This is how it was...
07/06/01 : Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge near York
What a superb place! This is a gig in the middle of nowhere. Drinking until 6am until falling into our tents.
We get out of Leeds in good time for this
one and after travelling miles and miles and making at least one
unforseen stop (running out of petrol!), we finally get to the
Lion Inn. It is possibly the remotest pub I have ever seen - right
in the middle of the North York Moors.
From the outset, the staff are ace. We are fed both an evening
meal and breakfast. There is free beer. Oh dear me. That means
messy.
Their music room is fairly small. No stage and the PA is a small vocal-only affair. After The Scooters get themselves sorted, we sound check and then pitch our tents. Yep, it is a night out - on the moors - in our tents - bit windy - cold fingers.
We are on within minutes of being outside in the wind, so fingers take some time to get warm again, and this shows - the second half of the set is way better than the first. Room is fairly empty but keen. 'Single Room' is turning in to a monster song. 'Allow Me' is still a great ending. Si changes the intro slightly - 'I love the way you bleet, my sweet'. Genius? Erm...
So we do our thang, and then make way for the Scooters. They are from Cardiff. Totally excellent band. Great songs, 3 part harmonies galore, backed up with harder guitars. What more could you want? Totally enjoyable.
Then the chaos ensues. Rarely do we get the chance to sit and relax for a few hours together so everyone is up for it. The boooozze flows, as does the bullshit. Most go literally until dawn. The last pints were pulled at 6am. Those left fall out the pub - chase some sheep around then finally fall into their tents.
This was one of the funnest evenings I have had for a long time. The set was okay to good - nothing outstanding - but the evening as a whole was SUPERB. The venue, in particular, is really into music and knows how to treat bands well. We want to come back....to live...can we?can we?can we? Thanks Paul - you are a star!
Jason
Fuzzy fun
PREVIOUS REVIEW REVIEWS INDEX NEXT REVIEW
