STILL FIGHTING THE PUNK ROCK WAR

Goldblade Tour Diary Pt 2

So, we are in; we all have the required AAA passes – now what happens is that the real work commences.

The doors open to the public at 19.00hrs, and Goldblade are on stage at 19.30hrs, so with approximately 2hrs three bands need to complete sound-check. A headline band always completes their sound-check first, its common sense, it’s their gig, and people are coming to see them so the band has to send at their best. It can, and has been known to cause issues with bands in the past, the headline band take all the allotted space leaving the support act with no time; others concerned about the support act possibly outshining them will use this ploy – The Stranglers don’t need to consider such shenanigans, having been at this now for some 30+yrs its fair to say they know exactly what they are doing, as such I stand to the side of the stage and watch as they run through ‘Toulouse’ and ‘English Towns’ – even in sound check with crew clambering up scaffold rigs around them it sound magnificent; the other thing is the on stage banter, everyone is clearly fully at ease, each knows their role and is also confident in each other’s abilities, JJ even rather touchingly ensures that Jet is happy, not wanting him to over exert himself prior to the gig proper; 30mins later and they are done, and retire to their dressing room.

Stranglers 15th Marc 13 – Soundcheck

I head up to our dressing room, which is not actually a room; it’s a partitioned area on the first floor balcony at the rear of the stage directly above the back drop, basic refreshments are provided, nothing extravagant – there is time to consider the set list which John tends to produce despite efforts from both myself and ‘the 6th Blade’ to alter by suggesting songs from tears ago – current top ,and ignored suggestions including ‘Ancient Rome’, ‘Canal Street Breakdown’ and ‘Uranus’ For a gig like this it makes sense, people have on the whole come to see The Stranglers so there is little point playing songs even some of our own admirers would be surprised at.

In the meantime I am awaiting a delivery of new T-Shirts, you will be aware that we commissioned Vince Ray to come up with a design; well after much messing about the said design has been printed by a firm in Tottenham who agreed to deliver to the venue – quick call to the printer who confirms the shirts are on route in a taxi…I’m not particularly familiar with the roads of our great capital but am led to believe it should be less than 40mins. The Roundhouse allocates us a merch area in the main bar and Dave begins to set up. At which point is time for sound check, our live sound engineer arrives and we go through the process; once the very basics are sorted – oh the joy of watching and listening to Brother Rob repeatedly belt a single beat on a snare, we run through the remainder pretty sharpish, but due to the efficiency of The Stranglers we are blessed with extra time, as such we are able to ensure that the sound is pretty damn tight. There is still no sign of the T-Shirts so I have a quick check of the stage area, grab a few pictures of The Stranglers gear including Dave Greenfields rat collection!! A couple of frantic calls to the printer who assures me they are on the way, but the taxi driver claims north London is in grid-lock; weird that as from what I can see traffic is fair whizzing down Chalk Farm Road…

As 7pm approaches the crowds begin to gather outside, inside all is calm – the stage is set, each bands merchandise is displayed; The Stranglers resembles the front of M&S such is the range of gear on offer, the venue staff are gathered on a mezzanine area for a final briefing – the obligatory Health & Safety check is being delivered. I position myself just inside the entrance door as people arrive, once the doors open I hand out a few flyers for future Goldblade gigs, but my attention is elsewhere, which at that point so are the new T-Shirts!! I take a phone call from a bloke who is clearly struggling with the English language let alone an A-Z of Camden, he just about promises me that he is “round the corner” – he doesn’t define which corner, but he’s there anyway, Gez the printer is ringing instructing that when he does arrive I should kill him – I take to waiting outside in the drizzle, there is a sea of black clad people shuffling from the tube station in my direction, The Stranglers logo emblazoned on everything, some 10 minutes pass – must be a very big corner!!

