Ok this was on the original Forum - but i thought id put it up again because i know there are some new people on here and i thought it would be cool for them to see what kind of mad fun we have on the road... im planning on doing one for the Newcastle gig too. hey we will have the caravan so theres bound to be fun...
ENJOY!!!!!!!! (its along one!)
TORQUAY!!!!!! THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8th
OK!!!!!!! Well here I go again with tales of a gig. Its set to be a long one due to the fact that it went over a few days and we had quite a few adventures, to say the least.
I think we realised early on that it was going to be one of those gigs due to the fact that as soon as Rob and Steve arrived at Mias and we were ready to load up the van, the heavens opened. This meant Rob had to try to attach the battery and gas bottle to the caravan under an umbrella! We then had to
get the caravan on to the road behind the van so we could hook it up, (one of the handles coming off in Robs hand in the process).
Eventually at 1:30 am- we were on our way. We had loads of entertainment from LOUD Maiden (cue Lakis and Steve on air guitar!-eek!) plenty of food, in the form of frogs - Harry Potter chocolate ones, I hasten to add and lots of talk about Pamela Anderson and what certain members would like to do to
her!!! We drove past Stonehenge at around 5:00 am, amidst discussion of whether it was right to have fences up around it. It made Steve a happy hippy, and us passengers rather nervous, as he placed his attention on the view rather than the road- I think hes been taking lessons from Lakis in how to scare people with his driving! lol
The odd snore resonated from time to time but in the main we stayed awake and discussed important things such as who is the best maiden vocalist, famous people weve met, and what the best childrens TV programmes of our generation were. ( I think the contenders were Sooty, Choka Block- Thundercats, Dogtanian. Button moon and Dungeons and Dragons being Lakiss Fav. but Im not sure who won possibly one Sooty episode in particular? )
We thought we were in the right area for the caravan site and so did a right down a lovely country lane. Stopping to ask a local, ( oooh no, my luvvly, you be going the wrong way.), we discovered we were on the wrong NARROW country lane eek. All credit to Steve, who after about 7 hours of driving , then had to turn both the caravan and the Van around. And what a
lovely job he did too- no thanks to the idiot in the van who came bombing round the corner, fortunately not hitting us.
We eventually arrived at the caravan site, after seeing some great views, and by 8 am Lakis was well past counting his sheep and the rest of us soon joined him in the land of nod. ( Not before having to push the caravan into its position manually! )We woke up at 3 and decided it was around about time to be getting up and thinking about setting off to the venue. We were still over an hour away and had to leave the Caravan at another campsite in Newton Abbot before arriving at the venue for 7pm. So once we had all had a munch and had chance to get
the sleep out of our eyes, poor Steve had to get back behind the wheel and get us on our way, (after stopping to buy some fudge for Mia, and chutney for Lauras mum).
One thing id like to point out is that we were all beyond cold, and clad in woolly hats and socks for the whole 2 days! Poor Lakis was so cold, he had about 15 T-shirts on, a hat, a scarf and my sleeping bag in order to keep warm! It did work though he got so hot he actually had to take a few layers off!
The plan: to get to the campsite, unhook the caravan and get on our way to Torquay.
The reality: Nothing is ever simple!
We discovered that country roads are not places you want to go with a van full of people, equipment and an attached caravan, especially when its dark. We found ourselves down a narrow road, going in the wrong direction and so when we came to a cross roads, Steve decided to embark on turning round. And to give credit to him, ( again), he did a mighty job of saving our bacon.As he reversed the caravan backwards down a steep slope, the wheels hit gravel and started slipping back. Due to the weight pulling on the van, the hand break wasnt strong enough to hold it on such a steep slope. The rest of us had to clamber out as quick as possible, while Steve kept his foot on the break, and put all our weight behind the van to get it up the hill, then
moving as quickly as possible to avoid being flattened by the caravan!
Typically as we were our predicament on this country lane, two cars came along! Hmmm, very helpful.
Eventually we arrived at the caravan site well, field ( getting the owner out of his bath) and once again had some fun and shenanigans getting the caravan ( manually again ) into position. As it was already looking as if we were going to be late, we made sure the caravan was secure and got on our way.
