Thursday, January 18, 2024

Falling over and playing the suite...

Playlist
Various  - Party Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Live Suite 2023/24

A day which had been looked forward to for around 10 months...


Up late...


...and, post breakfast, packed and ready to go - with the least amount of gear I've ever used to perform...


Around 9:30, we left Crispycat Towers...


...and drove, accompanied by the playlist created for Lynn and Ross's recent visit, non-stop, arriving at our hotel at Midday...


...too early to check in so, leaving the car, we took a walk around...


It was clear, crisp and cold...



...just the way we like it...


Down by the river, we were opposite the Baltic and the Sage...





...and found the coffee shop which had featured in a recent episode of "Vera"...


...with its views, outside and...


...in...


...and tasty lunchtime fayre...



Indeed, it's real name is not Ground Out but The Hooch and it's related to the old Hoochie Coochie Club in Edinburgh...


Post lunch, a walk up into the town...






The beast was about its business in that Newcastle...


We split up and I ended up at Reflex Records and bought 10 CDs for a frankly amazing £10...

Then, into the Grainger Market for a look around... 



No purchases...

Met up with Anne at Grey's Monument...


...and accompanied her back into the Eldon Centre on a quest for another jersey...


...but it did not pass muster...

A further walk in the cold to the hotel to check in... 



Just after taking this pic, I went flying, due to large patch of ice...

I landed slap bang on the laptop!

Post check in, very pleased and relieved to find said laptop was still functioning despite my inadvertent attempt at destroying it…


However, many of my brand new shrink-wrapped CDs' cases were cracked in the accident, as the beast went down hard...


After a bit of a rest and ensuring no injuries, we walked to The Centurion at Central Station to meet up with tonight's promoter Andy Wood of TQ magazine...

Better chat than this pic suggests ensued, along with a few drinks...


...in good surroundings...



...before Anne, Andy and I walked through the bitter cold evening to The Globe, to get set up...



Opening outfit, Shunyata Improvisation Group were very very quiet indeed and "in the round" - at one point their guitarist was blowing on his guitar as part of the performance...



They were followed by late addition to the bill, Gary Wilkinson, Subphotic having been snowed in on thr Yorkshire Moors and unable to attend...


A fine set from Mr W, with visuals to boot...


And, around 9:30, right on time, I started my 40 minute performance of the suite last played at Fopp in early November (apart from one run through a couple of days ago)...


It certainly was a blast to play TQLive. Wonderful appreciative audience.  Thanks to Andy Wood for all his hard work and to Chris Bartholomew on the sound. As you can see, like Subphotic, my dance troupe didn’t make it through the snow, so I remained seated and soldiered on without them. What did I play? 

This


My merch did well too, covering our hotel expenses - which was nice...

A cold, long walk home was made better by a stop off at the Clayton St Fish shop for a very late tea...


Home in the dark...


...after a top day indeed...


Highlight of the Day : Performing...

Today's New Music:-

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