Clearly this chap is not possessed with ‘the knowledge’; suddenly my phone rings and its him telling me he is outside, but so am I and I can’t see a taxi…I can see a beat up Austin Allegro circa 1979, the driver of which is mumbling into his phone – I know he is mumbling as I am on the other end. I run to the car, meet his family; honestly he has his wife and child with him – what he doesn’t have is a taxi licence anywhere in sight, but he does have a box of shirts, with these finally delivered I race up the stairs and present to Dave, in the background I can hear Goldblade starting up, dive into the Main Space and head to the front to try and grab some photos.

Immediately prior to Goldblade starting their set, Al Hillier walks onto the stage – Al was a member of the Finchley Boys way way back and had wanted to come along and say a few words about his experiences and in particular the last time he was at The Roundhouse with The Stranglers; Al seems uneasy, his voice wobbles, he then begins to introduce Goldblade and generously describes us as the “embodiment of rock’n’roll” before dedicating the night to his brother who passed away that morning…

John acknowledges Al’s heartfelt words and then we begin, instant explosion of noise and power…thankfully I am in front of the barriers, not that it makes it much easier as John moves so bloody much getting pictures is a real struggle; what makes it harder is when he descends from the stage to take up position on the barriers – looks great from an audience position; not good for the lighting and really not good for the stage tech who has to ensure his mic cable stretches, doesn’t get twisted…at which point I discover I am the stage tech, so I am now juggling a camera and 30ft of mic cable as Brother John clambers across the front three rows of the audience, the set ends some 35minutes later with a shortened version of ‘Do You Believe’ and it’s time to exit the stage.

Goldblade – The Roundhouse 15th March 2013

As I begin to shift Pete’s gear I for the first time in all these years hear the immortal line “get off my fuckin stage” – it matters not who said it, but it wasn’t any member of The Stranglers or their crew. We clear the stage pretty sharpish, though with vocal encouragement like that I did feel somewhat sluggish; note to wanna be rock stars – don’t abuse the band on before you, they are currently occupying the stage, the same stage you want to appear on, this is even more crucial when you yourselves have a firmly fixed exit time, but Goldblade are seasoned road warriors and we would not impinge on someone else slot so the gear is shifted and packed. I head to the merch stall, Brother John is already there, the new shirts are shifting – all that hassle, it was worth it!!

Dave and I agree to pack up once The Stranglers appear, I head back stage and collect the van, reverse to the exit doors and begin the load in procedure…hello again Major Gen. Gate Man, oh you are now in charge of the loading area as well, and your telling me to move the van so we have to carry all the gear across a rainy car park. Apparently we are a fire hazard, I hadn’t realised I was in danger of imminent self-immolation, but thanks for the tip…Ignoring him we load up without becoming Catherine Wheels, and I park and secure the van. Back up to Dave and we both agree we want to see The Stranglers, so we pack up there and then.

I head to the front of the stage again, grab a few pics – Baz is much more sensible, none of that running about like Brother John; perhaps if we gave John a guitar it may slow him down (Note to self, topic for discussion at next band meeting)

The Stranglers were frankly sublime, no point in going into detail as the gig has been widely reviewed elsewhere, but they remain at the top of their game unchallenged and deservedly so. I catch up with Pete and Rob who are watching The Stranglers, Dave is about to set off for Manchester, Brother John is staying in London overnight. We agree to leave at 22.15 as I have gathered a few extra’s in the car…Brothers Pete and Rob join Keef and I we set off for Birmingham, after that I return Keef to his country pile and head home finally arriving back at 02.30, and then I remember the car has to be back in Liverpool by 09.30…

A great gig, the new T-Shirts arrived, but as you can see life ‘on the road’ is not as easy as some suggest; see you in Leeds April 4th 2013 – and please buy a T-Shirt, an entire family were involved in its production and delivery!!

Next Goldblade gigs:

4th April – Leeds O2
5th April – Glasgow O2
6th April – Manchester The Ritz
7th April – Newcastle O2