The Month of May-hem....or not......as the case may be! #2

So May continued, the month of May-hem as it were....and three shows remaining on the schedule, all prospective tub-thumpers and all with the possibility of lifting spirits after a few disappointments. But the fact of the matter is that maybe, just maybe we expect too much, and should be more realistic and be satisfied in the opportunities that come our way, as the band is still young and does not even have an album to offer yet, we should embrace the episodes that unleash themselves upon the Good Ship Headsticks as maybe they are sent to test the resolve of this band of ageing agit-folksters (Tom is exempt from this description as he is barely out of nappies and is a metal head type in all honesty!). So part one of the three remaining episodes or part six of them all depending upon your point of view... in fact we'll run with part six just for the hell of it!.....Audlem Festival, The Bridge Stage, Saturday 25th May, 4pm....For those unsure of the geography and history behind this festival well here is a very brief synopsis, accurate as far as I am aware:- Audlem is a very small Cheshire town, on the cusp of Staffordshire and Shropshire, but very proudly a Cheshire town with an overriding bohemian vibe: in fact you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in Devon or Cornwall after you'd consumed a pint or four, that sort of a feel. the festival has run for thirteen years and was the culmination of discussions between resident musicians and artists who felt that the town deserved it's own showcase event.....and so they created one, which grows from strength to strength as each year passes! Fair play people of Audlemshirestonville I say! Headsticks were greeted enthusiastically by the organizers, welcomed and ushered stagewards! We caught several songs by Creature Comforts, a Manchester based post punk band, who received an extremely warm reception from those punters assembled beneath the canopies expertly assembled down by the canal car park....it's a lovely setting and the weather is doing its very best to behave for once;so far all the omens are looking favourable and we are raring to go!The audience consists of all ages from children to wrinklies and everybody seems in good spirits...so we take to the stage, and here we bloody well go....song after song well received and enthusiastic banter from both parties....the majority of folk seem hell bent on enjoying themselves which is half the battle won...and those that take the time and effort to put on this festival are hell bent on getting it right, taking particular pride in the output of the sound desk...and they succeeded with us... absolutely brilliant on stage sound, and by all accounts it sounded pretty damn good out front too...meaty, beatie, big and bouncy....much like a fair chunk of the onlookers to be fair!!!! So through the set and onto the final number, which if I'm honest I can't remember what it was!.....but it went down a storm and was greeted with cries for more! more! more!...well, to be fair we don't need asking twice so decided to do a song which had been purposely left out of the set due to that weeks events shall we say! Tensions everywhere were high, and we had made a decision that some of our material could be misconstrued, maybe even be considered inflammatory....however the time seemed right and so we went for it, introduced Paper Flowers, dedicated it to Drummer Lee Rigby...and played out...very emotionally, in fact very close to breaking point........the response was amazing, and we were thankful that it was received as it was meant to be...... Subsequently we left the stage and sales of the new EP CD were overwhelming, and the comments so positive from people of all descriptions... particularly from a large group of ageing punks and skinheads who really took to what we stood for...I hope! unless of course they got the wrong end of the stick!!!! Well, if they did who are we to argue...they were big feckers for sure! Next up, the following evening we headed to one of our favourite haunts, The Rigger, in Newcastle Under Lyme...home turf, and this was part of the towns attempt at a music festival...the Jazz and Blues Festival...though to be fair you'd be mighty hard pushed to find a great deal of Jazz,although blues was available to varying degrees. Anyway, we, obviously are neither..so we fit in along with numerous other bands pretty well!The Rigger itself is a much loved enclave for many, though misunderstood by those who have never entered the place...it's run by decent folk who certainly do give a shit about their punters, about the ales and about the music...generally! We played at roughly at 8pm, without a sound check, but thankfully Matt 'The Sound' was on tip top form and had us sorted PDQ....again a well received set of roughly an hour and a decent mob in to watch the proceedings....all quite understated and relatively low key, but good sales of the CD, T's and more positive comments than you can poke a stick at from a wide range of folk again...so job done! Final episode in the Month of May-hem was 'Folk and Foam' on the following Bank Holiday Monday, based at the rear of The Old Brown Jug, again in Newcastle. For this one, we were asked to host as well as headline and also given free reign to book the bands and performers. All pointed to this being a bit special...the venue had given us a decent budget to work with and we had acquired the services of some quality acts, some local and some from further a field...all wanting a piece of the festival limelight and all more than willing to do their bit.....well, mostly anyway. This festival was a sort of subsidiary of the main Jazz and Blues festival, making it a festival within a festival and unfortunately as a result it received nigh on nil publicity!!!!! the producers of the main programme didn't list it at all despite the fact that headliners for both of the previous days were relatively well known artists, more established than many, if not all of the performers on the main festival, and receiving regular air play on the likes of Radio 2 etc....so quite bizarre that it was missed out! Any way, that aside, we had called on the services of a total of sixteen acts....one couldn't make it due to illness or fatigue and was sorely missed as one of my favourite local singer song writers, but everyone else responded to the call and did their very best to keep spirits high and provide a sound bite for the forthcoming summer....then the heavens opened, and the stream of people wandering in to the tent became a trickle and that was about the size of it really......an abundance of talent playing to small numbers but giving their all!!! For everyone's effort I'd like to give thanks, but have to say, if I see another bloody music stand on stage I will scream...they are not necessary at this level, within these genres and should be banned...for goodness sake, it's been said a million times, if a song is good enough to perform , then it's good enough to learn...so please learn them!!!! Please, just for me......... So, we finally got to play at around 10pm....it was cold, dark and wet, but there was a smattering of people around to listen...and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed playing for them...the banter was great fun from both sides I think, and judging by the reception, the merch. sales, and the kind words it was a successful sortie!....but that was it...the month of May-hem over and done! Many friends were made, and new musical experiences had by all....the weather was generally poor but the spirit, though wavering a little, held out until the last and, yes, after all the comings and goings, all the ups and downs we have to look back with great fondness at this month of gigs...a learning curve in the life and times of a folk punk band....and , yes, we are more than thankful for the opportunities that came our way and will use the experiences to guide us as we attempt to continue on our crusade to say it like it bloody well is!!!! Thank you so much to all who came, supported, sung, danced, purchased merch, cuddled, loved and above all believed in Headsticks..... thank you kindly people!