Music At The Pottery, Farnham
Music At The Pottery, Farnham - Fri 15th December 2023.
We’re rounding down the days of 2023 with a couple of great Christmas gigs to see us through the festive season. First up is an event that we have been trying to play since 2022 (we couldn’t make the dates work then!) It’s called Music At The Pottery, and it takes place (funnily enough!) in the glorious setting of the Farnham Pottery.
Richey arrives to pick me up at the same time as new guitarist Eddie (more about him later!) We load the car and head off. No need for a sat-nav. Although I’ve never actually been to the pottery, I know exactly where it is.
We arrive to find the door locked, a gentle tap on the window and organiser Peter Crutchfield emerges and lets us in via the main door. Doh!
We load in, and as we’re on last tonight, we’re sound-checking first, so we say hello to fellow organiser Jim and soundman Cullan before proceeding to get set up. Ted and Finn arrive not long after (Rusty will just be joining us for the set later), and we run through ‘The One After 909’ with Richey on lead vocals. Plus, we check a couple of intros for a brand new, never-played-live song and a special Christmas song, and we’re done. Eddie helps us clear the stage, and we prepare ourselves for the start of the event.
Richey heads off to get changed, and we find him staring incredulously at one of his Converse Allstar shoes. “What’s up?” I ask. “Ah, I think I’ve got a drawing pin or something stuck in the bottom, but I can’t get it out” he says. “I’ll have some pliers in my box of tricks” I tell him. When I bring them back, he proceeds to pull out what at least must be an inch-long tack!! Eddie and I look at him and are in absolute hysterics. “No wonder that was bothering you”, we laugh.
The place is packed to the rafters tonight. It sold out almost immediately when tickets went on sale. Apparently, they have even over-sold it. There are no seats left empty when the music starts. The acts that are playing all have to stand around at the back.
Peter Crutchfield is up first. He treats us to 5 of his comedy songs, including numbers about yummy mummies and there not being any music allowed in Wetherspoons. He has the audience eating out of his hand and singing along in all the right places. Great stuff.
Next up is Santa & The Elves, a one-off act featuring organisers Peter And Jim (plus soundman Cullan on lead guitar and a bassist). They play 3 Christmas songs, which go down great and have everyone clapping and singing along.
Next up is where it gets really interesting. Geoff Hiscott, Volodymyr and Natalia take to the stage. There’s a keyboard, there’s an accordion, there’s an electric guitar. There’s a lot of stuff. This is different. Volodymyr is the star of the show on the accordion. It doesn’t do a lot for us, though. Sure, the man has talent, but everything else that is going on is just a distraction from the accordion skills themselves. Shame.
Then, we’re up. We wait until the stage is cleared, and we all squeeze into the allotted area. It’s a tight one tonight. This will be fun. Peter duly introduces us, and off we go. We’re rocking and rolling, non-stop dancing around the stage, sitting on people’s laps (okay, that was just me!), playing to the crowd, and generally having the most amazing fun. The applause between songs is deafening. We play ‘Let It Rock’, an original track from our debut album “A Triumph!” live for the first time. We play “Run Rudolph Run” which we haven’t played since last Christmas. We’re buzzing.
Then, all too quickly, it’s over. We’ve had an absolute blast. It seems the crowd have, too. Such a good, fun event. Very well organised. Very well attended. We’re glad we finally got to play Music At The Pottery 😊
Lucky