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Steeleye Span 'World Tour' Diary 2004
Sunday 18th April
The New Theatre, Oxford.
The first show of any tour can be expected to have it's uncertain moments
- the first of those coming when we were trying to negotiate the one-way
system in Oxford town centre. The theatre seemed to be only a block
or two away for about fifty percent of the journey. Eventually though,
with the help of the odd bus lane and 'no access' road we arrived at
venue.
The theatre is large, with a capacity of 1,826, and the plan was to
be there at four'ish, which would give us time to run the seven new
songs in the set, but alas, things don't always go to plan, well, maybe
it's more a case of - 'more often than not'. The PA was a long way from
being ready to fire up, and by the time we could begin the sound check,
people were arriving for the show. So, in the little time we had left,
much of our rehearsal took place in the dressing room, where we reminded
each other of - 'the extra bar' at the end of a certain section, or
'a double chorus' in a specific part of a song', etc. It's called 'flying
by the seat of your pants', and when the show began, that's pretty much
how it felt.
Maybe on the night there were one or two rough edges, and a few jangled
nerves, but I felt that on the whole that the new material was very
effective, with both 'Tam Lin' and 'Van Dieman's Land' proving themselves,
respectively, as worthy opening and closing songs of the second set.
More than anything it was a pleasure to be on stage with the rest of
the crew, and a good feeling to have another twenty three dates ahead
of us.
Monday 19th April
The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury.
We left Oxford at noon, making our way, via the office, to Tewkesbury
along the A40, and arrived just over a couple of hours later. Checked
in to The Royal Hop Pole Hotel, apparently one of the oldest inns in
Gloucestershire - I feel certain though that back in those days they
built walls much thicker than the one between my room and the one next
door. Basically, apart from what appears to be two sheets of plaster
board, there is only a door that sits in-between myself and those who
occupy the next room. Not that they're noisy or anything, it's just
not my idea of privacy.
The Roses is not a large place (certainly not in comparison with last
nights venue) accommodating something in the region of 370 people, and
this, the first of two nights at this theatre was sold out. These two
nights, and the Tuesday afternoon are quite important, not just for
the reason of 'fine tuning' the set, but because both shows are to be
recorded and filmed. Tomorrow afternoon we run the songs in an empty
theatre so they can get all the close-ups.
Everyone seemed to come off stage tonight very happy with not only the
way they played, but also with the song tempos and even the on-stage
sound - not a common occurrence I'd have to say.
A point of interest; our dressing room (dressing room 2) was the room
that Eric Morcambe was taken to after collapsing on stage (or just off
stage - I'm not sure which) at this theatre in 1986. He died on the
way to the hospital.
Tuesday 20th April
The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury.
We took to the stage at one o'clock this afternoon for the purpose of getting the close-ups - as mentioned in yesterday's entry. In fact, we didn't play everything in the set (to the relief of most band members), and just concentrated mainly on the more energetic pieces, and what might be described as the 'big' ones, like 'King Henry' and 'Long Lankin'. We also including some of the latest material from the new album.. It's been good seeing one or two faces I haven't seen in a while, like Steve Cricket who manages the bar at 'The Roses' - that's when he's not drumming in the Phil Beer Band. Also, it was great to chat with John Bens; I hadn't realised he'd moved to Tewkesbury, not only that, but he's opened up a music shop there (I actually went in there yesterday, bought a couple of thumb picks, and convinced myself that he must have a double). John and I shared a room back in - I think it was 1992 at the Guernsey folk festival.
I thought the band really started to come together in tonight's show; most, if not all, of the tempos felt good, and the dynamics an indication of greater expression and less preoccupation with what comes next. The highlight for me was 'Drink Down the Moon'; I was so taken by it that I forgot the song order, and walked off the stage prematurely.
I'll post the set list soon - as soon as I can remember to take a copy back to my hotel.
Wednesday 21st April
Day off.
Leaving Tewkesbury at 11:15am, we traveled down the M40 to the M25 and on down to Tunbridge Wells, arriving there at around 2:30pm. We've been booked into a rather grand looking - yet basic, hotel. Some of these places are very curious, I don't know if it's just an English thing or not, but there seems to be a significant number of hotels in this country that have at first appearance something quite classy and even majestic about them, and yet once your in there, it becomes apparent how rough around the edges they are. This is definitely one of those places - one of those places where they put signs on walls and in elevators telling you what you can or can't do. There's one such notice that warns you not to take your room key off the premises, and that, should you lose it, or not hand it in, you will be fined £100 plus expenses... bloody hell!! I've never come across a key worth even half that much. When I asked for 'decaf' at breakfast the man looked at me as though I was trying to wind him up. Speaking of coffee (good coffee being one of my passions), there is a very nice espresso machine in the bar, only everything has been left in exactly the same state as when the last cappuccino was made; the container with the old grinds - still locked in place, and the spout at the side - coated hard with the last milk it steamed. I won't be drinking cappuccino here, thank you very much.
This evening, we, that's - Liam, Maddy, Mark (tour manager) and myself, discovered a restaurant that I would recommend to anyone who has a taste for good Indian food. It's the 'Himalayan Gurkha Restaurant' on Church St. When in Tunbridge Wells you MUST check this place out, it's one of the best.