Finally the gig. I think as soon as we realised that Lakis and Laura had left their stage clothes in the wardrobe in the caravan , we realised what kind of night it was going to be. As there was no way we had time to go back, they had to make do with what they had with them. When I walked into the venue and saw the fact that there was no stage, and was then told we
would have to load the equipment across the road, it really did become clear that this was going to be one of those nights ( as if we couldnt have guessed that earlier! lol ) Having loaded up the van in the rain, it meant that all the cases and equipment were still damp when we came to unloading BRILLIANT!!!! ( especially as it caused a few minor moments of panic that
there was a leak in the van. )
I wont go into the long and short of it but the usual setting up was done, I put the merchandise out in a corner and the band went into sound check.
Theyd arranged to share cabs and other bits of equipment with the support acts so I think that did cause a certain amount of worry.
As for the sound well it was quite poor due to lack of PA. With no monitors, it left nowhere for Lakis to perform his traditional pose from.
Even though they were actually headlining, 54 decided not to go last as they would be playing at 12:15! Even as it was, they went on at 11.30 ! As it turned out, Choker, who went on last, ended up playing to a very empty hall.
Unfortunately some idiot from the support band left his transmitter turned on during the first two songs of 54s set. For some reason this played absolute havoc with the sound the solos kept cutting out and Lakis sounded like he was playing jazz guitar! Strange indeed. However after these problems, and other than some total idiot in the audience winding Lakis up
while he was onstage, it actually was a good set. The band were as professional as ever and there was a very positive reaction from the crowd, even though there were definitely not as many people there as were had been promised. Later on one of the other support acts told us that it was a really bad turn out and they were amazed the band had come to play the Hideaway. It was good to see them put a new move into their set- but thats
a surprise you can all see at a later date!
What was nice to hear was that all the support bands, and the promoter, had enjoyed Area 54, and I also sold some merchandise, which was a positive sign.I saw a lot of people enjoying the set so I guess at the end of the day, it has done the band good because the Area 54 word has been spread a
bit further down the country. So despite the poor show of people ( something tells me that it wasnt promoted as well as it should have been or as well as we were told) and the pay that covered about 1/4 of our expenses, it was actually was worth them doing this gig.
The night ended with absolute oafs of bouncers getting really rude and kicking us out as soon as the last band had got off stage. They virtually dumped what equipment was left on the (wet) pavement outside the venue and shut the place up! We were there for another 20 minutes or so, still loading
up. That meant that we ended up talking to Shatterface ( one of the supports) for a while, and at 1:30 am we all went down to the Torquay seafront to freeze ourselves to death! Well everyone except Laura, who had the sense to wear about 7 pairs of trousers and leggings as well as a nice warm coat, beanie hat and scarf ! We figured that as we had gone all that way, we might as well see the sea! We took some photos and did mad things I think they possibly got the impression that I was a bit crazy when they saw my reaction to a birthday present I was given. But actually, they probably thought the same about the giver! Hmm madness prevails, as ever!
Eventually, cold got the better of us and we climbed into the van. Lakis drove back to the caravan (Steve having done all the driving for the last day). Oh no Lakis the dangerous driver and country lanes!!!!!! But we made it back, got the caravan warmed up and bundled in for food - and SLEEP!!!!!!
We eventually woke up a lot later than we should have done and after getting dressed, had to get the caravan moved back into position to be able to hook it up to the van. Which proved to be entertaining, once again( me booting Lakis in the leg during the manoeuvres!! Whoops, it was accidental, I promise!) After much huffing and puffing, we all jumped in the van. As we reached the top of the slope, Steve stopped and said er- the caravan isnt
attached. We all had a look and it was down the road, So we went through the whole rigmarole of hooking it up again. Just as we though all was ok, we had to push the van AGAIN because the wheels started slipping in the gravel. After paying for the use of the site, falling in a bush and taking lots of photos of views ( the Tele-tubby hill was a favourite), we climbed in the
van for the last time until the service station!!!! It took another 7 hours or so to get home but we had a few stops for food as well as a harmonised version of happy birthday and cakey with candles! Hoorah for birthdays!
When we got back, we found that there were celebrations down Mias road and there were cars everywhere which meant the spaces for the van and caravan were taken up.We were going to leave it outside Lauras, but just after they were starting to unhook it, a man came along and told us that we had to
leave it attached to the van as it was a public highway. Something to do with the fact it could be towed away and it would be crushed if it wasnt hooked up!So we had to take it to Mias and find the culprit that had parked on the pavement outside her house! At least this time it could be positioned
by the van and didnt require us to push it again!!!!!!
Something tells me that Area 54 and caravans = MADNESS!!!!! Lol
Anyway as you can see a crazy time for everyone!!! Hope u enjoyed the
tales!
