Our story of a Conservative Club gig.
First 'Sugar Bullets' gig of 2012 - Bacup Conservative Club, Sunday afternoon.
You know the alarm bells are ringing when the lady who booked us tells you you're playing after the bingo finishes!! However, we were confident the Bacup Punk faithful who'd come out in force before wouldn't let us down & turn out to see us on a cold Sunday tea time. Or at least we hoped.
Turns up at 3pm to the sound of "5 and 9 the Brighton line", bass player & I just looked at each other and said "What the fuck, hope they know what they've booked!". You know you're not playing a normal Sugar Bullets gig when the room is perfectly decorated, smells clean and there's a 150 year old dear sat with a G&T looking like she's about to croak it. They say Punk's got a zimmer frame but fuck me this took the piss.
Due on at 5pm it's now 4.30...no sign of our frontman, he's usually fashionably late but not this late. Me & bassist thinking we may have to pull off some White Stripes act. I even phoned his wife..says "he set off over an hour ago, I'm worried now". Oops! 4.45 he turns up as we see him violently screwing up his Google map printout.
5pm, we're running late but it's not a problem cos there's not one Punk fan in room. We do a quick sound check & all these small red cardboard boxes fall off the window sill....manager goes "it's ok they're just our boxes for when we play Deal or No Deal. I could have cried. We surrended to the reality that this may not be the best start to 2012.
Then 5.15. It was as if every Punk fan in Bacup had heard our cries for help - not joking there were even two bible bashers (or religious canvassers to be PC) walking past outside as I had a smoke...they asked if I believed in God. I said "No sorry chaps, my prayers have been answered by the power of rock n roll". Within 15 minutes at least 70/80 people walked through the door, our kind of people. I asked one chap where the feck they'd all been...he said calmly "in't pub o'er road lad". I said fuckin hell we should be half hour int' set be now.
We did the gig, a bit rusty & I felt slightly sluggish after a few festive weeks of heavy eating/drinking, but my fitness will get better over the next few weeks. The perfectly polished dancefloor was full at the peak of the set, an hour ago we were about to treat it as a paid rehearsal. A few photo snaps later with the locals, interest from two other pubs and our work here was done.
A decent gig in the end. The room quickly emptied, everything is quiet inside & outside the club. I said to Phil our frontman "it's a bit different to the Whittles gig we've got next week", the 3 of us chuckled.
I'm loading my last few bits in the car...150 year old woman (still here??) waiting for her taxi stutters "Eeeee that band were bloody good, reet good probably best I've seen". I said yeah they weren't bad. She said "Aye...it's the first time I've ever seen a band". LOL
I came off the moroway near home, it was like entering the earth's atmosphere. I could breathe again.
Thanks Bacup we love you.