Mediterrannean Knees UK Tour Warm-Up Gig

Mediterranean Knees UK Tour Warm-Up Gig

I suppose this qualifies as my debute performance, three hours of own and cover songs. I was exhausted and was interested to note the cramp that interfered with the simplest of chord shapes and the deterioration of my voice (ok, it wasn't that great to start with) during the last half hour. It was a great learning experience though.

I need a bigger van

Lesson's learned from this event.

Fortunately the rain held off

Location; location; location! Beacuse I needed an electrical supply I was tucked out of the way and so observed the event from the sidelines as opposed to being in the thick of it.. Fortunately I was positioned close to the refreshments and the toilets, so got a couple of cups of tea as the day went on.



The other significant lesson is to have more practice and a defined set list. While I worked my way through a variety of familiar and unfamiliar songs there wasn't enought thought into the order of play, what would be the best opener and closer etc.

The stageset takes up more space than you might imagine. A two and a half  square metre gazebo for a solo performer sounds great, but once the speakers, lights amp and mic stands were installed there wasn't much room for me at all and I didn't want to put any of the kit outside just in case it rained.

Anyone who can perform outdoors for any length of time deserves respect, it was more difficult than I had imagined.

 Next stop, August Bank Holiday Monday, Purslow Show!

The set list

Developing the set list
 Ok! So what have we got?

Own songs

Under The Patio - "Ma and Pa were getting old...."

In the Woods (Like Bear Grylls) - "To be out in the fresh air is all I desire..."

Work In Progress - Written for my nephew's wedding. It's a song about the nature of marriage and enduring relationships.

The End is Nigh - Written in response to the death cult prediction of the world ending 20th December 2012. What do you mean it didn't? Since then, thre have been at least four more EOW dates that have passed by.

Dance With Me Tonight - A song about intimacy, I sang this as the first dance for my daughter's wedding. It's a very special song for me now.

The Knife Grinder - "I travel the highways and byeways and lanes.. - My version of an old folk song that I heard, but couldn't find. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Aesop's Fables - One of the books of my childhood.

Setting The Tappets - A slightly ambiguous love song. "Tickle those carbs 'til my fingers are wet" refers to the priming of the monobloc carburetors.

Ashley Madison - Following the hacking of internet dating site Ashley Maddison.

Sugar Love - Careers advice for young women? Perhaps not.

Too Posh to Wash - Nurses in our NHS are deserving of more support.

Lonley Man Blues -

Every Cloud -

Simple Life-

Mouldy Brown Bread and Cheese - A miserable song that just gets worse and worse. It was inspired by arriving home late one night, cold, hungry and tired, and finding nothing in the fridge to eat except some old cheese, and nothing to eat it with except a half eaten packet of crumpets that were going mouldy. I tried to imagine who else would be glad of it.

Facebook "Oh Facebook! Thou really art the thief of time"

Midlife Crisis - " I'm having a midlife crisis...."

Don't Start! - Just finished the lyrics, got to work the melody and chords out.

Spade

Lonliest Man In The Room

Be Careful What You Wish For  (When You Die)

The covers
Nothing Else Matters - Metalica
Louie Louie -
I'm a Believer - Neil Diamond
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
Hey Jude - The Beatles
I guess Things Happen That Way - Johnny Cash
Solitary Man - Neil Diamond
Marie's The Name - Elvis Presley
Don't Think Twice - Bob Dylan
Forever Young - Bob Dylan
City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie- "Riding on the City of New Orleans ....."
Baby's in Black - The Beatles
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles
Whiskey In The Jar - Furies not Thin Lizzy.
Lola - Kinks


But in what order?

On the road with Mediterranean Knees.

I think that Mediterranean Knees is nearly ready to go on the road. Just as well as there are two bookings. I say bookings, I'm not being paid for either but they are good practice opportunities.


But is it booking ready?
Let's look at the facts.

Do I have a guitar? Yes!
Have I got a PA system? Yes!
Do I have lights? Yes!
Do I have a van? Yes!
Do I have a set list? Errr, nearly!


The guitars....
A really nice Martin electro-accoustic , bought by my lovely wife, and more recently a Fender Strat, also supplied by my lovley wife. Not forgetting my old Vintage, which I might experiment with some alternate tunings.

The harmonicas.....
The less said about them the better.

A box of percussion instruments and kazhoos for some audience participation.

The PA......
Not the most soffisticated, but big enough for a small venue. It's lacking a monitor at the moment.
A Stagg for the accoustic and a Blackstar for the Fender.

The lights.......
Good old ebay! Second hand and a bit knocked about, but the light stand just about does. The lights are a bit too spotty, but with low wattage bulbs I can have a few on without blowing a fuse and I've recently found outabout remote controlled extension sockets which means I can develop a lighting set that changes through the show.

I've been converting some of the lights to 12V LED. The Open Music Nights have given me plenty of opportunity to think about and plan the stage set.

The van.....
Simple Citroen Berlingo, with just enough room for all of the above.


The set list.....
It's still work in progress, but I have around forty songs that I can call on, half my own and half some well known covers. How long should I be on stage for? I suppose I should develop a number of set lists to allow for different lengths of time. Initially, half an hour, an hour, two hours and three hours. 180 minutes, with songs of about 3 minutes each means I'm quite a bit short. There's always room for a bit of chat to pad things out, but half a show?