22nd June 2006
TMC do Booties
Since the very start of The Mustard Cutters, there has been one gig that has filled us both with dread and expectation. It is the place that 4 of the band members had last played together and it is the place where "everybody knows your name". A home from home, but a place where it could all go so very wrong.
The illustrious Bootleggers.
Since the dawn of time, well, the dawn of OTR, Bootleggers has been the testing ground for new material, the place where friends would come and watch, and invariably give their opinion of "how that song went". And, it would later unfold, nothing changes.
To all the band members, the day had finally come. June 16th. The Mustard Cutters would play Bootleggers for the first time.
All seemed to be going well. The band had set up in a quarter of the allotted time and everything was working and sounding great. There was a small mishap in the form of us inadvertantly blocking the fire exit (who needs a fire exit anyway!?), however, this posed but a small problem and was easily overcome.
Everything was in place. Lead guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, a bass, the drums, and one very discreetly hidden glitter ball...
Time to sit down, have a beer, relax and watch the crowd come in.
Which they did.
Friends, family, fellow giggers and old followers, much to our appreciation, all were there. It was like the good ol' times. It was, time to go on.
We all took our respective positions, the music went down and the lights dimmed... An expectant hush swept across the gathered crowd...
"Hold on!" came a voice... "Er... Just a minute"... the voice said nervously...
The voice belonged to Darryl. We were seconds away from bringing the lights up and hitting the audience with our first belter, but something was wrong. There was no sound coming from the bass guitar whatsoever.
Several leads and a couple of batteries later we realised that in fact the bass itself had died.
Thankfully, and perhaps luckily, there was a bassist in the audience. Steve Martin, (a long time friend of the band). Once we had realised the problem, he kindly stepped forward and offered his bass to Darryl as long as someone could get it from his house. One quick trip and a fevered conversation (regarding songs to leave out) later, we were ready to go on.
Whilst our hearts were full of nerves and anxiety, we played the first song with vigour and purpose and thankfully, it was recieved well. This allowed the band to relax a little. The second was even better and by the third we were in full swing. Closing the first set with Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, and a resounding final hit on the drums, all fell silent. Then with a roar it became apparent that both ourselves and the audience were happy with the performance so far.
One quick break and it was time to go on again. One song after another, the music was belted out, or brought down for times of thoughtfulness, light and shade.
On a couple of occasions the crowd fell still and silent, which at the time for me at least, was a little disconcerting. It was only later we were told that people had been intent on "listening". The songs carried on, one closely followed by another, building up and building up, until still and silent was replaced by people dancing and cheering for more. We closed the second set with Billie Jean and with resounding pleas for more, encored with Long Train Running and Clocks by Coldplay, both met with equally pleasing results.
We had played our last note, we had thanked the audience and we were listening for what seemed an eternity for the reaction...
Then came the eruption, the cheers, the applaud. We had done it. Even though we had started with a long delay, we had won the affections of our audience.
We were The Mustard Cutters and we had played Bootleggers.
We had shaken each others hands and taken a sip of our respective drinks.
It was time to go home where we could each reflect on the night and look forward in anticipation for the next time... The next gig... The Mustard Cutters.
1st March 2006
TMC Welcomes New Band Member
The Mustard Cutters would like to officially welcome new recruitment Lucy Diamond to the band.
Lucy joined the band in early March. Already a friend to Darryl and Neil, her amazing skills on the keyboard and friendly personality made her an excellent choice to compliment the dimensions being hammered out by TMC.
With the aid of stunningly nimble fingers, awe-inspiring musical knowledge and just a sprinkle of samples, Lucy can emulate the "keys" to any song thrown at her, bringing her own style to the band and setting the bar much higher than TMC could have ever expected.
Lucy, I think I speak for all the boys when I say, I'm looking forward to gigs that pin the audience to the back wall with the jaw-dropping quality that your presence creates.
We just hope we can all keep up!
Cheers!
Steve x |
