NWB - Community Blog

Thanks for that Blues and Beyond.We are on next Friday and we are expecting a bit of crowd to come along... how was it for numbers of punters??

thanks for the tip... will we need our lights??

Maybe recent events @ Talbot may conspire to be a shot in the arm for Town Mouse? The one thing for sure is that unless punters start showing up in numbers they won't keep putting bands on.

Maybe Wolfpack.I have done a lot of work promoting DRIVING FORCES gig there next Friday (oops just done it again!!)
Guess we will see if it was all for nothing...I would like to invite all the Talbot punters down to take a shufty at us on Friday 28th @ the Town Mouse..
G.

took a cancellation?! it was linda who cancelled us on friday night?! ... she's a timewaster.

Mmmm? Dosnt bode well does it?.
When I spoke to her at the point of booking us, she was concerned about getting enough punters in to cover our fee, which isn’t a great deal, and I for one don’t think that unreasonable, especially in these ‘crunch’ times. Shes running a business at the end of the day.
So I promised to do my bit about publicising our appearance, sent posters. flagged it up over here in Oldham and over in Burnley and whilst we may not pack the place to the rafters we should be taking a few bods along with us.
The impression I get is of a licensee who is struggling to keep their head above water, and is caught between a rock and hard place, having difficulty being able to speculate to accumulate, I may be wrong, I’ve been wrong before, boy have I been wrong!!!.
I think its about working together. Whilst taking nothing for granted.. The experts reckon things are going to get worse before they get any better, those that can adapt will survive.

Bands from far afield can't really be expected to bring a following to Burnley! The Town Mouse needs to publicise itself locally with local press ads, flyers etc and gain a regular following that way. If the Talbot is shut next weekend then someone should be up in that area of town handing out flyers promoting gig nights at The Town Mouse, it isn't rocket science but it is bloody hard work and they can't rely on bands bringing their own crowds over every week.

To be honest, I think some have missed something here. AUGUST were booked to play on Friday... Linda cancelled them to bring in another band at the last minute... why?

She is only struggling due to the fact they don't open til 5/6pm every night and have no fixed closing time. I have seen the doors shut at 10.30 on a Friday night with 10-12 people in the pub.

She also has a thriving business upstairs which is the hotel. As The Fix mentioned the other week, they were asked to keep the noise down, this is so not to upset her residents.

I do think there is not a golden opportunity for someone to grab Talbots music fans and quick before Ken gets them!!! But to be honest, that pub wont be shut for long and Linda doesn't have the patience to 1: take a risk on not getting punters in 2: even have a few minutes to spare to contact local radio for free advertising (which I told her to do but she said "cant you do that for me" 3:have decent bands on at decent prices.

I know my comments are mainly negative but as B&B said, you can only tell it like it is.

I rarely post on forums but just to add to the mix if relevant...
The town mouse used to be a very popular venue a good few years ago now. Rockers and punters used to do the Town Mouse, Carlton, Talbot and they were all packed. Quite a little circuit and always fun and busy.
After reading these threads, I strongly believe that the majority of Burnley punters/rockers/drinkers simply don't realise the Mouse is open nowadays. It's dropped off the social radar so to speak, no one goes there because no-one knows about it. It's a little off the beaten track for most people too. I think it could be a fine little venue again if advertised and promoted correctly. Aside from White Hart or Sanctuary, Burnley could do with a great little rock pub again. If the Mouse is it, then the landlady should let Burnley know it's existing again!

Hope this reads ok.

Best to ya.

Lane Ends have been vey positive in the light of what has happened @ The Talbot, Stef has put on an extra band night and is also going to advertise in the local press. That is how you do it, speculate to accumulate!

For what it's worth BLACK PILATE will not be going anywhere near The Town Mouse under the current management. No smoke without fire and all that, so no thanks. It's a tough time out there for everyone at the moment, bands and venues alike, and dodgy characters cancelling bands at the last minute and replacing them with others is not going to help anyone.

Well we will go along as arranged, will do our thang!! and let you all know how it goes, i will use my inimitable charm to try and find out about her unique approach to a publicity/marketing plan. :-))