London Calling

London. The capital. Occasionally swinging. Full of history, expensive beer, tourists, and tat. And quite a bit different to both Wallsend and Bridlington.

Another share house; a bit more nicely appointed than the last, and the 12-person touring party was doing pretty well managing a dozen different approaches to cooking, eating, sleeping, rising, washing etc.
We played three shows in London; two were fantastic and one was perhaps a little low-key, but an enjoyable experience nonetheless.
Our first gig was at the Fiddler's Elbow in Camden Town. This is a great London venue and has hosted many great acts over the years. We caught the overground and underground out to Chalk Farm (changing at Balham) to get to the gig; an adventure in itself. The venue was empty when we got there but that wasn't surprising as it was barely 5.00. A few of us had friends coming along so by the time we started, the place was pretty busy, with PlanB fans everywhere.

Earlier in the day, our trombonist, Patrick, discovered that he'd left his instrument on the train the previous evening. Luckily for PlanB, long-time friends of the band, Sandra and Big Jim Paterson (Dexys) were able to not only come to the show, but lend Patrick a trombone for the duration of the tour. Brilliant, lovely people...

It turned out that the other three local bands had very few folks come to see them, and we had pulled the bulk of the crowd; not bad seeing as we'd come from the other side of the planet. Thus, we got paid while the others may have missed out. The Fiddler's Elbow is one of those classic venues that you hear about but have no idea how small they are until you get there, a bit like the Hope & Anchor back in the early 1980s.

The gig went well; I sensed that we were hitting our straps. Not bad for the third date of the tour. The punters were into it; we put on a solid show, and most would have liked us to play on. But, we were part of a strict running order, and we had to stop after our allocated set length.
The only slight dampener was that, in order to make our trains home all the way to Waddon, we had to leave immediately after the gig. Even then, it was a bit of a madcap Hard Day's Night-style dash to the station. But we made it, and in some style. We were on a high all the way home, and well into the small hours.

Job done.

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Lazing on a sunny afternoon

In between the planned musical adventures in Wallsend and London, we departed from band activities to spend a couple of days with relatives in the lovely town of Bridlington on the Yorkshire coast.
We were still getting into the overall groove of the tour, and I felt that I was still chasing the game a little in terms of personal organisation, but it was an easygoing time. Walks along the beachfront, local pubs, a bit of shopping here and there, and catching up with family. Donkey rides, a penny a glass...

Bridlington, like most seaside towns, is always a little more cheery when the sun is shining, and I am happy to report that the weather was with us throughout our visit. The place we stayed was lovely; it was our second time there and probably won't be our last. Sue and Terry are great hosts and The Malvern is a fab place to stay.

OK, so that's our mini-break done. Time to get back into rock 'n' roll mode.

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Northern Soul.

After a couple of days spent locked in intensive rehearsals, and also including a characteristically chaotic session on the crazy Mr Scurf's Koast Train FM radio show, PlanB's first performance of the tour took place at The Cluny in Newcastle.

The gig was opened by local hero and Lindisfarne legend, Steve Daggett. Not a bad support act! It was just him and his guitar (with a little bit of harmonica and stompbox), and he was great. We got to chat afterwards and, apart from liking his music a great deal, I was also taken by the pint holder he had attached to his mic stand. He told me where I might get one. He also gave me a copy of his album; I can't wait to listen to it.

The other band was pretty groovy too: The Pat McMahon Trio. Good lads playing good music; a kind of late-sixties electric blues vibe.

Our turn came and we were introduced to the modest crowd by long-time friend and supporter of the band, Mr Scurf.

The gig was a belter. Our first performance of the tour and we pretty much nailed it. The biggest challenge was not clattering into each other on the smallish stage. The punters were into the music, and so were we. Like most good gigs, the time flew. We'd been working towards it all day and it passed by in a flash. Afterwards, we caught up with friends old and new, and had a beer and a chat.
Back at the house, the merriment continued into the small hours.

On Saturday, we were booked to play a 5.30 spot at the Woodhorn Lane Music Festival, at the home of Ashington CFC (Bobby and Jackie Charlton's club). We caught a couple of big cabs to take us there and we arrived around lunchtime. Some of the bands were hella-loud and we wondered how we'd go down with the increasingly inebriated crowd. No problem. We just did our thing and they loved us. Women appeared on stage and started dancing, my tambourine took various excursions through the crowd, and Mr Scurf toasted his way through 'What's On Your Mind?' with north-eastern aplomb. It was lovely chaos. At one point I yelled out "Toon Army!", much to the merriment (and approval) of the audience. Gan crackers, all of us!

A little lad called Callum had befriended me along the way, ever since Peter, Dave and I enjoyed a lunchtime kickabout with a spare ball we found. He wanted something to remember his day so I got all the band to sign a setlist for him. By the end of the show he'd buggered off. Callum, if you are out there, I have a memento for you...

We hung around after our show for a while, once again catching up with folks.

