Up with hope, Down with dope.

Another awesome few days away, another reminder that we really need to get a full tour booked!
We'd had these dates with Betty Pariso booked for a fair while, but our (my) continual Fail on the Merch front was yet again held up..if we had ethics we'd no doubt call it "our stance on anti-capitalism" but unfortunately those were lost when we were stolen from the DIY scene to the heady heights of rock stardom at Casa Roar.
Practicing was also something we had plenty of time to get sorted, but life got in the way, and so this got relegated to the night before Nottingham.
The third in this chain of Leaving To Last Minute turned out to be Betty Pariso parting ways with their drummer as we were practicing (pieced together in retrospect, not co-ordinated as such). We're going it alone boys..
Next Fail? The turbo on Danny's van had died a death, so Scott Smith stepped up & offered to drive us in his car..Danny was dubious it'd work, and with every corner taken or road-bump causing the car shell to scratch against something I also had my moments of doubt, but it held together..

Come On, More, We Can Take It!

Cue : Galleons pulled out of the Nottingham gig due to a poorly drummer.
And : Nottingham gig cancelled.

Marty, who was organising Nottingham, managed to get us onto a lineup at an opening night of some metal club/bar, and Crocus had recently been added to the Norwich lineup so it was a strong enough bill so as to not be too damaged by BP lackage. We're still on track for a Party weekend!

Nottingham - Oranjeboom supplied courtesy of Mr Bell, we bounced and scraped our way down the M1 & arrived with plenty of time..the barman is working his first ever shift and is a friend of the Galleons boys, good stuff, everyone seems nice & the sound guy seems a total dude.
Fastforward a few hours, we're all worse-for-wear for the beers, first band Karhide (Martys band) were instrumental OK-ness, struggling to remember much about the sound other than liking it at the time, we were next..fuzzy blur..then some terribly dated-sounding metal band. The only 2 girls in the place then turned out to be Pole Dancers and went about constructing their little stage and pole..we had to leave before their debut spin, I still resent the others for this.
The rest of the night is a blur to me, I peaked too early, and after a KFC (the advertising works!) I remember Nothing except vague flashes of being ragged about the Galleons flat in my sleepingbag.
The others Partied the Shit outta their place, the highlight of which was most likely our Danny tattoo'ing "BARRY" onto his leg. It was underlined as well.
I woke at 7am, outside the flat and surrounded by pornography...
Spent the next few hours searching the flat for a lighter, got high, got lemon&ginger&honey teas sorted, got the gang together and got a Full English Breakfast at some place. Oh, and then got matching jackets!
Peaced Out with the Galleons boys (cheers for sorting us out again lads, much love!) then hit the road for Norwich..again, Scott did us proud & we got there in plenty of time. Tour Drives can be such a Vibe Destroying shitter, it's awesome when everything goes smoothly..
The Marquee in Norwich, weird little place. it's like a dungeon at the back of a pseudo-rock pub. the promoters, Mikee&Emma, had done kick-ass screenprints of their kick-ass flyer (see below entry..), and some vegan pasta&veg eats, so we were happy. also, tinnies were seemingly allowed in the dungeon!
Another awesome sound guy (actually, the one in Notts turned out to be a douche, but this one was totally cool)..Crocus are a mad powerhouse blur, though I did get the impression their guitarist lacked that basic Scene Essential of a perception of where people were stood around him as he flailed his barbed plank of wood wildly around himself. i watched from the back. he was hitting his notes though, so fair play to him in that respect!
Temptress I can't fully remember, but remember thinking they were kinda cool in a retro sorta way, guess I'd like to see 'em again to firm up that opinion! i proper Loved Throats when I first saw 'em, but after that first time (they had a different drummer after this) they just seemed more of an average d-beat band than i'd realised before..the CD's meant to be good though.
We played, I was too high and so the wit and sparkle of the on-stage banter was unfortunately left in the alley outside where I poured the bong-water...some little bastard filmed the ordeal and put it on Youtube. I will find him, oh yes...
Maths played last, kid shoulda filmed them cos they were frickin Yesville!

Scott wanted to beast the A-roads and get home that night, we all fell asleep and he scraped us back North and to our beds..

We don't have digital cameras so you'll have to use your imagination for the visuals..
The Good - The Marvelous Marvelous Scott Smith, Marty, Karhide, Mikee&Emma (and all who helped wi Norwich), TomOne&TomTwo of Galleows, Tom @ The Central, Maths, Crocus & The Temptress.
The Bad - SoundGuy in Notts
The Ugly - Theo after the DeepHeat attack!!