This all began in March when I called together a meeting to discuss what we were to do for the major community events of the summer. Two were obvious; football tournament and the accompanying gig. This year though I had decided I wanted to see two other events; a Teddy Bears Picnic and an End Of Summer Bash.
We planned for an event each month of the summer. Football in June (with gig as near a possible). Picnic July. Final bash in August with all falling around the 20th of each month.
The football, as always, was a success as it has become one of the most talked about events in the original music scene calendar. The turn-out was excellent and a good competition ensued with a team that had been battling for many years finally came out victorious. The picnic was good fun, despite the small turnout (maybe 20 people through the day) and saw many teddy bears enjoying themselves.
The End Of Year Bash was an entirely different affair to what I expected. In the initial meeting I had hoped that the various promoters would work together to create a unified and unstoppable promotion team with myself playing a very minimal role. At the time the two 'major' promoters who were there agreed. All looked set for an awesome gig, but the following week an arranged meeting with a potential venue saw only two people show up. Me and Raven Gabbs. As time went on, despite my attempts at rekindling an enthusiasm, the other promoter had no interest in the gig whatsoever. So be it, Gabbs and I would plough on regardless.
Gabbs was fantastic. She found the venue which she had once used for a couple of gigs and hammered the owners down to an unprecedented price. She arranged a PA for free (more of that to come), discussed bands and was a fantastic at promo advice (I'm not a promoter and I never wanted to be). We'd discussed the charity, my concern was that it was local after seeing the reaction to previous charity gigs by large faceless charities. We went for Thanet Mind as the work that they do struck a chord. They help anyone with difficulties, especially those of us who hit mental problems. Anyone of us could have a nervous breakdown and these guys would be there to help.
Before long August was upon us. We already had flyers my girlfriend Rebeka had designed which were left round music shops in Thanet. Both me and Gabbs had contacted the local papers several times with info about the gig which they told us they were really interested in and were sure to do a piece on it, but despite the repeated contact they failed to do anything in the Thanet Times and only a small piece with wrong information in the Gazette. We knew that the gig was on the Sunday after Broadstairs Folkweek finished on the friday so we hammered Folkweek revellers hard with flyers until realising the town was exhausted when people refused them after receiving them several times.
With a week to go we were dealt our first and probably most serious blow. The PA provider pulled out and we were stunned. He was doing the PA for free due to his own personal affiliation with the charity. We later discovered that he was aware for several weeks before that he wasn't going to do it personally but was going to get one of his team to do it. Unfortunately they hadn't been given all the information, i.e. daytime seven bands. They wouldn't do it. I sent out a myspace bulletin and people rallied. We were offered various 500w rigs, but frankly that wouldn't do. The saving grace came when plan9 Mark sent me a message with all his PA dudes numbers, for which I am eternally grateful. Though none of them were available to help, some gave me the number of another they knew which me down a train of numbers and people until I eventually spoke to a man named Luke from Dover who would do it. Luke normally charges in excess of £220 a gig (!!!.. fear), but as this was for charity he would do us a reduced rate. Being charged for both PA and the venue we knew it had to be a success or I was going to pay to watch seven local bands... I like them all, but this may end up being the most expensive gig I ever went to.
Shortly after the success of getting the PA the Sigmund Freuds said they couldn't do it. Then on the Thursday before I saw Black Primra, one of the first acts acts I booked, who also said he couldn't do it. As Mark said in his message; 'it's no fun sorting out gigs is it?'. At this point I agreed. If you are thinking about becoming promoter, think longer and harder, it's not for the faint hearted. For us, one band pulling out was fine, perhaps the original plan of eight was a bit ambitious anyway. But for another to pull out it wasn't going to be a festival, it was just going to be another gig. I tried hard to contact Martin of Elena City fame to see if they could do it, but it was too late. He suggested his friend Demon Cabbage who did electronica. Seeing as Black Primra was also an electronica act and it was the day before, we decided to go for it.
It was a tough line-up of bands to collate. Electronica, post-rock, hardcore, gentle classical with soaring vocals and a trio of metal. What order do you put them in without alienating any one genre preference. We decided to weave the metal through the day rather than the original idea of grouping it together. To be honest, you know your not going to make everyone in the bands happy, so I tried my best to make the audience happy.
The day started at noon with just a few of us turning up with Luke the PA dude. Yes, he was a dude. Luke was one of the nicest people I've met and it was an absolute pleasure to work with him from beginning to end. Though he may not be the cheapest, he was fantastic and I recommend him wholeheartedly. Not the slightest bit of bad attitude, even when one of his mics got smashed by a drummer in sound check. Best of all, he really seemed to enjoy it. Infact, all the bands and everyone else involved were good to work with. The comic book guys arrived and set-up with little assitance needed from me. The bands all shared equipment where they could and seemed to support each other pretty well. Despite being the promoter, everyone else was so good in setup there was little I needed to do. With all the heart and soul that had gone into the run-up, it was over to these guys now to make the day. All I had to do was sit anxiously hoping that people would come.
At just before three the doors opened. That's right, we had to open early as we had people waiting to get in. There was the funniest little box office we had to sit in with a little till. It was kinda like playing shop... for a while. And they just kept on coming.
