Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
On Stage At The Castle
by admin - 17:00 on 23 August 2015
City Limits was back in action on Friday night when we played at a wedding dance in Tulloch Castle. Being in Dingwall, it doesn't have quite the same cachet as Skibo Castle or Ackergill Tower, but it's a decent enough place. None of us had played there before and didn't know what to expect.
The prospects didn't look good when we were shown up some stairs (stairs are never good when heaving gear about) and into a smallish room with a wooden floor that threatened poor acoustics. Consequently, half the PA was left in the van, as was my Marshall when I made the brave decision (not having brought my small amp) to do without one altogether. This doesn't necessitate thrashing the strings as loudly as possible – the bass plugs straight into the PA desk and the sound emerges from the big speakers at the front and the smaller fallback speakers set up so we can hear each other.
It worked surprisingly well, and the sound in the room turned out to be fine. Even better, the mixed-age crowd didn't all disappear into the bar but stayed in to listen and dance. Led Zep's Rock and Roll was an unexpected success, as was (following our busked triumph at Foxes with Twist and Shout) another instant song we'd never played before. “Let's do Wonderful Tonight,” Keith suggested at the break, as we didn't have many slow ballads for the end of the evening. I vaguely remembered it, so we did: instant floor-filler. Another permanent addition to the set.
The bride was happy; the groom was happy; we were happy. We even had an inquiry through Facebook next day regarding our availability for a wedding in February. Less happily, the inquirer was put off by our modest fee. Some people expect quality for peanuts.
A low-volume gig and a midnight getaway meant I was in a fit state the next day to complete the last Chatterbox pages. All that remains to be done is a few corrections. Printing begins on Tuesday for distribution next Monday – another deadline met.
In another bumper 48-page edition there's tales of Black Isle peaches and yurts, memories from a wartime refugee and two retiring garage men, a photo special on Avoch's open gardens, an interview with a former Cromarty man who's kayaking around Scotland, and lots more. And still only £1.50.
Add your comment
© Russell Turner 2008-2024