Once again until next time, KEEP IT METAL, KEEP IT AREA 54
ENJOY!!!!!!!! (its along one!)
TORQUAY!!!!!! THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8th
OK!!!!!!! Well here I go again with tales of a gig. Its set to be a long one due to the fact that it went over a few days and we had quite a few adventures, to say the least.
I think we realised early on that it was going to be one of those gigs due to the fact that as soon as Rob and Steve arrived at Mias and we were ready to load up the van, the heavens opened. This meant Rob had to try to attach the battery and gas bottle to the caravan under an umbrella! We then had to
get the caravan on to the road behind the van so we could hook it up, (one of the handles coming off in Robs hand in the process).
Eventually at 1:30 am- we were on our way. We had loads of entertainment from LOUD Maiden (cue Lakis and Steve on air guitar!-eek!) plenty of food, in the form of frogs - Harry Potter chocolate ones, I hasten to add and lots of talk about Pamela Anderson and what certain members would like to do to
her!!! We drove past Stonehenge at around 5:00 am, amidst discussion of whether it was right to have fences up around it. It made Steve a happy hippy, and us passengers rather nervous, as he placed his attention on the view rather than the road- I think hes been taking lessons from Lakis in how to scare people with his driving! lol
The odd snore resonated from time to time but in the main we stayed awake and discussed important things such as who is the best maiden vocalist, famous people weve met, and what the best childrens TV programmes of our generation were. ( I think the contenders were Sooty, Choka Block- Thundercats, Dogtanian. Button moon and Dungeons and Dragons being Lakiss Fav. but Im not sure who won possibly one Sooty episode in particular? )
We thought we were in the right area for the caravan site and so did a right down a lovely country lane. Stopping to ask a local, ( oooh no, my luvvly, you be going the wrong way.), we discovered we were on the wrong NARROW country lane eek. All credit to Steve, who after about 7 hours of driving , then had to turn both the caravan and the Van around. And what a
lovely job he did too- no thanks to the idiot in the van who came bombing round the corner, fortunately not hitting us.
We eventually arrived at the caravan site, after seeing some great views, and by 8 am Lakis was well past counting his sheep and the rest of us soon joined him in the land of nod. ( Not before having to push the caravan into its position manually! )We woke up at 3 and decided it was around about time to be getting up and thinking about setting off to the venue. We were still over an hour away and had to leave the Caravan at another campsite in Newton Abbot before arriving at the venue for 7pm. So once we had all had a munch and had chance to get
the sleep out of our eyes, poor Steve had to get back behind the wheel and get us on our way, (after stopping to buy some fudge for Mia, and chutney for Lauras mum).
One thing id like to point out is that we were all beyond cold, and clad in woolly hats and socks for the whole 2 days! Poor Lakis was so cold, he had about 15 T-shirts on, a hat, a scarf and my sleeping bag in order to keep warm! It did work though he got so hot he actually had to take a few layers off!
The plan: to get to the campsite, unhook the caravan and get on our way to Torquay.
The reality: Nothing is ever simple!
We discovered that country roads are not places you want to go with a van full of people, equipment and an attached caravan, especially when its dark. We found ourselves down a narrow road, going in the wrong direction and so when we came to a cross roads, Steve decided to embark on turning round. And to give credit to him, ( again), he did a mighty job of saving our bacon.As he reversed the caravan backwards down a steep slope, the wheels hit gravel and started slipping back. Due to the weight pulling on the van, the hand break wasnt strong enough to hold it on such a steep slope. The rest of us had to clamber out as quick as possible, while Steve kept his foot on the break, and put all our weight behind the van to get it up the hill, then
moving as quickly as possible to avoid being flattened by the caravan!
Typically as we were our predicament on this country lane, two cars came along! Hmmm, very helpful.
Eventually we arrived at the caravan site well, field ( getting the owner out of his bath) and once again had some fun and shenanigans getting the caravan ( manually again ) into position. As it was already looking as if we were going to be late, we made sure the caravan was secure and got on our way.
Finally the gig. I think as soon as we realised that Lakis and Laura had left their stage clothes in the wardrobe in the caravan , we realised what kind of night it was going to be. As there was no way we had time to go back, they had to make do with what they had with them. When I walked into the venue and saw the fact that there was no stage, and was then told we
would have to load the equipment across the road, it really did become clear that this was going to be one of those nights ( as if we couldnt have guessed that earlier! lol ) Having loaded up the van in the rain, it meant that all the cases and equipment were still damp when we came to unloading BRILLIANT!!!! ( especially as it caused a few minor moments of panic that
there was a leak in the van. )
I wont go into the long and short of it but the usual setting up was done, I put the merchandise out in a corner and the band went into sound check.
