Page 1
Steeleye Span 'Winter Tour' Diary 2004
Thursday 25th November
The White Rock Theatre, Hastings
For the last 4 days we have been rehearsing at a rather grand house in Hastings, in a large downstairs room. The rehearsals have not been all that straightforward - with so many new songs to include in the set. These are the songs we've chosen to play from the new 'Winter' album. There are others also, that although not exactly new to Steeleye, are for both Liam and myself, totally unfamiliar.
I made my way down from Preston last Saturday, picking Maddy up in Oxford and it did feel like rather a long haul. Both Peter and Liam live in Hastings, so I was somewhat jealous of the few hundred yards or so they travelled from home to rehearsal, as opposed to my three hundred (plus) miles!
On Wednesday the crew arrived; Patch (sound engineer), Spike (backline/runner), Brian (Lighting) and tour manager Jacky. I was particularly looking forward to seeing Jacky, a stern and stoic Scotsman, again. He tour managed on my very first Span tour just two years ago.
The White Rock Theatre sits on the sea front, more or less across from the pier. I made my way over for a soundcheck at around 2pm. As usual, we did not actually sound check until much later than intended - this is always a factor at the start of a tour, as so many details need to be established, then re-established, concerning PA, backline, lighting and a multitude of eventualities impossible to anticipate.
I left everyone to it and went in search of coffee, discovering one of the best cappuccino's I've tasted. If you are ever in Hastings do check it out. At first sight it's hard to know if it's actually a coffee house or a jewellery shop - then you realise it's a bit of both. It's only a few doors east along from the theatre and apparently has caves at the rear (can't remember the name, but it's hard to miss).
Back to the gig. For a first night the evening was about as good as one could hope for. There were the odd bits and pieces that didn't quite go to plan, but there was, apart from a great stage sound, (which certainly helps), a very positive feeling within the band.
One down, twenty two to go!
Friday 26th November (Day 2)
No Show
Skipped breakfast and after a bit of shopping headed straight for the restaurant come jewellery shop with caves at the back for another cappuccino to go. Once in my possession we headed for the Internet cafe a few doors down. Never used these places before - normally having a laptop with me, but I'd left it intentionally at home this time with a view to selling it, (if anyone out there is interested in a SS laptop, do get in touch). I paid £1.00 for a half hour of surfing - just enough time to get my e-mails sorted and some online banking taken care of.
The plan this morning is to take our respective cars to Liam's house where they will remain until later in the tour when we play Folkstone, after which we will drive up to Oxford and leave them at Park Records. At around 11.30am I boarded the tour bus and we set off for Kings Lynn. The roads were bad, both M25 and M11 were very congested - still, this seems to be what you can only regard as the norm these days on our horribly over congested roads.
Arrived in Kings Lynn at 5pm and checked into the Knights Hill Hotel - about three miles out of town. Later, band and crew occupied a large table for dinner, a process of some three hours from start to finish. Peter and Rick were in good form.
One day on, one day off, this is the way to do it.
Saturday 27th November (Day 3)
Corn Exchange, Kings Lynn
We seem to be spending all our time eating, and I'm looking forward to getting the show back on the road - though at this rate we may have to be carried onto the stage!
I remember Kings Lynn and the Corn Exchange well, it marks the time I had to do a presentation for a course I was studying at University back in 2002. As soon as the presentation was done I was on a train from Preston to this very location. That was the Reunion Tour.
The theatre is long and narrow, with about 650 seats, almost all of them occupied. On the whole it was a pretty decent night, and the audience, though perhaps slightly on the conservative side, seemed to enjoy themselves.
Just one slight hitch; when we went into Gaudette, the usual key of C was just a little bit too high for Maddy on the night, so we stopped, took the key down a tone and a half to A and proceeded with the song. As my vocal part is low anyway - even in the original key, I had to do my very best Paul Robeson impersonation.
Sunday 28th November (Day 4)
City Varieties Theatre, Leeds
Departed for Leeds at 11am after a breakfast of poached eggs and Norfolk ham. The journey took about three hours, after which I thought we might be driving around the city's one-way system for the same length of time.
Checked into the Merrion Hotel - very small rooms, very large price.
The City Varieties Theatre is one of the most ornate and charming concert halls I've visited, and this is the venue from which the TV show 'The Good Old Days' was staged and broadcast. In fact, to my surprise, I was told it still takes [place there.
Overall a good atmosphere on the night, given we played to a sold out theatre and Gaudette was sung in the key of B.
Monday 29th November (Day 5)
Tameside Hippodrome, Ashton-under-Lyne
Short journey today, just one hour in total across the Pennines, along the M62 . Checked into Smokies Park Hotel at 1.30pm. The rooms here are sizeable, possibly three times the size of yesterdays.
The theatre was a bit cold for my liking, and coupled with the low turnout (possibly in the region of 300) one might not expect the best of evenings. However, the opposite was true - the warmth of the audience easily made up for the air temperature. The band, in feel and tempo, was the steadiest it's been so far.
Tuesday 30th November (Day 6)
The Grand Opera House, York
Once again a short journey, back along the M62 and north on the A1. We reached York Pavillion Hotel, encountered the usual problem on these short hauls; that of not being able to get into our rooms because they haven't been cleaned. One can't afford to get too frustrated about such things or you'd go mad, may as well just relax, bide your time for an hour or so and save energy for more important things, like the show.
The evening was another re-run of the Reunion Tour, not just in as far as the theatre was concerned, but also in as much as Troy turning up, with inevitable conclusion being the after show magic act he seems so adept at.
Full house tonight and a warm audience
Wednesday 1st December (Day 7)
Travel Day
Uneventful day on the whole. We left York at 11.15am. Rick has been choosing to travel with Spike the last few days, so Maddy, Peter, Liam and myself on the bus with Jackie doing the driving. Our route to Abergavenny consisted of M1 south, M42 west, M5 and M50 before reaching South Wales. With one stop along the way, the journey took almost exactly 5 hours.
The hotel, The Llanwenarth, to be precise is very nice indeed, with a view out of my window of the River Usk and Welsh hills beyond. If it were not for the present banging of workmen in the adjacent rooms, I could describe it as idyllic.
Mundane laundry in the afternoon, indian restaurant in the evening - a pleasant panzer before tomorrow when we will 'metaphorically' be back on the road again!
Pages (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)