Our barge past

The Grain Barge, Bristol

There are, in general, two types of men at weddings:
1. The sort who prefer to walk around smiling and keeping their waistcoat on.

And 2. The sort who, at the first opportunity, whip off their ties and wrap them around their heads as though reverting - under the seemingly magical influence of continental lager - to some atavistic tribal state.

It's the 2's who dominated at The Grain Barge for Moira and Alec's wedding. And, lets face it, the girls weren't too far behind. Northern Irish, you know.

My brother Ollie (bass & vocals) and I had a small difference of opinion at the start of the night. I was of the determined opinion he shouldn't forget to bring really important things (like microphones) and he was of the opinion I was really annoying and should shut up.

But that was forgotten the moment we started sound checking. That place is a dream. We didn't need to push anything into overdrive, and our PA was crystal. It bloody ought to be for how much we paid for it; but still.

Some surprise hits amongst the crowd. No set list is set in stone, and we were toying with the idea of dropping one called Everybody's Everything by Santana. But the girls loved it. And that's the important thing. The boys always follow the girls, even if they think they don't. That is as sort-of-true on the dance floor as it is in life.

I was toying with the idea of praising Ollie for his singing work on that song, but there was no compliment I could think of he hadn't already given himself.

Great gig.

By the end of the night the dance floor was frantic. People were forming human chains and a bit of Russian dancing broke out during Back In The USSR.

We also unleashed our version of The Clapping Song by Shirley Ellis. And if girls were like puppies for Santana, they were like she-wolves for that. It is such a winner.

I came outside after the second set at about 12 midnight and steam was visibly rising from my head. It was like an Alabama swamp house in there by the time we finished. Some of the guests were staggering out in twos and threes, laughing deciding where to go next, without even the slightest local knowledge.

A New Arrival

Is there anything more exciting than buying a new guitar? Of course there isn’t.
And what are the three most important things about a guitar? Answer: What it looks like, what it looks like, and what it looks like.

This is Owen’s new Epiphone Casino, in Mick Jagger’s favourite colour, cherry red. We’ve added it to our line-up a] because we totally dig it in such a super-huge way and b] because lately, we’ve been doing a few songs in the Motown/Chuck Berry/Beatles mould that a solidbody electric guitar like a Stratocaster, Telecaster, Les Paul, SG and so on just can’t replicate.

The hollow construction of the guitar (there’s not even a centreblock running down the middle, as there is with similar-looking Gibson and Epiphone models like the ES-335 and the Sheraton) makes for a distinctive, hollow, classic tone almost bordering on that of an acoustic’s voice – prone to feedback at high volume, but worth running the gauntlet for.

Plus it’s the same model that Paul McCartney did the solos for Taxman and Drive My Car with, and which John Lennon used for most of his time with The Beatles. And what’s good enough for them is good enough for us.

Looking forward to using it tomorrow... Listen out for the howling feedback from the Bristol Grain Barge!