Blog Gigs Facts Music Shop Links
home >  blog :  current /  archive /  RSS Feed

Blog: Total Hero Team In Croydon

< previous next >
I headed out through wind and rain to distant CROYDON after work last night, to kick off an evening of ACTION by appearing on Mr Tim Eveleigh's show on Croydon Radio. We had an hour of YAKKING and also some songs, it was all rather DELIGHTFUL.

We popped round the corner to The Green Dragon to find Mr S Hewitt waiting for us, for LO! We were due to perform Total Hero Team that very evening - we ALWAYS do a preview at The Green Dragon, it is a lovely place to go to and the beer is ACE!

We were all sat about with many OF the delightful people of that pub having our tea, when Young Sam, Son Of Esther The Landlady, suddenly got all excited, pointing, saying, "Look at all those people!" I pretended to be DEAD COOL, not looking round for ages, but when I DID look round I saw... a huge party of about 40 Chinese Tourists filling up half the upstairs room of the pub. Nobody seemed entirely sure WHAT was going on - it was like a WEIRD ECHO of the end of the show. Was it going to turn out that (SPOILERS) I too had been found by a Travel Agent, with hundreds of fans also wanting to sample fine local ales? Only time would tell!

We were preceded by RuM, who'd played with us LAST time we did a preview. They were GRATE, like proper FREE JAZZ but with POEMS. Now, I know that sounds like it would be AWFUL, but it was actually exciting, FUNNY, and just dead good. There was a small group of the Chinese Tourists who came and sat near the stage, taking photographs. I do hope that when they get home they tell people that this was an ENTIRELY TYPICAL British Pub Performance!

And then we went on, and we did it PRETTY WELL I think. There were still lots of NERVES, ERRORS, and lengthy costume changes, but being in front of an audience (even one where about 70% of the room is busy toasting and taking photographs of each other) is EMPOWERING and we... er... POWERED through. It's STILL too long and, though I'm sure it'll get quicker when we feel a bit more confident, there do still need to be some CUTS. I have my eye on I Dream Of Superheroes at the moment, though A Little Bit Excited shouldn't get too comfortable.

The HUGE CROWD left JUST before the bit about huge crowds ARRIVING, which was slightly odd, and somehow seemed to take a little bit of the ENERGY of the show... although that may also be because we're not yet quite MATCH FIT, and an HOUR of leaping about can take it out of one!

All in all though it seemed to work OK. One more practice to go and then we head to LEICESTER, and thence to THE ROAD!

posted 30/1/2013 by MJ Hibbett

< previous next >


Comments:

I Dream of Superheroes spells out character motivation, so helps drive the story. A Little Bit Excited, from what I remember, doesn't move the story forward particularly - if you need a cut, I'd suggest that one.
posted 30/1/2013 by John

Here it is: http://youtu.be/NAIeKjvagfI
posted 30/1/2013 by Tim

A surreal night all round; loved it!
posted 30/1/2013 by Matt

Watched it on YouTube last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great stuff Mark. Good luck on the road.
posted 31/1/2013 by Adrian Taylor

Your Comment:
Your Name:
SPAMBOT FILTER: an animal that says 'oink' (3)

(e.g. for an animal that says 'cluck' type 'hen')

Twitter /  Bandcamp /  Facebook /  YouTube
Click here to visit the Artists Against Success website An Artists Against Success Presentation