|
Firefest VI 2009
Pete Jupp
Here we go again, it's Firefest VI.
As usual when we signed up for FF, it seemed so far
away. We had plenty of time to get it all together
didn't we? As is usually the case life has a way of
getting in the way of all the most carefully laid
plans. We'd been busy recording tracks for the new
album, in amongst all the other day to day stuff one has
to do, it was mid-August and for one reason or another
it became apparent that releasing the album this year
wasn't going to be in our best interests. We felt we
had to have something out there to coincide with FF if
not just to prove that we weren't a bunch of lazy old
codgers. So plans were hatched for the Wildside EP to
take priority. We had recorded Jim's debut with us at
Winstanley College so we could use some songs from that,
but we wanted some studio tracks as well.
Now getting the five of us together all at the same time
is never very straight forward and time was marching
on. During September, while doing the EP, we were also
trying to get rehearsal time booked and only actually
managed one day. Even that was without Jim!!!! With
emails flying around detailing everyone’s available
dates we managed to secure 8 days in October for our FF
rehearsals. I remember being really concerned at the
very
meagre
rehearsal time we had booked, but after our first day my
fears were gone. The band was sounding good, okay not
gig ready but it was a fantastic first day.
Second day we ran the set to time it. Ah, a teensy
weensy problem occurred. At FF we had one hour twenty
minutes max and this run through was over one hour forty
minutes. We had to lose 3-4 songs.
We had taken a lot of notice of postings on the forum
about what people wanted to hear us play but due to time
constraints we had no choice, some people would
unfortunately be
disappointed.
Due to Papa Joes (our normal rehearsal room) shutting
down we kind of went on a mini-tour of rehearsal rooms
around the country. We started at
Hanwell
Town FC which is near me in
Ealing,
then off to Kings Langley which is near Craig from
Romeo's Daughter. We finished off up in Crewe at The M
Club which is near Steve and Jim, and also where we shot
the Wildside video. On the Thursday in Crewe the
talented Mr
Critchley
had
organised
for some students to travel from Wigan to see the
rehearsal. It's always good having some faces at your
later rehearsals as it gets the nerves jangling a tad
and makes it more of a gig situation. Friday, the day
before FF, we had one last run-through packed the gear
away and hit the highway, well the A500, towards
Nottingham.
I arrived at the hotel around 8.30pm had me a shower and
went to bed.....
Now if you believe that you don't know me very well at
all, because in between the shower and bed bit there was
a quick - blink and you'd miss it - excursion to the
hotel bar. Obviously just to check that the other guys
had arrived safely and to sign the Vintage & Rare CDs.
I met Andy Wells, drummer with Romeos, and to be
sociable I had a beer with him. I met Doddy and was
sociable, then John Oz arrived, mmm better be sociable.
Richard our soundman entered and then Lidia - it was all
very sociable... So much so that we went
across
the road to a pub full of people I've never met and
within minutes a very sociable situation was in full
swing. Around 1am feeling terribly sociable I headed
back to the hotel and climbed into my pit.
I woke around 8.00am feeling surprisingly chipper. I
was sharing with Richard, and with morning ablutions out
of the way we headed off to the multi-storey car park to
get our respective vehicles just after 9.00. Thankfully
due to the wonders of Sat Nav my journey to Rock City
was a lot quicker than the previous FF where I'd spent
around half an hour to do the one mile journey, thanks
to Nottingham’s one way systems all going the opposite
way to where I wanted to go. When we arrived the
backline was just going in but wouldn't be ready for
half an hour or so, so Richard and I headed into town
and found a Starbucks and indulged ourselves in coffee
and cake. Breakfast over, we hauled our
caffeine-invigorated bodies back to Rock City and
prepared for soundcheck. Festival situations are always
very chaotic, and that's putting it mildly, but at least
it was well
organised
chaos and soundcheck went very smoothly.
I checked into The Welbeck Hotel, which is directly next
to Rock City, as this was where I was staying after the
show. Unpacked a few bits and decided to have a wander
about Nottingham. I met Steve and Jim in the lobby, we
decided to go have some lunch and headed into the city.
At the previous Firefest Steve and I went to TGI's at
this time, so we thought why break with tradition, seems
like a plan. One slight problem occurred when we
couldn't find it so we ended up in a Mexican Restaurant
which actually turned out to be pretty much directly
above TGI's, blind fools that we are. Stuffed full of
Mexican nosebag we went back to the hotel.
I wanted to watch Romeo's Daughter so I made my way over
to the gig and they'd just started. Result. I
positioned myself behind the mixing desk and boy did
they sound good, it was like they'd never been away and
what a great reception from the crowd. I had to leave
just before the end of their set to get ready for our
meet & greet which I was looking forward to immensely.
The meet & greet room had been done out in spectacular
fashion by Dave T and his wife Tiff - it looked
brilliant, top marks guys. Soon we were in the thick of
it, meeting people from all over the UK, Europe,
everywhere. One guy had travelled all the way from
Australia, wow! The meet and greet took us up to about
7.00pm and with the nerves starting to jangle I made my
way back to the hotel to get ready for the show.
I got to the gig dressing room about 8.30pm, stomach
tightening more as each minute passed. Showtime was
9.15pm. Honeymoon Suite finished their set so I made my
way to the stage to do all the last minute checks on the
kit. It's fairly fraught and I'll be the first to admit
I'm a bit of a nightmare to be around at this time. The
crew, bless them, know me and keep out the way. Sorry
again guys, it's just the nerves that turn me into a tw*t.
That's twit spelt with a capital "A".
House lights go down, I hear the crowd cheer, intro tape
starts, with stomach in knots I get up behind the kit
and look out on a sea of smiling faces. The intro to
Wildside kicks in, uh-oh Merv's bass gear isn't
working. Luckily we'd planned on a long intro and just
in the nick of time it springs into life. Poor old
Merv, just what you don't need. Bang! We're off and
into it, the crowd are going mental, I see Jim, Jem and
Merv grinning away. Steve enters the fray, hopefully
with shirt buttons securely fastened. It's sounding
good where I'm sat, bring it on again! Wildside
finishes and it's tough to know who is more ecstatic,
the crowd or the five grinning loons known collectively
as FM. Steve starts Face to Face, the roar from the
crowd is deafening and when they start singing the verse
I'm at the back, tears of unadulterated joy/pure emotion
welling up in the old Jupp mincers. Jim is looking
assured, like he's been in the band forever, Merv and
Jem still grinning, all playing a blinder and with Steve
singing as only he can we shift into overdrive. We get
to Hard Day in Hell and we welcome young Chris Dyer to
the stage for some sexy saxaphoning. It goes down a
storm. We finish the set with Grapevine and after a
quick rub down it's back for Frozen Heart and Bad Luck.
At the end of Bad Luck we are joined on stage by Kieran
and a host of other Firefest reprobates all dressed as
FM members for a rousing version of Purple Rain. Dave
Ling takes the biscuit dressed in the most outlandish -
and I must add unnervingly tight especially around the
old family jewels - pink suit, copyrighted by Merv the
Swerve circa mid 80s, and not forgetting the boys from
White Sister. We take our bow on yet another
unforgettable night.
Thanks to everyone involved with putting it all
together, and of course to all the loyal fans who part
with their hard-earned cash and turn up to make Firefest
the "happening" that it is. I've said it before and
I'll say it again now, God bless each and every one of
you. xxx
Juppy
FOOTNOTE: We eventually got the EP to the manufacturers
on the final, final deadline day for it to be ready for
the gig. Nothing like cutting things fine, but that's
pretty much an everyday occurrence in FM land as you are
well aware. |
