Up far too early for a Saturday after quite a boozy Friday. Got woken up by Griff waving a can of Blue Spark (Tesco equivalent to Red Bull) in my face...they know how Richards operates.
Back in the van, which is proper luxury (but costs the band kitty £230 a weekend) and off to our first show of the day. A gaming festival, the type of festival where men wear tweed jackets and shoot things in fields and dogs are a impeccably groomed because they are a status symbol. We've played a few of these events recently, can't say I enjoy them. Was supposed to be two gigs at the same event, but due to various technical faults the festival ran two hours late and we had to put our set all into one, which we were happy with because we were keen to get it out of the way. We hung out with an all-girl band for a bit backstage (they were also on the bill) which in theory should have been rock and roll and the stuff of a biographer's dream but in reality I was hungover and grumpy and starting looking at Facebook on my phone mid-chat as my bandmates did the whole nicey-nicey thing. This is why I'm single, not that I stood a chance with any of them anyway.
Didn't like that gig; I don't like that soundman, We've worked with him a few times now and he's one of those 'let's make drummer jokes' type of techie; mid-50s, has a caravan he calls 'the shag pad' and lives in a different era. I wasn't rude to him today, but didn't make eye contact and, whilst remaining professional, made it quite clear we're not friends. Big audience, but totally subdued throughout - I thought Vikki was great because she really gave it everything still despite not getting anything back, she's a true actress. Can't remember the setlist, but it was long and we flagged a bit. A few people came up to us afterwards and heaped great praise on the band, but we weren't that great.
Slept well in the van as we headed to Worcester to play a festival we played at last year and enjoyed then so we were all looking forward to it. Instantly a much better set-up; for starters it was indoors, which helps, and also they had a soundman who wasn't a cock. Set up the drums early, went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, walked around town for a bit, and that back for the gig. Julian - our super fan, bought 16 people with him! We changed the set around a bit to keep it fresh. Best gig we've played in a long time, we were absolutely on fire tonight - just really on it. The audience were on it too, a fantastic gig, a rousing standing ovation from all at the end. We needed that. Set: Standing Next to Me, Take a Ride, She Says, Bluebird, Fine Life, Fire, Ghost Town, Shut Up & Dance, Gotta Get a Message to You (cover), Bonnie & Clyde, Beautiful You; Somebody to Love (cover, encore).
Buzzing, we went back to our digs, drank a load of beer, and eventually we all dozed off. Evening ended with me, Vikki and Ali chatting about women till the early hours.
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