Back in September, the weekend before I ended up in hospital I went to the Ramsbottom Festival on Saturday the 20th. I went with a really good friend of mine who I'd not seen in ages, and a friend of his. The night before, my sister gave us some fantastic inspiration and we decided to travel up to Ramsbottom on the steam train. It was awesome!! I still have my little clipped train ticket, and I was almost as excited as the boys were about the journey. It turns out that Dibdob had never been on a steam train before - how the heck did he get that old without going on a steam train. More to the point, how did he go on holiday when he was a kid and that was the only available transport?? *runs*
His friend showed us a photo on his phone, of the front page of the Manchester Evening News from years ago, and it was a photo of him as a child with his dad on the platform as the last steam train left (Salford?) Station for the last time. His dad passed a while ago, so it was quite emotional as well, but our excitement was palpable. We were like little kids on the train, bouncing on the fully sprung seats (in a responsible manner, we're not hoodlums y'know!) and asking loads of questions of the other more experienced passengers (aka trainspotters - they're fascinating people when you speak to them!) and the guard. We stayed in Ramsbottom Station for ages after we'd got off, and watched them fill up with water before they set off again. It was great, and I felt like Jenny Agutter when she was in the Railway Children (another film I loved as a child!) The perfect start to what turned into a perfect day.
The weather was beautiful, there was something for everyone, children were having real life fun away from their computer and TV screens, and I even managed to kick most of them out of the way so that I could have my face painted! It was a brilliant temporary tattoo, and I also had a glitter unicorn on my forearm at the same time. "If you're careful with it, that might last about 3-5 days" the artist said... Well, it must have been a magical unicorn, because it stayed with me for a full 2 weeks of my vacation to the funny farm (no offence is intended by this phrase, I'm allowed to say it, I was in there!) and I loved that unicorn!
On my meanderings around the cricket club and field, I'd spotted a few interesting looking characters and made a point of saying hello to all of the people that caught my eye. Some just nodded and carried on walking, and others engaged a bit more. The guy with the tuxedo was one of my favourites of the day, because when he turned around the back of his suit was all cut out - and not only did he have a great sense of humour, he also had a rather nice (if very cold!) bum!
I must also mention a guy called ChrisTandy, who we caught in the club bar as he sang the most beautiful cover of The Whole of the Moon, and I'm not ashamed to say that I cried a bit. Stunning!!
One particular group of people had really caught my eye though, so when I saw them sitting at a table as I walked by, I went over and asked if they'd mind if I took their photo because they all looked so cool. They were more than happy to pose for me, and then they invited me to sit with them and have my photo taken too! They were all so lovely and friendly and we had a fun chat for 15 minutes or so, and the only low points were finding out that Liam wasn't called Johnny after all, and that Arjun doesn't mean "the other one".
It wasn't until the next day that I discovered they weren't just dressed up for the day, they were one of the bands! I felt a bit foolish, but hey, how was I supposed to know?
Fast forward to Tuesday of last week. I'd arranged to meet a couple of friends in Manchester for drinks, but for one reason and another they'd not been able to make it. You might not remember, or even live near here, but it was really cold, windy and rainy on Tuesday night (and it snowed later on) so I decided to go into the pub anyway for a quick one before I went home.
Just as I'd ordered my drink and was feeling quite awkward and wondering where to sit (whilst trying not to think about what anyone else might think of me being there alone!) a door opened, and in walks Arjun!! Now, if you haven't met the band then let me tell you, you're in for a real treat! That first meeting was great, but when he was still so lovely after I'd grabbed him in a big bear hug saying ""Oh wow! I can't believe you're here! It's so good to see you!", quickly followed by "You have no idea who I am, do you?" and his admission that he had no clue... well, he's just lovely.
Once I'd reminded him about the festival, he invited me to sit down and introduced me again to Charly (who's name I have promised never to forget again, but now I keep thinking of Tintin - no, not Tintin himself...)
Captain Haddock!!
Arjun also pointed out that it was Johnny Liam that had served me when I arrived but I'd not realised while I was all preoccupied with worries about being alone! I also met Tom and Paul (I think! My apologies if I've messed the names up in here, just let me know and I'll make any necessary corrections) from Louie Louie, along with their beautiful lead singer Rita. Oh Lovely Rita, I'm so glad you're not a meter maid!
When I met her for the first time, I was left with the impression of a beautiful young lady, full of life, and even more chatty than me - and that's saying something!! Her accent is to die for, and she's a lot of fun. She's small and slight, and in all honesty I expected a sweet little songbird to appear on stage at the Roadhouse. Oh how wrong I was!
When I got the invite telling me the gig was at The Roadhouse, I immediately thought of the Patrick Swayze film (which I haven't seen) and for some reason I then had excited visions of it being something like Coyote Ugly. Luckily I hadn't got too worked up at the prospect of dancing on the bar because I'd have ended up with a really bad back as well as a sore head! It was my first time at an "underground music venue" and now I just feel that I have a lot of catching up to do!
I missed the start of the night, so I'm afraid I cant tell you anything about Frank's Wild Years, but maybe I'll tell you about my own wild years one day... I very nearly also missed the start of Louie Louie's set (too busy smoking and chatting outside!) but I when I stood before the stage and watched them making their final preparations I was looking forward to something a bit different.
