The Negotiators played the Rosewater Footy Club last night. It was a great gig. We debuted about 10 songs and the new lighting set up, playing four strong sets to a loud and woolly crowd. There were numerous highlights, of which I'll try and record a few here. Of course, you had to be there.The day started with Steve and I moving the bulk of the gear in during the final quarter of the footy game, with a little help from a big bloke called 'Brains' who's known Steve over the years. There was a moment of almost horror when the mixing desk fell with a crash to the (carpeted floor). Luck it landed flat, it survived. All credit to Steve for not freaking out.
We were all ready to rock at 7:30. Might have been 3 dozen people there, the bulk of whom were vocally watching Port Power on the big TV. And they were very vocal Port supporters - is there any other kind? I could see maybe a dozen people at the bar, and they seemed to have a neutral/sceptical air about them. I knew High Voltage had played here last, and thought that maybe they were wondering if we were up to it. My thought was that we had to win them over. The cool thing, I saw it as a challenge rather than a chore. Thus, the importance of mindset (found out later that High Voltage had been too loud and brash and had driven a lot of the audience away).
First set was good. The crowd grew, we lost none, and more and more were giving us some of their attention for more of the time (despite their beloved Port hanging on in a close game). We played 'Money' as a soundcheck 10 min before we started, and then again for the fifth song. No problems, great song. The set was a lot more rock oriented than our first set usually is, starting with 'Stuck in the Middle' and ending with 'Ring of Fire'. Had a couple waltzing to this last, and a guy at the bar creeping around and lighting up peoples' shoelaces and trousers. Pretty funny really - especially when at least one of his targets couldn't realise why all his mates were pissing themselves laughing.
Second and third sets were rippers. Second set started with 'House of the Rising Sun'. Co-incidentally, the recorded music we'd played between sets had included this song just before we started (Animals' version - the most famous).Some nights, this would be a reason for a last minute song change. Not at Rosewater!
We proceeded to play the song probably as well as we ever have. It's a powerful song in any event, and we love it. I didn't look at the audience (unusual for me), I was so carried away with what I was doing. It wasn't long and there was that 'magic' when you know you've got the mojo happening, and it didn't go away.
Other highlights of second set included a 'boppy' version of our song, 'Internet Blues', which grabbed the attention of the young ones at the back who came just to check out the band. A mighty version of 'Paint it Black' - very solid sound. This set ended with 'Le Grange' (ZZ Top), which somehow worked its way out in a massive improvisatory lead in a manner true to the original. Steve has come a long way.
Third set was pretty groovy, starting with classic rock'n'roll (Credence, Beatles, Kiss), travelling through some old and simple songs ('Shout' and '500 Miles'), ending with Living End, Greenday and, finally, 'Hey Jude'. Wow. We had them rocking, and probably 60 people in the room. Port won their footy game when we had maybe a dozen people dancing, the next song was the Kiss classic 'Rock n Roll all Nite'. People were boogying and singing along everywhere. Couldn't have timed it better if we'd tried! Had a big footballer called Barry sing 'Prisoner of society' with Nancy. He did good. Hey Jude was a crashing crescendo. Intensely satisfying.
Final Set started with some Dylan, followed by 'The Wall' (we join Parts I, II and III, which appeals to Pink Floyd fans). The dancers stayed up right until the second last song ('Bobby McGee' - where Nancy shows she really can sing like Janis Joplin). The official 'end of the night' song was our own 'Fucked Decisions'. We lost the dancers, but had the listening attention of our working class audience (for a final song, pretty good).
For encores we played Little Aeroplane (when again we had a wanna be punk rock footy player up and singing full on - did good) and Smoke on the Water. We were already getting looks from the manager, having gone over time by nearly 20 minutes - so we couldn't keep playing (which is what the audience were after in a big way). Still around forty there. Management were pretty chuffed about that!
We were all packed up and out of there about three quarters of an hour later, with smiles on our faces and happy memories in our hearts. Well done, all!
A very special thankyou to our friend Sharon who's started doing the mixing for us. It's a bit of work to do it well, and she seems to be getting something out of it. As her ear and technical facility develops, this will add a bit of sweetness to the show. Looking forward to it. And thanks, Sharon. For some further commentary about the 'inner' side of the night, click here or check the post above.
We're next playing at the Cumberland (always have good gigs there) on the Sunday, August 20th, and then at the Squatter's Arms on Friday 25th August.
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