1. King Henry
2. Padstow
3. Prince Charlie
4. 4 Nights Drunk
5. The Butcher
6. Mantle of Green
7. Long Lankin
8. Samain
9. All Around My Hat
1. Tam Lin
2. Let Her Go Down
3. Drink Down the Moon
4. Si Beg Si Mor
5. Betsy Bell
6. (They called her) Babylon
7. Blackleg Miner
8. Sir James the Rose
9. Van Dieman's Land
Encores:
Cam Ye
Gaudette
Thursday 22nd April
Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells.
Though not exactly close, in my books, I'd say it's walking distance from hotel to theatre. Most certainly that's the case on a day like today - spring has definitely arrived. Once at the venue, I was struck by the array of food in the green room - far more than normal - and a great selection of wine as well. Apparently what happened was not only did we have the usual selection of sandwiches (the rider) as is often supplied by the venue, but for reasons that were explained to me - and that I've since forgotten, we also had an incredible spread of gourmet vegetarian food supplied from outside. Still, can't eat or drink too much before the gig - I find that it's much better saving myself until later.
From a purely psychological point of view, every night on stage is a different experience. Obviously, there are physical differences; every stage and auditorium have, of course, their own sound and dynamics, but there is also the manner in which those 'actualities', lets say, integrate with one's perception of events. This is a bit of an over simplification, but nevertheless, it seems as though in the main, there are two things going on: 'what is happening', and 'what you think is happening'. The only reason I'm dwelling on this issue is that I started to recall the first night at Tewkesbury; it wasn't easy. When you play well, usually it's because you're able to think a few steps ahead all the time, but last Monday I was only able to think about half a step ahead. That can be pretty unpleasant - as though you're only just hanging in there. In contrast, tonight was a breeze. It's not at all easy to quantify, if it were, then every night would be strait forward - as would life in general, but I guess to some extent, when I find myself, and observe others, pinning responsibility and blame on things around them, there can appear to be an avoidance of the real issue - your subjective view of the world.
Friday 23rd April
Fairfield Hall, Croydon.
Took something like an hour on the road to reach Croydon, negotiating and navigating the greater London road network with apparent ease. In the bus, Liam was up front, map in hand, shouting directions out. And the fact that we seemed to find our hotel in such untroubled fashion gave him reason to beat his chest for the rest of the day, constantly reminding us of his considerable map reading skills.
The hotel 'Jurys Inn' was a breath of fresh air after the Tunbridge Wells episode.
The attendance figure tonight was something in the region of 900 people, and in comparison with the last London show we played at the Royal Festival Hall (Dec 2002), this evening's audience, I felt, was warmer and more responsive. On the whole it was a just more relaxed affair. However, one can not discount the subject matter as stated in yesterday's entry.
As is usual on the London gigs, there were plenty on friends, friends of friends, relations and ex wives, etc. Steve and Terry Sheldon turned up - with the usual bottle of vino, and a large envelope full of chord charts that Ashley Hutchings had sent for him to pass on to me (I have a lot of homework to do for Ashley's 'Morris On' tour). Also, it was very good to see my sister Gloria who lives just down the road in Brixton. The evening ended in a south Indian restaurant called 'The Banana Leaf' - Steve's favourite eating establishment.
The Playhouse Theatre, Weston-Super-Mare.
The last time I came to Weston-Super-Mare was in 1962. I was just 11 years old at the time, and my mother and father had not long acquired a GPO Morris van for the grand total of £7.00. After dad had spent a considerable amount of time applying his carpentry skills refurbishing the inside of the vehicle, we were taken on various camping holidays - all of them very memorable. These days, one of the often poignant features of touring is the revisiting of those places that can bring, not just the picture memories back to the consciousness, but the smell, the taste, the colour of a time; the experiences of an individual virtually disowned (as the years pass) and now rediscovered. As far as seaside towns go, this one has something extremely attractive about it, and the inevitable 'tackiness', here, has an element of moderation to it. Still, even at this early stage of the year there were enough lager riddled Neanderthals, complete with shaved heads, bared chests and with (in their collective security) generous amounts of bluster, to discourage a visit from myself for perhaps another forty two years.
Given all that, the Playhouse Theatre is a lovely concert hall, and tonight's was a particularly good audience.
I'm experiencing a problem with my new amp; the built in spring reverb has suddenly become very sensitive, and with Liams drums sitting next to it, any amount of vibration seems to trigger what sounds like a huge explosion. So I had switch the reverb off for the duration of tonight's show. It sounded very stark and noticeable to me - and I bet I was the only one that noticed.
Sunday 25th April
Travel to Swindon / Day off
Great weather and a good day for a drive - not that I'll be doing the driving - I'll just read my Sunday Times on the bus and let the world go by.
Booked into the Thistle Hotel, Swindon at about 2pm, and once in my room I enjoyed a sense of freedom, something that these days I often associate with Sundays, that is - Sundays when I'm not working. I guess it's somewhat universal, but for me it's a reletively recent development. It's taken me years to shake off the dread I experienced in my youth - related to the inevitability that Sunday would be followed by Monday, and this meant only one thing - that I would have to go to school. My secondary school days, in particular, were so full of fear that I'd wake up with butterflies in my stomach most mornings, and the rest of those days would be spent developing the practise of detachment, keeping ones head down, being as inconspicuous as possible. The sixties were dark times - it was more a case of emotional survival than anything else in a world full of adults that, on their part, seemed capable of justifying any amount of dysfunctional behaviour. So, Sundays and Mondays - two days without the cushion of another day, or a week inbetween, always seemed to be joined.
Things are different now though - not only do I have a day to myself, but I can look forward to tomorrow's gig.
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