UK Blog VI
And back again for more bloggery!
PF Here, back in the van, headed away from our Braehead Travelodge, en route this time to lovely Gartly, Aberdeenshire: the Tin Hut! Just over a year ago we played a great show to a super enthusiastic crowd here, and we’re very much looking forward to repeating the act. In fact, by the time I get around to posting this blog, we’ll probably have already played the gig, so we’ll ALL know about it by the end of the rant. Technology and time . . . two amazing things, no?
We’ve now passed the month-long mark of this tor, and are winding into our last two weeks, with some milestones yet to come – Ireland, Inverness, Tuesday, etc etc. Thus far it has been a banner tour, with some great shows and some lovely days. Speaking of, we’re on nearly two weeks of sunshine (read as: not raining), and I’m wondering when they’ll impose mandatory water restrictions. Any day now, I’m sure. And yes, it’s an easy joke to make (that’s why I;m making it), but in truth, all the rain keeps this land verdant and bountiful, so I’ll not knock it with any seriousness.
Speaking of bounty, I read recently that Great Britain gets something like 60% of it’s food from within Great Britain. Amazing. That’s like a locavore’s dream. Basically the equivalent of a Richmonder getting all his/her food from VA/MD/NC. Not likely; can’t get my mangoes and organic avacodos from those places, so forget it! What? No artisanal balsamic vinegar? What is this, the Bronze Age?
Been hearing all about the health care debate in the states right now. It’s absurd, of course. We here at the Hot Seats only want our meager tax dollars going towards destructive acts. Constructive acts should be left for the women, the terrorists and the communists. Let those brutes in Sweden, France, Italy, the UK, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Finland, and Canada (most brutish of all) support their own populaces. That’s not American (“Ah Murr Kan”)! That’s straight up foolishness. I say, if it can’t result in a contract with Bechtel, Halliburton, Northrop-Grumman, or Altria, it’s not even worth discussing.
Furthermore, if you really WANT healthcare, you should have no problem paying $1100/month plus a $2500 deductible. If you can’t manage that, I guess you really don’t want a cure. Stand tall all ye conservatives and fake-o democrats! We can’t let big government try and keep us healthy! What’s next? I’ll tell you what’s next, those A-Holes will try and provide us with proper educational standards; or even worse, try and preserve areas of natural beauty and importance for future generations. Hey, if THEY’RE so important, why aren’t they born yet?
Whew!
Let’s update, eh?
So, I realized in my last blog that I forgot to mention the great gig we played on the Tall Ship in Glasgow Harbor. What fun to play on a cool old ship! We played this gig previously last January, during Celtic Connections, and this night was as good as that. We even had some younger folks out, very excited to see the music and also to get us to sign posters, pictures, cd’s etc. There’s some god shots of the boat on the picture page, check ‘em out!
Let’s see . . . at the end of the last blog we were headed to Kirkcaldy (“KUR KODDY”) to play at the Polish Club (HEY!). This is such a fun gig. The crowd is kept wholly in line by Fiona, who is the hostess and seargant-in-arms for the night. She enforces the “no cell phone, no talking” rules with an iron fist, and also tells funny jokes. Well, we assume they’re funny – half of them involve some Gaelic phrase or another, so generally I just laugh when it’s clear the joke is over, regardless of whether I fully understand or no. She’s also fairly . . . blue. This makes us feel right at home, and opens us up to play some of the material we might hold back on in another venue. The other great thing about the Polish Club (HEY!) is that they have a fully stocked bar of polish beers and liquors, and it is their mission that we try many of them and understand what’s so good about Polish drinks. So we do, and we do. This results, of course, in a great amount of looseness. Looseness on the level of the Cary St Cafe days of yore. We even pulled out some old songs like “Big Fat Woman With the Meat Shakin’ on Her Bones,” one we probably haven’t played in 3-4 years.
Part of the band was hosted by Davey and Mary Stewart, a lovely couple of folks with an amazing house in Kirkcaldy, full of artwork and music and just interesting things all over the place. Davy and Mary are the perfect example of why traveling and touring is worthwhile. You meet people who are master conversationalists and who take the idea of hospitality to its proper level.
The next day we bummed around until midday or so, and then headed out to the next gig – the Rtegal Theatre in Bathgate. It’s a cool old movie theatre that’s been converted into a performance space and community space. We were warned in advance that this crowd would be heavy into traditional bluegrass, and were a bit nervous once again. However, once again, we allowed our freak flag to fly and were rewarded with an appreciative and vocal audience. The band member awards for the night go to Eddie and Jakey, for really rocking out in major ways. Jake, especially, has been getting a lot of praise on this tour, and I, for one, am happy to hear it. To see him behind that trap set, scrubbing away on the washboard whilst keeping a steady kick and high-hat rhythm, plus flourishes from the cymbals and woodblocks – it’s an awe-inspiring bit of multi-limbed congruity, no? Jake, you’re true blue!
After Bathgate, it was back to the Braehead Travelodge for the night. The next day we bummed around the hotel (this is a familiar plot constituent, no?) until it was time to head to the tiny village of Gartmore for our next gig in the local Village Hall. Gartmore a a pretty little town, surrounded by sheep-dotted hills. Maybe 50 houses all told, plus a castle and stone church. Basically it’s the TV version of a Scottish village. Anyway, the hall itself is just the perfect place for a show like ours – good stomping floors and great acoustics. Now, we’ve had some good audiences recently – interactive, respectful but not clammed-up – and these folks might just take the cake. From the very first song they were hooting, clapping and generally going crazy. This kept up all night. Additionally, there was a healthy portion of young folks – like under-15 young. It’s fun for us to get a chance to expose people of this age to the music we like, and also some of the humor (stress the “some”). We actually got two encores, and not just obligatory encores either, but full-fledged gung-ho shouting and wild clapping. That’s a good feeling for sure. After the show, many handshakes and autographs, and again, lots of praise for Jake. I think, personally, it’s because, during our second encore, we came out into the crowd to play, and Jake sat in a woman’s lap. What a cad!
OK, so that was last night. We are currently on a super twisty road through imposing and beautiful hills (mountains?), just having entered Aberdeenshire. Anyway, it make be a bit much for me to stare at this screen without emptying out my bladder in the wrong direction, so we’ll leave it here for now. . .
And now I’m back, full of breakfast, waiting for my turn to shower. As expected, it was a fabulous night. The Tin Hut is in Garlty-by-Huntly, in the south of Aberdeenshire, read as: far from most places. A full accounting will come in the next blog, as I’m being hurried out the door by Gerry. Nonetheless, here’s some pictures from the last few days: PICS
Enjoy!
PF HOTSEATS et al.
