foot-tappingly good and executed with some great guitar work, only a few were truly memorable in a stand out way.
Still, I can't complain. We got in for free and ended up having a great night out when it looked like we were heading for disaster. I'm thinking about writing a review about the gig as part of my column for The Scruffy Dog Review. In fact I will write it, but I'm not sure if it will make the final submission.
We headed back to Pivot Bar for another couple before heading off for the night. Somehow, I had managed to get quite drunk, and on a Sunday night this was not good, for after Sunday comes Monday. And I hate Mondays on the best of days, let alone with a hangover I knew would be hard to avoid.
Colin 1:32 pm