Theatre Life
Now there’s a view i’ve not seen for a very long time indeed
Well, its a moment i’ve been waiting for for over 18 months now, but I can finally say i’ve been back in a theatre again!
It was somewhat surreal to be honest, certainly a long awaited moment, and one that at times seemed like it’d never return, but return it did, and we came back with a bang! As a result of the pandemic, the Islands in the Stream company haven’t worked together for over a year and a half, so to be performing once more was amazing in of itself, never mind with a house full of people wanting to get that bit closer to normality. The venue itself was Woking’s New Victoria Theatre, a venue I personally hadn’t visited before, which always makes it interesting, and a wonderful room it is too. Grandiose but still rather chic, with its pale blue upholstery and colour scheme, and softly lit auditorium.
Would it be a real gig without a rig photo?!
This was no normal gig though, as we were down a man (Paul Smith that is, who was busy away with Folk-Rocker’s Lindisfarne) so drum duties were in my hands rather than the usual percussion for this show, which only amped up the pressure! But you just do your homework and remember that you’ve been doing this show for nearly 3 years now, so you should be pretty familiar!
Rig wise it was my old favourite, and workhorse kit for the past 3 years, the Natal Cafe Racer, 18x14”, 12x8” & 14x14”, with a 14x5” 1963 Ludwig Acrolite snare. Cymbal wise there’s nothing flash and certainly no surprises, 13” Sabian AA Regular Hats (the earlier set of the 2 I have, a little heavier and with more definition), Zildjian 18” 1960’s Heavy ride cymbal, and 16” and 18” Zildjian Armand Thin crashes. It’s a really simple setup but it really just sounded and worked perfectly for the show. Snareweights and Vic Firth Steve Gadd sticks & brushes are there as usual, and of course the old Protection Racket fleece throne colour for optimum comfort!
Just your average Country shirt n suit jacket combo…
As for the show itself, it ran like clockwork, once we were into it, it was as though we’d never been away from it. The tunes just flowed out and the sound on stage was wonderful too (Credit to Sound tech Nathan for that one!).
Some things never change, and the good ole’ Nashville shirts made a return too (insert dressing room mirror pic here!) and even after 18 months, they still itch like crazy - i’m not complaining though (for once!)
What an audience too, you really forget how a good crowd can raise a show up, and we certainly had that on Sunday. It really felt surreal to be back, but hopefully we’re here to stay now! (no more long hiatuses please!)
But i’ll wrap that up there, don’t forget though, there’s a belting new episode of Groovecast that’s out now in all the usual places (see the dedicated Groovecast page for all the links), talking all things Rhythm Section combos, you’d really be mad to miss it!