Theyd arranged to share cabs and other bits of equipment with the support acts so I think that did cause a certain amount of worry.
As for the sound well it was quite poor due to lack of PA. With no monitors, it left nowhere for Lakis to perform his traditional pose from.
Even though they were actually headlining, 54 decided not to go last as they would be playing at 12:15! Even as it was, they went on at 11.30 ! As it turned out, Choker, who went on last, ended up playing to a very empty hall.
Unfortunately some idiot from the support band left his transmitter turned on during the first two songs of 54s set. For some reason this played absolute havoc with the sound the solos kept cutting out and Lakis sounded like he was playing jazz guitar! Strange indeed. However after these problems, and other than some total idiot in the audience winding Lakis up
while he was onstage, it actually was a good set. The band were as professional as ever and there was a very positive reaction from the crowd, even though there were definitely not as many people there as were had been promised. Later on one of the other support acts told us that it was a really bad turn out and they were amazed the band had come to play the Hideaway. It was good to see them put a new move into their set- but thats
a surprise you can all see at a later date!
What was nice to hear was that all the support bands, and the promoter, had enjoyed Area 54, and I also sold some merchandise, which was a positive sign.I saw a lot of people enjoying the set so I guess at the end of the day, it has done the band good because the Area 54 word has been spread a
bit further down the country. So despite the poor show of people ( something tells me that it wasnt promoted as well as it should have been or as well as we were told) and the pay that covered about 1/4 of our expenses, it was actually was worth them doing this gig.
The night ended with absolute oafs of bouncers getting really rude and kicking us out as soon as the last band had got off stage. They virtually dumped what equipment was left on the (wet) pavement outside the venue and shut the place up! We were there for another 20 minutes or so, still loading
up. That meant that we ended up talking to Shatterface ( one of the supports) for a while, and at 1:30 am we all went down to the Torquay seafront to freeze ourselves to death! Well everyone except Laura, who had the sense to wear about 7 pairs of trousers and leggings as well as a nice warm coat, beanie hat and scarf ! We figured that as we had gone all that way, we might as well see the sea! We took some photos and did mad things I think they possibly got the impression that I was a bit crazy when they saw my reaction to a birthday present I was given. But actually, they probably thought the same about the giver! Hmm madness prevails, as ever!
Eventually, cold got the better of us and we climbed into the van. Lakis drove back to the caravan (Steve having done all the driving for the last day). Oh no Lakis the dangerous driver and country lanes!!!!!! But we made it back, got the caravan warmed up and bundled in for food - and SLEEP!!!!!!
We eventually woke up a lot later than we should have done and after getting dressed, had to get the caravan moved back into position to be able to hook it up to the van. Which proved to be entertaining, once again( me booting Lakis in the leg during the manoeuvres!! Whoops, it was accidental, I promise!) After much huffing and puffing, we all jumped in the van. As we reached the top of the slope, Steve stopped and said er- the caravan isnt
attached. We all had a look and it was down the road, So we went through the whole rigmarole of hooking it up again. Just as we though all was ok, we had to push the van AGAIN because the wheels started slipping in the gravel. After paying for the use of the site, falling in a bush and taking lots of photos of views ( the Tele-tubby hill was a favourite), we climbed in the
van for the last time until the service station!!!! It took another 7 hours or so to get home but we had a few stops for food as well as a harmonised version of happy birthday and cakey with candles! Hoorah for birthdays!
When we got back, we found that there were celebrations down Mias road and there were cars everywhere which meant the spaces for the van and caravan were taken up.We were going to leave it outside Lauras, but just after they were starting to unhook it, a man came along and told us that we had to
leave it attached to the van as it was a public highway. Something to do with the fact it could be towed away and it would be crushed if it wasnt hooked up!So we had to take it to Mias and find the culprit that had parked on the pavement outside her house! At least this time it could be positioned
by the van and didnt require us to push it again!!!!!!
Something tells me that Area 54 and caravans = MADNESS!!!!! Lol
Anyway as you can see a crazy time for everyone!!! Hope u enjoyed the
tales!
Once again until next time, KEEP IT METAL, KEEP IT AREA 54
