The Month of May eh? Surely the month when we all begin to feel that Summer is around the corner and the festival season is well on it's way.....well, that was what we thought to as we looked forward to May this year or Mayhem as we decided to call it as we had aimed to cram so many high profile gigs from our point of view into this very month....bearing in mind we all have various other commitments (both within the musical world and the real world too), we aim to do 4 or so gigs per month and had doubled this for this period at the risk of being shot by our various partners/children/other band members etc.....our partners apparently do quite like us and hope to catch at least a passing glimpse of us from time to time, so the chances of really actually ever doing more than this amount of gigs is slim until we sign to Simon Cowell's wonderful Psycho label and become household names touring with such esteemed acts as The Saturdays, Rizzle Kicks and Little Mix.....maybe then and only then our music can make a sizeable contribution to paying our mortgages and sustaining our children and even keeping us in vogue clothing wise.......
Anyway all this nonsense aside....May kicked off on Thurs 2nd with a warm up gig for Audlem Festival (we're playing this on Saturday May 25th late afternoon), at The Lord Combermere pub on the main drag....an extremely well regarded hostelry both from afar and locally. So, were they ready for Headsticks? well, to be fair they are a well versed crowd there and very accepting of musical styles there due to the vast number and high calibre of acts that the festival attracts each year...so our brand of punk infused folk nonsense was not the least bit intimidating for the majority and we were well received, a couple of encores and positive comments a plenty....so bring on that festival and please bring it on soon to lift somewhat deflated spirits in The Headsticks HQ (all will be revealed!).
Next please! well, we didn't have to wait long for our next foray, a much appreciated invitation to open again for the enigmatic TV Smith (heart and soul as well as voice and major driving force of The Adverts, punk heroes famed for their major hit 'Gary Gilmore's eyes') as he made a swift and much anticipated return to Stoke on Trent's Glebe venue.....a packed house received us enthusiastically as we played a very up tempo 45 minute or so set of all the Headsticks favourites (if such things exist). It was one of those gigs you dream of, hot and sweaty and crowd up so close and personal lapping up every word, note, and if they got too close a bit of spittle too!!!! Comments and kind words in abundance and good sales of the various new T shirt designs so all we could have wished for, and topped only by the opportunity to watch TV Smith in his element, energy beyond belief and songs so relevant, honest, raw and truly acoustic punk at it's very, very best.......
So, on a high to part three of the schedule and the one to which we were possibly most looking forward too, or at least had the highest expectations for...day 3 of the first Lymelight Festival in our home town of Newcastle Under Lyme. Now this was the first live music event of any major significance to be held in our town centre since the demise of the Newcastle Carnival which used to attract thousands of folk into the town for a day of festivities, frolics and general harmless mayhem....bands played at various points to decent crowds including at the main stage on the market square where hundreds would gather to be part of the proceedings (two of us were fortunate enough to play the main stage with Jugopunch 3 or 4 years running and sold countless CD's and T shirts there....people queueing at the back of the stage for our merchandise!).....so how would this new fangled festival stand up?
Well, I had taken in most of Saturdays acts (we were playing on Monday evening) and was extremely impressed with the standard...all acts contributed so well and all so different in style and delivering their craft to a standard befitting the excellent staging and sound system...well done to everyone who performed!....though the number of people stopping and staring in bemusement at the sight and sound of live music in town seemed to far out weigh those who had actually come to be part of the event...to congregate and listen to what the mainly local performers had to offer....and so many people looked completely bewildered as if the music was some form of indoctrination into some strange religious cult, and so, they left...perish the thought of giving some support to a local artist or even clapping your feckin' hands.....
So, Monday night for us, and I have to say by the time we were to play, having witnessed other acts playing to so few people my heart had sank and disappointment had set in...however in fairness we had a small but enthusiastic Headsticks collective in front of us and swelled by the occasional waif or stray who passed we apparently played to 52 people (I was informed by a good friend who had taken upon himself to count up for us!)and a further 40 or so a hundred yards away in the bear tent, sampling the delights of the Lymestone Brewery who seemed to be one of few local businesses who had embraced the efforts of the organisers to try and make this special and bring their wares to the punters rather than expecting the opposite......oh well you get out what you put in!!!!
