The audio part of this challenge has failed, thanks to the Edinburgh Pleasance Theatre’s woeful Internet speed. I left my laptop running for the entirety of yesterday’s gig, but when I came back to it after the gig, the audio still hadn’t uploaded. I did manage to get the written version published though, so I’ve still managed to publish a blog every day of this year.
Technology also failed me during the gig. As we came on the stage for the second half, I placed my digital recorder down on the stage in front of me, but it toppled over and the memory card came out. While Sean was introducing the next song, I tried to restart the recording, but the recorder had completely stopped working. I tried the on/off switch repeatedly, but nothing happened. Taking the batteries out didn’t help either, neither did taking out the memory card. I thought about trying to record on my mobile phone, but I’d already spent five minutes of the gig faffing around with the digital recorder to no avail, and I didn’t really want to faff around any more and impair the gig, which was going exceptionally well. The gig was certainly the best of the tour so far, and there would have been quite a lot of material for the podcast. I did explain to the audience that the recorder had stopped working, and joked that I hoped the gig would be rubbish and boring, as it would be a waste if only 130 people got to hear it. While this was a joke, there was a small part of me who actually meant it. Every time something funny or interesting happened in the gig, I was filled with a mixture of gladness that the gig was going so well, but annoyance that the gig was going so well and that it wouldn’t be going on the podcast. I hoped that someone in the audience would record it, but no one came up to me after the gig to say that they had. Again, it’s all take take take with The Young’uns fans. So unfortunately, you will never get to hear what happened when Michael took off all his clothes, or when that lion suddenly bounded onto the stage and Sean heroically wrestled it to the floor and then we pacified it with a ballad. But, never mind.
Towards the end of the gig, Irish brought the three of us a beer onto the stage. Apparently, this angered the bar staff, because we were drinking beer that wasn’t sold at the bar, but was the complimentary beer provided by the people who organised the gig. The organiser of the gig came to us after our performance and apologetically asked us if we could leave our beers in the dressing room and not take it into the theatre when we go and meet people, because the bar staff had been giving him quite a bit of grief.
Apparently, one of the people running the bar was so annoyed that he was considering coming onto the stage and taking the beers from us, but someone talked him out of it. If he had come onto the stage then I would be pretty annoyed, not because of the barman’s attitude, but because it would have been hilarious and I’d be massively pissed off if it happened and we didn’t get a recording of it for the podcast.
It seemed a bit odd though to be churlish about three people on stage drinking beer that wasn’t bought at the bar, considering that we’d brought 130 people to their venue, who were buying drink from them. I doubt that the barman would have been very popular if he marched onto the stage and took the drinks off us. It’s not as if it could happen without us making reference to it. We’d probably have gotten him to explain himself over the microphone, which would have probably been rather awkward, and I don’t think he’d ingratiate himself to anyone. I think though, not wanting to create a hostile atmosphere, I’d probably get him to join in with one of our songs, which I think he’d find even more awkward. If he refused then he’d look like a massive party pooper and it would consolidate his position as a bit of a nob, whereas if he joined in, it would be difficult for him to simultaneously be singing while being angry, and it would make a mockery out of his annoyance. So I think he made the wise decision to moan in relative privacy.
Despite the recorder malfunction, I was in a good mood. The gig had gone really well, and also Jenny, the girl with health problems who featured in my positivity experiment Dollop, came to the gig. She did not, however, shout out any Dollop-related heckles or attempt to start any Dollop-based chants, but perhaps she was intending to, but then realised that if she had done it then I would be annoyed that the incident hadn’t been recorded. I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt. However, the recorder seems to have started working now, so there’s no excuse for any of you coming to Sheffield.
We’re doing two gigs in Sheffield today, because the first one sold out so quickly. So we’re doing two full 90 minute performances in the same venue, one in the afternoon and another in the evening. We drove to Hartlepool after the gig last night, as it was the halfway point between Edinburgh and Sheffield, and we didn’t fancy a six hour drive late at night straight after our gig. We didn’t get to sleep until about 3am, and we were up at 830. So it’s going to be a long day with two 90 minute gigs. Hopefully we can recreate the magic of Edinburgh, and you free loaders can then enjoy it on The Young’uns Podcast at some point soon.
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Enjoyed the Edinburgh gig massively was great to catch up with you all. Sorry about the lack of dollpop heckling and dollop chants but I didn’t want to be in the bad books of Michael and Sean but as I am writing this it sounds like a pathetic excuse.
I will let you off on this occasion Jenny. Next time. Lovely to see you.