OXFORD GIG REVIEW June 5 2000 Gigs are the warzone of rock music. Everything a band has achieved or hopes to achieve is challenged at a gig. In half an hour. No-one is safe and one's sanity cannot be guaranteed. That long-winded intro brings us to the Bullingdon Arms, Cowley Road, Oxford: the venue for our second gig. We were supporting Club Casuals, who for an indie band made unusual use of a clarinet, Remote Control, the bass player of which enthused to me "Bingo is one of my favourite songs in the world, ever" and The Moggs, a youthful Liverpool trio who would be best described as moggs. The good thing about being on the bottom of the bill is that you can arrive last and leave first. The bad part is that you don't get long to soundcheck; however, this was not a major problem for such seasoned professionals (or wanton, reckless imbeciles) as ourselves. A quick run through of "Dumb Blonde" was enough. We felt that a certain amount had to be left to chance, to unleash the power of the spontaneous. Or perhaps we were told that the audience was coming in and we'd better get ourselves offstage before we truly embarrass ourselves. Then, the lost hours. What happens after a venue opens its doors but before the first band goes on stage? I don't know. I can rarely remember these periods; sacrificed, perhaps, to nerves or to the approach of an adrenaline rush. As far as I can recall, we were either reading books or wandering around the Bully's interior. But there was some distributing of flyers going on as well. Guitarist Nick had been wise enough to press-gang into attendance a large group of students from his halls of residence. We were therefore blessed with a hardcore if utterly marinated audience of around 40. In addition, our very own Rebecca and Celine from the cArE iN tHe cOMmuNitY list were there to provide their support and to discover more. But many thanks go out to those two for venturing up from London on the coach. We rattled through eight songs with barely a pause for breath. At the time, I was slightly disappointed by our performance but in retrospect and with the benefit of a video recording I realise that we put in a solid performance. The sound was surprisingly good, although while onstage it is difficult to gauge such things. I tend to get lost in the moment, not concentrating or considering, but letting the songs weave themselves. Time stretches out infinitely, with three minutes seeming like an eternity. Every word and beat gets its own space and every thought and interconnecting idea that inspired a song can be felt all at once. The only interruption to my reverie was during "aN aLiBi" when I spied my sister and her friend trying to get into the venue. Later it transpires that they had (incorrectly) assumed I would have put them on a guest list and as a result had failed to bring any cash. While singing, I had wondered why it had taken them so long to get in; now I know that they had been trying to buy their way into the pub with a credit card. As "tHe nExT liFe" climaxed and finished, we were thanked and out-roduced by Club Kooler's promoter and MC: unfortunately we still had one song left. "Ladies and Gentlemen, they were tobyslater....". This small matter of my name, which is causing no end of confusion, really needs to be resolved somehow.... Anyway, what a dilemma. Do we leave the stage after seven songs or go on to do the last? Hardly one to leave the stage before my time, I announced "For You" and carried on. By this time sweat was pouring into my eyes and I mused to myself how salty and stinging sweat truly is. After our performance I had the chance to meet Rebecca and Celine at last and talk with them about recent events. One of the stranger elements to an Internet community is that people befriend one another without meeting in person or ever knowing each others' faces. It was good to finally introduce myself to two people who I had communicated with via e-mail many times. This is one of the most satisfying side-effects of doing a gig and I look forward to much more of it. The outcome? Well, we got invited back, didn't we? Read Rebecca's review of the same gig within the contribute section. comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion [about i-drive] thoughts index writing index dotmusic index musicbank index Problems? Questions? Suggestions? Contact me: mail@tobyslater.com back to top back to home page

back to thoughts index back to writing index dotmusic index musicbank index comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion recommend *or condemn* this site to a friend