So we played for 45 minutes or so, and again, well received by those there, though, without dwelling too much on it, the common consensus of opinion of the band was that we were snubbed for whatever reason, by the local music shape shifters (they know who they are....I hope!) and we were left as bewildered as the people passing by the whole event.
Those who made the festival happen deserve nothing but respect...as do all the bands and artists who played whether on main stage or busking in shop doorways or any where else for that matter. The followers of the various acts deserve credit for doing there very best to enthuse those around them and for also supporting other acts who they had not necessarily turned up to see.........but what of those who were not there to offer full, no, any backing???? The local media (and I exclude the community radio stations who do more than their fair share to showcase local talent), well, where were they? too little too late again...yet if Robbie Williams farts it's on the front of the local rag, and the mainstream local radio stations continue to churn out the bilge that the fixers pay them to play and at the same time brain wash the next generation, as if Cowell and his army of music killers haven't already done enough damage.......oh and Status Quo are coming to play at a festival in Betley soon, hold the fuckin' front page!
Glad I got that of my chest....now, part four, and a trip up the M6 to play at Camp Frack 2......and don't you just know when British summer time is upon us....a waterlogged field, bitter winds and dozens of bewildered souls wandering around a field for a great cause, just searching for solace in the real ale tent and some conversation with like minded individuals...well, that was Camp Frack 2 for you............a huge field, a lot of water and an unplayable main stage thrown in for good measure!
When we arrived it was obvious something was a miss...we were greeted with the news that it was unlikely that anything would be happening that evening...but we drove to the main stage....not walking over the muddy field in white converse for anyone!!!! and, it was to pass that the electrician had condemned the equipment and that there would be no music....oh, yeah, well, they didn't count on the formidable qualities of our bassmeister and sound engineer Mr Nick '50 piercings' Bayes did they? he quickly set to work to rig up a small system to accommodate an acoustic set up...and so, yes, our show would go on, and it did......and the few score of people clapped and danced and sang and drank along to an hour of Headsticks...we would have played longer, but Doon and Nick both lost a couple of fingers as the cold winds took their toll on us and to be honest the wind was playing havoc with our strategically placed hair.....we are middle aged after all, and looking ones best whilst elevated on a chipboard /scaffold pole platform whilst being mercilessly hammered by the elements made keeping ones dignity nigh on impossible!
Again well received, and again plenty of kind words...which though gratefully received did not compare to a nice hot cuppa and a chick pea curry..........homeward bound, cold on the outside but warm on the inside, knowing we had done all we could to try and make the evening bearable for the poor bastards who had already pitched their tents and would spend the weekend cold and wet...but hopefully not too miserable.
So, now to part 5 of 8.....the final three instalments will follow in due course...............Westworld Weekend, The Box, Crewe.......a celebration of everything Spear of Destiny/Theatre of Hate/Kirk Brandon...and a guaranteed sell out every year as Kirk plays to what must surely be one of the most loyal followings out there! and bloody hell, to be asked by the management at The Box to part of this (having recently supported Kirk Brandon on one of his acoustic shows in Stoke) was another major coup for us and an absolute honour! however, things did not pan out 100% to plan, or any where near for that matter!...for when Nick had phoned earlier in the week to double check stage times etc he was greeted with an 'oh, shit', yes, we had been forgotten!!! and no room on the main stage for us......so we were posted (not literally put into an envelope by the way...) to the Corner Bar downstairs, where we would entertain the punters as they waited to re-enter the main venue for the evenings proceedings......
Now, we were to play 7-8 pm in the bar locally known fondly as 'The Star Wars Bar' due to it's incredible knack of attracting all of the strangest beings into one place come the weekend...but the cup final was on...and it was going to extra time wasn't it and then maybe penalties...but then bang...get in you beauty! and yes, it was show time...so we kicked of to a very small 'crowd' and as the songs went on, the crowd grew and towards the end of the set there was a sensible throng and they went for it...and again well received and again plenty of compliments...but unfortunately again a bit of an anti-climax...........but hey-ho, that's rock and roll, or is it?
So more a case of May? ahem! rather than Mayhem so far......but three dates left and it all could go chicken oriental and lets hope it does...and lets hope that these little disappointments are just sent to test our resolve before pushing us to a much higher plain........don't hold your breath though, for this is real honest music, and unfortunately those three words seem to count for little in this bloody world...real music, see Saturday night TV....honest, see the Government!!!!