Rita is utterly transformed with a guitar in her hand, and let me tell you, that girl is no girl on the stage. She's all woman, and she absolutely smoulders with sex appeal! She was born to be in the limelight, and I genuinely feel privileged to have been there for one of the band's early performances! Her voice is incredible, and the whole band gel together really well. One of the songs has a bit of a drum solo (I didn't get a set list, but hopefully that will be rectified and I'll go into a bit more detail) and Paul did an amazing job of it. I'm afraid I'm a bit confused as to the boys' names at the moment but I'll sort that out as well if needed. I know one of them looks like my friend's son anyway, but I was trying really hard not to be the token oldie so I kept my mouth shut about that one!
Louie Louie are not what I expected, but I was genuinely impressed with their whole gig. Their closing song, Lighthouse, is so fantastic I've had to go and find it so I can put it in here. Listen to Louie Louie's Lighthouse There's another song on the Sound Cloud too, which I personally prefer, but they totally rocked Lighthouse - and the Roadhouse! - when they performed it live. Loved them!! <3
So then there was a break where I had time to chat to more people and smoke some more while the Gorilla Riot boys were getting ready to create their own brand of mayhem, and again, I had no idea what to expect. I'd met Arjun twice at this point, and he's also slight... I don't know why I assume that very slim, almost elfin people might have tiny voices but I clearly need to stop with the assumptions! (Well, there you go, I went to find a suitable pic to insert about assuming nothing and came up with this!)
All in all I had an brilliant night, and their rendition of Dirty to finish was awesome. The whole place was rocking and I had an amazing time, and it appeared that everyone else there had as well!
I'm so grateful to have been invited, and really glad I can give something of myself back in return. I honestly can't wait to see how they progress, because what I've seen so far of both Gorilla Riot and Louie Louie tells me that they're set for huge things.
I may not be a seasoned music critic, but I know a great night when I've enjoyed one!!
When I met her for the first time, I was left with the impression of a beautiful young lady, full of life, and even more chatty than me - and that's saying something!! Her accent is to die for, and she's a lot of fun. She's small and slight, and in all honesty I expected a sweet little songbird to appear on stage at the Roadhouse. Oh how wrong I was!
When I got the invite telling me the gig was at The Roadhouse, I immediately thought of the Patrick Swayze film (which I haven't seen) and for some reason I then had excited visions of it being something like Coyote Ugly. Luckily I hadn't got too worked up at the prospect of dancing on the bar because I'd have ended up with a really bad back as well as a sore head! It was my first time at an "underground music venue" and now I just feel that I have a lot of catching up to do!
I missed the start of the night, so I'm afraid I cant tell you anything about Frank's Wild Years, but maybe I'll tell you about my own wild years one day... I very nearly also missed the start of Louie Louie's set (too busy smoking and chatting outside!) but I when I stood before the stage and watched them making their final preparations I was looking forward to something a bit different.
Rita is utterly transformed with a guitar in her hand, and let me tell you, that girl is no girl on the stage. She's all woman, and she absolutely smoulders with sex appeal! She was born to be in the limelight, and I genuinely feel privileged to have been there for one of the band's early performances! Her voice is incredible, and the whole band gel together really well. One of the songs has a bit of a drum solo (I didn't get a set list, but hopefully that will be rectified and I'll go into a bit more detail) and Paul did an amazing job of it. I'm afraid I'm a bit confused as to the boys' names at the moment but I'll sort that out as well if needed. I know one of them looks like my friend's son anyway, but I was trying really hard not to be the token oldie so I kept my mouth shut about that one!
Louie Louie are not what I expected, but I was genuinely impressed with their whole gig. Their closing song, Lighthouse, is so fantastic I've had to go and find it so I can put it in here. Listen to Louie Louie's Lighthouse There's another song on the Sound Cloud too, which I personally prefer, but they totally rocked Lighthouse - and the Roadhouse! - when they performed it live. Loved them!! <3
So then there was a break where I had time to chat to more people and smoke some more while the Gorilla Riot boys were getting ready to create their own brand of mayhem, and again, I had no idea what to expect. I'd met Arjun twice at this point, and he's also slight... I don't know why I assume that very slim, almost elfin people might have tiny voices but I clearly need to stop with the assumptions! (Well, there you go, I went to find a suitable pic to insert about assuming nothing and came up with this!)
I'm pretty good on the rest, and now I'll be
working harder on the "assume nothing" part!
Now to Gorilla Riot... Oh!! Someone told me while we were chatting outside that I wouldn't believe that voice could come from little Arjun, but I was in no way prepared for this. They are nothing short of fantastic. You might not put them together if you saw all their different styles (Arjun is pretty unique, I have no general umbrella term for him but maybe that's because I'm old. James and Johnny Liam are a bit sexy-grungy, Charly looks and dresses like Captain Haddock, Jordan was in a 3 piece suit) but honestly, they work together perfectly!
I'm not sure whether it's possible to channel someone while they're still alive, but Arjun seemed to be channeling Axl Rose, Joe Cocker and a few other gravel throated legends on Saturday night! The whole set was amazing, from Kerosene Clown right to the gorgeous Morning Sun, and then we were treated to an extra two songs as well! I particularly love Morning Sun; the acoustic version is beautiful, and you'll be able to hear the incredible voice that Arjun manages to hide somewhere about his person without giving any indication it even exists! https://soundcloud.com/gorilla-riot
All in all I had an brilliant night, and their rendition of Dirty to finish was awesome. The whole place was rocking and I had an amazing time, and it appeared that everyone else there had as well!
I'm so grateful to have been invited, and really glad I can give something of myself back in return. I honestly can't wait to see how they progress, because what I've seen so far of both Gorilla Riot and Louie Louie tells me that they're set for huge things.
I may not be a seasoned music critic, but I know a great night when I've enjoyed one!!
Love it and love the pic..💖💖💖💖💖
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