Every band had a half hour each on stage with twenty minutes setup between. The first act graces the stage of the Westgate Pavilion & Theatre at 4pm. A young lad steps up with nothing more than a Playstation Portable and a bottle of beer. He plugs it in and we're off. Demon Cabbage, our last minute replacement, stuns everyone with some of the most intense gabba style electronica we're to hear all day. Shocked faces all round as the music he's producing is actually pretty damn good, especially considering his equipment is something more commonly used to pass time on a long bus journey. Its not to everyone's tastes though as was clear during the breaks between songs, which elicited an atmosphere of silence with pockets of enthusiastic applause. It was certainly not middle of the road by any stretch of the imagination. Two 'songs' passed and he paused and spoke into the microphone, hold on a moment, I've just got to create some more sounds, immediate laughter erupted around the hall. The moment passed and he ploughed on with his newly created sounds. It was difficult to keep this fresh for half an hour and the Demon Cabbage recognised this. He bowed out at just over twenty minutes saying could you stick some music on or something. I spoke to him afterwards to express my appreciation. Apparently he'd only had the thing less than a week. Considering this, I hope to see much more of him in the future with further developments on the theme.
Music selection between the acts on stage was done by other local musicians with the most notable protagonists being Quincy M.E. and members of the Sigmund Freuds and Elena City.
In perhaps one of the greatest contrasts of the day, the next man on stage was Luke Twyman AKA Neverest Music. Luke plays a classical guitar and sings with a haunting voice. The music created is both beautiful and melancholy and probably one of my personal favourites. During this time trustees from Thanet Mind visited the show. At this point we still had concerns as to whether we were going to make any money for them, but they were just happy that we were raising awareness of their cause. With leaflets on every table, they were getting an exposure to an audience that they would never have got otherwise. As also were the comic book dudes who were also raising awareness of a new practice space.
The show roles on. Quincey is asked to pick up the pace for the next act, local metal junkies Sentinel. Though Sentinel have been around some time, little has been seen of them on the gigging circuit. They have recently recorded an extended EP and do much of their promoting through myspace (its even on the back of their t-shirts), so this was a good gig for them to play out on. As an added bonus they had a boy in a monkey suit pushing their merch. Unfortunately they were somewhat beset by problems through the day with the worst of all breaking a string mid-set. Still, they really kicked off the rockier part of the day. Its good stuff and by now, the hall is filling nicely. There is a quite confidence that we should at least have covered costs.
Most of us know and many of us love Black Static Transmission. This one man display of what post-rock should be has been a local favourite for some time now, but he's not so sure he's happy. Like he said before he went on stage, he's at a crossroads, but he did promise us something special for this gig. What came next was not what anyone expected. He started his machines playing a simple beat and left the stage. When he returned it was in the bizarrest of pink ski suits, a trilby and Groucho Marx glasses and moustache combo. He activated his machinery and broke into a mental jungle set with himself as the MC. This was unlike any Black Static set before. Gee danced like a man possessed and the reactions were of shock and awe. Carnivores drummer Ed questioned whether Gee could keep this inspired act fresh, a fair question considering the first act started to wane over time. Gee is a seasoned performer though (and was probably a bit knackered from the high-octane dancing) and so dropped into something more akin to his usual act. Gee kept his promise, this Black Static set was something special.
Our next metal act was Devicate. These are new kids on the block coming out of the ever productive Chatham House school of rock. I'll admit, I don't know metal very well but I appreciated their professionalism, especially for such a young age. I also appreciated their enthusiasm. I knew that they were previously a covers band, which is understandable while they are still young, but they had been writing their own music which they played out here. It was a good set and they really managed to perk up the metal audience that had gathered at the venue and were a very popular act. If I were to do another gig like this, I would probably ask them back.
By this point, we know that every person through the door is making money for charity. The venue was doing so well in beer sales (they had to go out and buy more beer) that they'd asked for a minimal amount of money. All our concerns were dissipated and we knew we were really going to be able to really help a small local charity.
Devicate finished a little early which meant that the next band, Demonbreed, had the chance to play a slightly longer set. This is ideal for these guys as they are an unstoppable force. Demonbreed have been building on the metal scene for some time now and take themselves pretty seriously so it was great to have them play for free at a charity gig and was also great to see them let their hair down. They face-painted themselves up and really went for it on stage. The crowd fed off this and really went for it in the pit. That was one of the great things about this gig, that there was the opportunity to have a mosh pit without it being broken up. Demonbreed inadvertently provided one of the funniest moments of the night that has kept me chuckling every since. A delivery guy arrives but by now the venue is packed. The singer is informed and there is the announcement... there's a fucking pizza for Helen. This captured so much of the sentiment for the day, this is what gigs are supposed to be about, having a laugh and enjoying good music.
We Are Carnivores are one of my personal favourites. They are still a relatively new act that I have watched develop in quality through the year. From slightly shaky Death Disco first outing to a much improved Qubar gig and finally to the well developed performance we enjoyed here. They didn't have the same kind of pit as Demonbreed, but they are a different type of animal. Their music, for all its hardcore aggression, is uplifting and really makes your legs shake and your mouth twitch into a smile. You could see the scenesters really enjoying their groove and for one it was all too much. All of a sudden Gee arrives onstage between the string men in his pink ski-suit and breaks into a similar spectacle of the crazy dancing we saw earlier. Cheers and applause rain out from the crowds and when the band finally raise there heads from their concentration they smile too. Not wanting to be a stage stealer, he exits before the song is finished. Fantastic. Unforgettable. We Are Carnivores were a good, passionate and fun way to finish the evening on a high.
While the Djs play on me and Gabbs count up to get an idea what sort of money we raised for Thanet Mind after deductions and I get one of my proudest moments. I step up on stage and tap the microphone, the music drops...
Hello... I thought I might get up to tell you how we've done... Today we have managed to raise around £365 for Thanet Mind. Thanks to you all.
Written By Kevin, the day after
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