Barlow Institute, Edgeworth

Last night Creeping Bentgrass were on stage at the Barlow Institute in Edgeworth near Bolton.

It was an exciting ride over the Lancashire moors to get there but we came to a signpost for the institute eventually, which sent us straight past it - it wasn't so much a signpost as a "you are here"...

We ended up asking for directions in the nearby pub.
"Why? What's happening there?" asked one of the small group of locals at the bar.
"Nothing unless we get there..." I said, "We're the band...!"

But we found it and had a great night! We hadn't had a gig through October and so were a little on edge which meant we were on top form and even brand new songs came out as though we had been doing them for years.

The night was a charity night organised by the Friends of Turton Tower. I think they had a good time!

Wedding Singers

Last weekend Creeping Bentgrass played for the wedding celebration of Pat and Beryl Masters.

This took us back to our very early days as a band of four, as we were playing in the Stumble Inn at Myerscough College. Pat and Beryl are both members of staff at the college.

When we first started out at Christmas 2000, we were all four, members of staff at Myerscough. Today we are down to just the two of us and of the original four, only David still works at the college.

We did a lot of our early rehearsing in the Stumble Inn, so it felt like coming home for us to play there again.

These days we play together so often that "rehearsing" tends to be an afternoon at John's house whilst we work out a few new songs. If it works after two plays then it stays in! The third play will be in front of an audience. I have been known to spring a new song on David in a live gig but only if I know it's going to be something he knows. Cliff's The Young Ones and the Kinks' Sunny Afternoon both started out like that and we've never looked back from those two! So despite David's fondness for saying we've never played a song before, it's very seldom true!

Ah yes - formal gigs like weddings usually merit a costume change at half time when the food is served. If we stop at all, it's normally just to suck a lemon or something...

One Out of Three...

What a weekend we have just had!!! After the summer we have (not) had, I suppose we couldn't have expected anything else, particularly with England's ability to pour water from the sky on Bank Holidays anyway.

We should have played three gigs this weekend but only managed the one.

Saturday and Monday should have seen us at Garstang's Music and Arts Festival. But on Saturday morning as it came time to pack the gear into the car, the rain was just coming down like stair rods. The car in the corner of the cul-de-sac was up to its wheel trims in water as the drains refused to cope. A couple of streets away, the residents made the local paper, wading knee deep in the street. I called our contact in Garstang and we agreed to cancel for the day and keep fingers crossed for Monday.

It did no good. On Monday morning we watched the rain lashing down and the phone rang to cancel the gig.

At least our Sunday night gig went ahead. This was out at Over Wyre Football Club in Stalmine and was for a 70th birthday party. We were safely indoors. But the weather, perhaps somewhat infuriatingly, was gorgeous anyway!

This was a record event - we played 6 full hours! Oh... my fingers...!

Bank Holiday Monday Garstang Gig Cancelled

I've had word from the organisers at Garstang that they are cancelling the planned outdoor gig today. The weather continues to be somewhat unpleasant with the forecast for "tropical-like" storms today.

Sorry to all our regulars who may have been hoping to see us. We hope next year we may get some better weather. The organisers are thinking about alternative venues for next year in case of bad weather so hopefully we will manage an appearance in 2013!

Much love, John and David

Garstang Cancellation Today

Sorry folks but we have had to cancel today's gig at the Garstang Music & Arts Festival due to weather conditions. Water and electrics don't mix I'm afraid.

We are keeping fingers crossed that Monday will be a bit better!

Went to a Garden Party

Yesterday saw Creeping Bentgrass out at Darwen, playing at a friend's garden party. I took the blue Mexican Stratocaster along for a change - nice to play it again.

Huge garden on several levels and a lot of people there - not that I am surprised by this in any way because Chris and Brian are excellent hosts and the food is always scrummy.

Not that Mr Lancaster gave me much chance to get my gnashers around much of it... "Keep playing while they eat, we'll stop in a bit..."

My fingers are an inch shorter... Great party Chris and Brian, thanks for inviting us!

Larbreck Hall Caravan Park

On Saturday night we played at Larbreck Hall Caravan Park. A smaller audience than in recent years, though with the amount of wet weekends we've had it's hardly surprising that weekenders have tended to stay at home this summer!

