First we heard a rumbling, then a breaking of branches and then he was there, thundering over the hill in his magnificent earth-moving machine! The Skipper, fresh from rehearsal, adorned with genuine headwear sourced by Smiffy, was leading the way Westward Ho! (Well it was the M23 to Crawley if we’re being specific!)
The Snooty Fox, a friend of a friend of The Fountain, had requested the fibre of our sonic fabric and who were we to refuse? After all, it has the reputation as one of the best music pubs around and this was a bank holiday weekend…a match forged between the thighs of angels.
On time and in tune we blast into Pump It Up and we’re back, vibrating and shaking the Three Bridges, dislodging trains from their cumbersome cantering, shunting and belching their irrational timetabling onto the much perturbed general public.
We swing wildly, but with expert control, into Substitute and Tube Station, tearing a few pages out of history, before unleashing some more up-to-date Stereophonics and Oasis numbers. It was a strong start, but the audience just weren’t having it…deaf ears thumbed the fruity and Tone Deaf Tone preferred a load of old Billiards instead.
There was a ripple in the dead sea and those that cared to witness our finely-honed first set were rewarded with energetic renditions of all the old favourites and a storming new addition to the repertoire. It’s a secret, but rest assured it’ll be making plenty of appearances over the next few months…
Second set and all the party favourites come out, eliciting a bit of dance floor action from an otherwise shy audience. Lazy Sunday, Parklife, Don’t Look Back In Anger, they never fail to impress, but the crew for the night are sadly half mastered.
Sometimes it just doesn’t ‘happen’…you can give your all, but if the wind isn’t blowing in the right direction, your sails get deflated and your left scraping off the barnacles by the boardwalk. Bugger!
Luckily we were appreciated by the right ears, a good handful of satisfied applause, a gig offer, and a promised return to the Fox in November. Hope to see you there!
– JTG