Another good day, and another good show. Definitely worthy of another long celebration back at the house.

www.davidrobinsononline.com

Somewhere between Heaven and Earth

It's been three years since I've been on a plane, so this feels like an almost new experience. I'll soon be back in England, half a world away. Touring with the band, catching up with friends and family, and devouring all that The Old Dart has to offer.

It's a longer trip than usual, and there's so much to pack in. Gigs in Scotland and Wales in addition to England, a mixture of festivals and venues. Walking coast-to-coast along the path of Hadrian's Wall will be something special, and I always treasure my time in Belper. Let's have it.

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So, I joined a band...

I haven't played in a serious band since 1989. My experience throughout the course of that year, as a member of a group that made pretty good music but were ill-matched as people, was enough to kill off any desire I had to do any more work in that kind of environment. Since then, the only time I've been in bands is at the occasional party...
I have played in loads of duos over the years and I have found that to be quite an agreeable pastime, but anything involving more than two, in terms of membership, has been less than palatable.

So, when I was approached last year to join a band as lead singer, I had some thinking to do...

PlanB was formed in the early 80s after Dexys-inspired soul outfit Del Webb Explosion split. The new band enjoyed some good times for a couple of years, playing some decent shows and releasing a few singles, before folding in early 1986. As is common these days, after a short 23-year break, four of the original members thought 2009 would be the right time to get back together and reform the band. Since then, the eight-piece, brass-infused PlanB has enjoyed a few tours of South-East Asia and China, and has also released an album.
It seemed to me that the PlanB job offered me things I wasn't doing enough of as a solo artist: touring, making film clips, recording... Plus, I thought it might be good to play with other people again.

My first rehearsal with the band was 21 July 2015. I've been with the band now for around 10 months and we've rehearsed weekly, just about completed the recording of a new album, made a film clip and started work on another. The biggest news is that we are off for a tour of England in July, comprising five festival performances and a bunch of pub shows. Everything appears to be moving in the right direction, and we all seem to be getting along.

Last week we played at The Governor Hindmarsh, the first show with the current line up, and the first PlanB Adelaide show for more than 30 years. I'm very pleased to report that it went extremely well. Good sound, good-sized crowd, good vibes.

Off we go!

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Laura and her friends...

Gigs have been coming thick and fast for a few years now, but I never take them for granted. You never know when the well will run dry. My motto is, wherever possible, "never say no to a show".
One of my favourite events is the Laura Folk Fair. As mentioned previously, I'd passed through the delightful place a few times on my mountain bike, and always thought it was an attractive place.
This year was my second visit to the Folk Fair, after taking my bow in 2015. It was a similar deal for the 2016 fair: five shows, spread across the weekend.
We decided to make the trip a little more of an adventure by travelling up to Melrose first. Another lovely place. I organised a gig at the Mt Remarkable Hotel, and had a great time entertaining a few of the locals on the Thursday night. It was also nice to do a bit of walking around Mt Remarkable itself the next morning. And enjoy a pub lunch.

We stayed in a big old house in Laura, and had a lovely time wandering around and getting into the spirit of things.
I played shows on both stages, kicking off with a two-hour show on the main stage late morning-early afternoon on Saturday. Given the relatively early hour and the duration, it was a fair effort but I enjoyed the vibe immensely. I caught up with the guys from Dirty Frank, who were up there on the Saturday, and watched The BordererS do their thing. The Saturday night fireworks were a hoot.

I had three shows on the Sunday, so I was pretty much on stage all afternoon. Another decent workload, but that's what I was there for. Folks seemed to dig my originals, which is always a good thing, and most of my sets were built around my songs.
Over the course of the weekend, I sold a few CDs, bought a bottle of commemorative port to put in the music room, and made some new friends.

All up, we had a great few days away. I hope to repeat the adventure, most likely in 2017.

www.davidrobinsononline.com

Nepal Earthquake Benefit

The devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in April 2015 was a tragedy of monumental proportions. Thousands died. Many seemingly-unaffected people from outside of the region wanted to help, and wondered how they could do so. The prevailing wisdom was that while the gesture of providing labour, goods etc was appreciated, what was really needed was money. As much as possible.
What better way for musicians to raise money is there than to play a benefit show?
Adelaide musician Ray Smith wanted to help. Within days of the quake, he had crystallised his vision of bringing local musicians together for a special night at the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel. He organised a slew of like-minded music makers, found tech and support crew prepared to help out, spoke to The Gov and, voila! The gig was on!

It was, truly, a wonderfully heart-warming night. More than a dozen acts took to the stage, presenting short-ish sets over a five-hour period. All kinds of people, playing all kinds of music.
Everyone present - musicians, crew, audience and staff - entered into the spirit of the occasion. It was one of the the most good-natured and  peaceful nights I have experienced in all my years of playing live music and going to gigs.
The evening raised around $5000 to help Nepalese relief efforts, donated via a few charities. Everyone involved provided their services for free, which meant that every cent raised through the door, in raffles etc was donated to the cause.
Sometimes it takes a terrible thing to help me see the good in people.

www.davidrobinsononline.com