Foxwood Steel play Chapel Allerton

 

 

 So Debs, What's the best moment of any gig? Being part of it when it's all going right, when everyone is concentrating on their part and feeling the power of music surrounding you?

 

Tim stands on bricks to look taller. Why!

That's not bad, but if it's followed up by eating curry and taking selfies and debriefing in a sort of Let's have a Coke type of way, it's even better.

 

 

 

 

Two of our number appeared to have been partying till past the early hours, but still dragged what was left of themselves onto the stage at Chapel Allerton Festival. Hey, that rock and roll for you!

 

Bex and Vicky found a book of signs; I thought of some good ones, but they'd be unprintable; got told off by Bex for language!

 

Daisy's stick broke in the middle of a song. [And photographer/random friend who agrees to use my camera] caught the moment. Below is Daisy and Sophie looking really really shocked! Come on girls, it's only a stick.

 

Daisy breaks a stick



 

Next caught on camera is the bit in Lay All Your Love where we all play each other's Cs - and then lose our place in the music! It takes you by surprise first time, and second time, and . . .

 

 

 

Listening to the band in Regent Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were me [Victoria], Bex, Gig, Amy. Tim, Natalie, Sophie, Varshika, Vicky, Holly, Charlotte, Daisy with guest Sparrow: Ashley. We were introduced as having been entertaining people of Leeds for some time now - felt we had finally come home. Natalie got Tim to do most of the drumming. Can't tell if he was demoted off the guitar pans, or promoted onto the kit [think it was the former!]

 

 

 

 

Anyway playing or "debriefing", it was a great day, and a great way to end our summer season. Thanks Chapel Allerton, and James for putting back on this lovely stage after a decade off it. See you all again in 2024! Eek!

Playing each other's Cs in Lay All Your Love and so far the only photo of the drummer with band!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foxwood Steel help Joe and Ben get Older

We had talked about a camping trip just like the old Market Rasen days, when here's one bobs up out of the blue. Joe is reaching one of those milestones this year, which is bad enough for him, but as he in effect my son-in-law, makes it hard for me to try to pull off being 39 anymore! Only joking, that one went years past. And it's Ben's actual birthday today!

 

 

 

I gave Joe a tub of firewood and Ben, stationary. They are camping at Hunters Greave. It's in Leeds, but you wouldn't know it. We take tents and a set of steel pans. We are me, Stewart, Daisy, Fehmina, Bex, Vicky, Natalie, Katie and Sophie. After dark we can't see a thing, so the repertoire gets a whole lot older in the second set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nobody knows where the flash is on my camera, so who knows if all players are in the photos? I don't think they care.

 

 

We play under trees by the campfire. It doesn't rain.

 

 

 

box of wine, camera, ready to party!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the band have to go home - families, marriages, "I'm not camping in this weather!" various reasons. They load the van; I guard the wine. Stewart and I properly party and spend most of Sunday on our respective sofas. Not done that in a while, and not gonna do again for a while.

 

In the morning did the rounds of the tents saying goodbye, and then when Alice needed a plaster George [friend of theirs and our ex-lodger of years back] suddenly whipped out a first aid box. This was too good not to photograph. So I did.

George and the first aid box

Foxwood Steel not Exactly at Leeds Carnival

 Now then Debs, this is us popping up for the second year running at Leeds Carnival. As you can see it was raining, so we brought our matching industrial size gazebo with us - just in case anyone thought we were light-weights only carting old oil-drums around!

 

 

We were me, Bex, Gig, Sarah, Fehmina, Vicky with guest Sparrow, Ash, and two very surprised to be playing Steel Rising: Kirsty and Wanda. Charlotte and Holly appeared eventually - some rugby celebration or other first! And Byron also only came to watch - one and a half hours later!

 

 

 

 We were in Savile Park. Our audience was people walking up to Potternewton Park, pausing to gig about a bit, then on to see the parade start. Then people gathered under the shelter of the trees on Chapeltown Road. A bit too wet to stand near for long, but from this lovely performance area you could hear us for quite a distance. Edward Charles filmed us doing Three Little Birds. Thanks, a nice record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4LBsAiB950

 

A film crew turned up, doing the official Carnival video, liked Abba but asked if we could play something more traditionally Carnival. We gave them We Nah Goin' Home. Hope it doesn't end up on the cutting room floor! Even if we aren't properly invited anymore, it's good to play a carnival art and be part of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One downside was the handprints that we put on the guitar pans during Mandela Week for Barnadoes at the West Indian Centre - well they came off over Charlotte's coat. Soz. And the pans near the sides filled up with water from tune to time. Oh well, all part of a rainy Carnival!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then we had gone
 

Leeds Pan Central play Chapeltown Nursery August 2014

 

From Foxwood Steel we were me, Daisy, Natalie, Sophie; from East Steel - Wanda and Kirsty; from Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows -Ash and Claudia; and from Suzuki cello Society five years ago a somewhat surprised Pippa.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For our gig outside Leeds Arena I had made a little booklet called "Top Tunes for Outside the Arena". We played our way through this alphabetically, missing out the ones that neither me, Natalie or Ash could play the tune for.

 

 

 

Then we went back and had a go a go at them all. What a hoot!

 

 

 

 

band with tea urn and Swiss roll 

 

 

Rain was constantly imminent, so Chapeltown Nursery brought in the event from off the field and back into the lovely secure garden, with equally lovely stage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

parading
 

 

 

 

 

But loveliest of all: we were greeted with an urn of tea, 9 mugs and Swiss roll - fuel for good playing, I'd say! We rocked our way through the next nearly two hours while the Littlies paraded. And got a lovely thank you card. That's the way to do it!

Foxwood Steel play Majestic Hotel Harrogate

 So we re-arranged a few pans in the Transit and headed up the Harrogate Road for the vintage car-owners' dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

In the Majestic carpark there were Morgans galore [the car, not my son]. We set up in the alcove of the bar. This turned out to have a bizarre amplifying effect on the pans and kit that were actually within the alcove and its low ceiling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were me, Katie, Fehmina, Bex, Tim, Daisy, Sophie, Vicky, Charlotte with Holly guesting.

 

We wrote a setlish and put it on an easel and, as we neared the end of our set we asked Jan and the guests to choose which tunes they wanted. We have also slightly rearranged our version of Mozart Symphony Number 40 which threw some of our number into disarray! But it will work.

 

In aforementioned alcove we struggled to get the dynamics right for a while, but I guess we just being perfectionists, and we went down fine.

 

Went home, unloaded in the dark then went down the Brudenell for a "debrief" ie a pint.