Blog: Ramsgate

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A gentle stroll and a pleasant train journey found me in RAMSGATE on Friday evening, there to play The Derby Arms. Ramgsate, like so many places at the very END of the country, is a funny old place - it looks like they ran out of things to put their, so everything is a bit too spaced apart. I walked down the hill to the PUB where Mr D Lock had asked me to play, to see a poster saying that, tonight, Ramsgate would be added to my list of CONQUESTS!

I said hello to Dan, dropped off my luggage, and then went for a STROLL down into town. It turned out to be a bit further than expected, but once there i CHECKED OUT the harbour and then went down onto the beach - hey, it would have been RUDE not to. It all seemed slightly FADED, like once upon a time people used to GO there, but now the only customers for the arcade machines were locals.

A HIKE up the hill back to the pub, and I was soon enjoying a CHAT with Dan and Pals, which I rather rudely interrupted to do THIS:

The Peterborough All-Saints' Wide Game Team (Group B)

Red & White Sockets

Mental Judo

It Only Works Because You're Here

Clubbing In The Week

Boom Shake The Room

This was my FIRST set, which Dan And Co seemed to quite like, but didn't exactly win over the locals. In one corner were the Pigeon Racers Club (I'd thought they were NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS as they all carried what looked like Geiger Counters, but actually they were Pigeon Timers) who resolutely carried on their meeting, in another corner was a CARD SCHOOL, and in front of me were some REGULARS, many of who DETERMINEDLY refused to even LOOK at me, despite me being a) LOUD and b) about two feet away from me. In my SECOND set on bloke sat within touching distance of ME, reading the paper and refusing to even turn round. AS IS HIS RIGHT!

Being ignored in such a determined way is perhaps more worrying than being GLARED at - I did manage to force a couple of them to smile with a West Ham related Topical NOTE during Boom Shake The Room tho, which felt like a VICTORY, and they were quite friendly when i WASN'T disturbing their Friday Night Outing. Still, after about 40 minutes of BEER and LARFS it was time for me to go back and do THIS:

Hey Hey 16K

The Gay Train

My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once

Never Going Back To Aldi's

Do The Indie Kid

The Lesson Of The Smiths

Easily Impressed

It felt a little bit like I was now going TOO FAR - they'd put up with me the first time, but to go back again was being RUDE - but I actually quite enjoyed myself. As stated, there was a small group who seemed to quite like it, and an even smaller group (aforesaid D Lock) who were singing along, and it was good fun to be doing some of the OUTER REACHES of my setlist. ALSO it's always jolly when people try to ignore you - the FREAKOUT in Do The Indie Kid was the longest I've ever done it solo - so it was all FINE really. It WAS however nice to be able to get back into the BEER and CHAT section of the evening!

I retired tired but happy to kip in - PERHAPS - the very room that Frank Muir was born in (or at least one he'd TODDLED in) and arose early next day REFRESHED and full of SEASIDE AIR. It wasn't the MOST ROCKING performance I've ever done, but it was certainly an ADVENTURE!

posted 29/4/2007 by MJ Hibbett

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