Travels With The Corrds

03 April 2005
16:35:00 o'clock BST

     

   

  

   

         

  

   

   

     

   

     

It was strangely foggy weather as we travelled up to Scotland for a two-night stint. We had planned to stop for some food at a pub somewhere along the way but somehow didn’t quite manage it, and when we did decide to pull in to investigate a place for food, it turned out to be a load of arty-farty stuff, and rather expensive to boot – we only wanted a pub lunch – so we moved on pretty quick.

 

When we got to Chicago Rock in Aberdeen, we set up and soundchecked, and then went for some food in the restaurant there (where we were a little disappointed with the chicken wings, but at least they weren’t stingy portions, and the food ended up being free anyway). We were all really hungry and practically cleaned plates, however.

 

After food we sat down for a bit, but it was a little on the cold side so, after Sadie and I discovered a nice looking Irish Pub on our way back from a mini-mission to the van, we all decided to change scenery and went to the pub.

 

In the pub we found a one-man acoustic gig in the form of a down to earth bloke called Paul, who seemed appreciative of having an audience to play to (us – the pub was small, and a bit quiet). After a bit of banter between us all, and requests being asked for and received, for some reason Paul asked me if I played guitar (why me I have no idea – possibly because I had been wielding a camera with flash from the moment we walked in)… needless to say, the rest of our group pushed me into doing a song, and the lady behind the bar insisted I do another one after that, which was an interesting and unexpected twist to the evening.

 

As I was playing my last song, two more people walked into the bar – a tall dude, and a not-so-tall dude wearing a cowboy hat. After I rejoined our group at the table, and a last song was played by Paul, a voice boomed over from the bar: “Andrea!”… at which we all turned around in the direction of the speaker, who turned out to be the dude in the hat.

He had been directing the name at me, spotting the familiar dark haircut, but of course our Andrea responded to hearing her name, too, stating the strangeness of hearing it and knowing it was directed at me.

As it happened, the two dudes at the bar – who later became known to us as Tony and Bill – were part of a Blues Brothers Tribute act, who remembered us from a showcase we played a couple of years ago which they had also been a part of.

 

Soon enough we were all (Corrds, Blues Bros, and Acoustic Paul) sitting around one table over a few drinks and conversation about music and that made a very nice change to the normal run of a Chicago Rock gig. The Blues Bros, we discovered, were in town to promote a gig there in a month’s time, and had called into Chicago Rock to see who would be playing there that night. On discovering it would be a Corrs Tribute, they asked if it was our band (the ones from Liverpool) and on having that confirmed they had decided to go to our gig that night. Little did they know that we would also be sitting in the pub they went to, straight from there!

 

After a while it was time for us to get back to Chicago Rock and retire to the dressing room (storage room behind stage) to get all the make up on and get dressed (damn, it was cold…). I was positively drooling when I discovered a jumbo size Louisiana Sauce, and we were all chuckling when Dave and Derek found a Scots hat & wig.

 

The gig was fantastic, again, although we did have a couple of cock-ups on stage – it was all funny. Nice to some people we knew in the audience, too, especially as we were so far from home and had never played at this Chicago’s before.

The audience were great and everyone had a fab time (even those who were removed from the stage by doormen!) – the Scottish folk are always up for a party.

 

After the set we came out for a few drinks with the Blues Bros, as we had a hotel booked nearby so there was no pressure for us to get on the road as soon as possible, as there normally is.

We were also being given free drinks by the nice Manager, there, which made things all the more pleasant. The only downside was a couple of people who were a bit over the top with the affection – verging on the point of lecherousness – one of whom was swiftly and straightforwardly dispatched by our very own Blues Bro Bill. Also I had a little chuckle as a bloke approached us and insisted on offering us 3 gigs on the run, at 3 different venues, wanting us to play for FOUR hours each night with ONE half hour break a night – and at about a quarter of our normal fee… Being a bit drunk, he couldn’t quite understand why I wasn’t desperate for us to accept his offer, and eventually – when I did manage to explain it – he went away thinking we are about the same price as Britney Spears…. I’d like to see the real Britney Spears in Chicago Rock!

 

After the venue closed we all stuck around for a last drink with the nice Manager and our new mates, the Blues Bros, and then everyone parted ways (although I saw our ‘Elwood’ Blues at the Cavern on the following Saturday as it turns out we have a lot of mutual buddies).

 

Back at the Travelodge, Andrea danced around the hotel room for a while and then fell soundly asleep as soon as she hit the pillow, Sadie and I had a natter before Sadie turned in too, and then I sat up until around 5.30 writing the past few entries covering the Easter Weekend, and transferring all these lovely pictures.

 

A great night all round, nice people, a few laughs and some drinks, and then a comfy Travelodge to round it all off. Great!

PS. This is just a little thing I found on the Cavern Beatles blog site, which Ric kindly gave me permission to use. Kept me chuckling for about 10 minutes when I found it... just keeps getting funnier and funnier the more ye look at it! Will find another home for it soon.

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