None the less, we had a good night and from all the compliments and an immediate re-booking for next year, we knew at the end of the night we were leaving them happy!

I mentioned the stage being built for us at the Wharles do a couple of weeks ago and it would be wrong not to mention the work that a couple the regulars put in every year to build a stage and put in lights - not just on stage but as this is in a barn where caravans are usually stored, there's a lot of preparation goes into these events before we even get there.

Barns are not noted for their lighting, so a night like this requires lights to be set up so the audience can see their drinks on the table in front of them!

And here's Fran doing stirling work with the little Flip video camera. We are hoping to have a DVD available soon as a souvenir of our gigs. Apart from anything else, it will give us something to watch and cringe to when we reach our dotage. Not long now...

Fylde Vintage Weekend and Farm Show

Last night we were out in the wilderness of the Fylde countryside (a very nice place to be!) We were playing in a huge marquee at the Fylde Vintage Weekend and Farm Show to a packed and very receptive audience who were determined to get the most out of us.

When we got there we found these two gentlemen building a stage for us. "Will it be alright?" we were asked.

"I was thinking about having a curving staircase to come down as we start," I said.

"Aye, keep thinking..." came the answer.

The show hadn't really got going until today, but the marquee filled up and there were several familiar faces who came to see us at the Heskin Hall show. Some indeed said they had come especially to see us again. I love an optimist...

I had had a rather frazzling couple of days fighting the weather to get back from Newcastle in time for the gig (see this blog entry for details) and was running on sheer adrenaline. This led me to make several instant comebacks to a large group by the stage who were quite witty and we built up a fantastic atmosphere during the night.

We started playing around 8:15pm and at 11:45pm I announced the last song but that was just a challenge to them and we played seven or eight encores, finishing well after midnight and eventually getting away sometime after 1:00am!

Now this was a field and not particularly well furnished with street lighting...

Apologies to anyone trying to sleep in the caravans we kept going past and reversing around whilst we tried to find the gate...

Also apologies to the good people of the Fylde who may have been awoken by the raucous and ever so slightly rude roars from the audience as we played "Living Next Door To Alice" as one of those encores. Well really, I was shocked...

To the young lady who kept shouting for us to do a Lady Gaga number... next year...

Photos once again courtesy of Jeannie Lancaster.

Myerscough College Open Day 2012

Apologies - it's taken me a while to get round to writing this entry - the gig was on Sunday 10 June - twenty days ago!!!

But straight after we finished playing I had to dash home, grab a bite to eat and drive down to Bristol for the night before carrying on to Yeovil for work on Monday morning! And somehow life has been a bit like that ever since!

Anyway, the weather was quite kind for a change. We had a good day and a long day and my fingers were a good couple of inches shorter at the end of it after pressing on the guitar neck all day...

As always at Myerscough, there was lots for visitors to see and do so it was nice when people stopped to sit and listen to us for the afternoon! Seeing as we had all the bunting left from the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, we went all patriotic again!

Scorton Village Diamond Jubilee Party

You know, that rain that started last night kept it up all night and into this afternoon. So it was with some relief that we knew there was an alternative to the open-air field for Scorton Village's Diamond Jubilee Party.

We unloaded into the Village Hall and set up in a corner, whilst we waited to see whether anyone would brave the rain to turn up.

By heck they are indeed made of stern stuff in Scorton - the place filled and all the seats were taken and they still came in until there was a whole line of people standing at the far end. A special Jubilee Grace was said and then I got to play the National Anthem on the keyboard. Something I had only played once before and that only half an hour previously as a practice when we first set up before anyone came in! (Sorry, your Majesty...)

Miss Franny and Miss Jeannie had surrounded us with bunting and very pretty we looked too... It did mean that sneaking off stage for a trip to the loo involved ducking and choking or limbo dancing but hey... why not?!?

We kept to the less raucous songs for the afternoon and by the time we got to the end of the afternoon we had clocked up nine hours playing within a period of 21 hours given that we had been playing last night in Chorley. My finger ends are a touch sensitive...

Many thanks to the wonderful people of Scorton for asking us to perform and for all the lovely comments we were given at the end of the afternoon. It was a pleasure to play for you.