Five grand, people, five grand! Five thousand of your English pounds were raised at Park Hall Live last Sunday. I was going to leave that till the end, but I'm too excited to do that. Thank you so much for all your support. I'm pretty sure Ivy House School are going to be pretty chuffed when we turn up with that huge cheque. It makes quite a difference to the pupils and staff. The money we raise helps fund holidays, day trips and activities. Not simple things to organise when you have a bunch of kids with varying disabilities.
Yesterday I spoke to the Derby Evening Telegraph and the Ilkeston Advertiser. We'll be on page 12 of today's Telegraph and somewhere in Thursday's Advertiser. The Telegraph took loads of photos and I sent a bunch into the Advertiser, so you never know you may see yourself in the paper. There's still a load to do, such as updating the website, collating all the photos from people, and having our final meeting before Dan, our fearless leader, jets off on his world tour. And no wonder we're tired, we've been at this since late 2003. Time for a break . . . But first a few words about last Sunday.
The big secret, that I apparently ruined by telling Kelly, and talking about it within Jamie's earshot, was our surprise bagpipe set performed by Craig's Dad, Mr Hugh Lamont. Only a handful of people knew about it, and I think it was a great way to wake up the crowd and prepare them for a bigger, better and oh so much grander Park Hall Live. And as the strains of 'Amazing Grace' faded away I bounced onto stage to welcome everyone and introduce The Jet Boys. The lads provided what was probably the most energetic opener we've ever had, and to certainly the largest ever crowd a PHL first act has seen.
Next we had the first of our demos from the Onza Trials team. Joe's nerves soon seemed to disappear as he rallied the crowd into cheering for the riders. As the day progressed the stunts got trickier and trickier and I don't think there was anyone in the field who wasn't impressed by the display of skill and daring. All of this was set to a classic rock soundtrack provided by superstar DJs Wolfman and It.
The Full Biffta stage benefited once again from the experience and genius of PA Pete from Flying Dragons. We're always proud that Park Hall Live's main stage boasts the best sound of any local festival, and it's all down to the hard work that Pete puts in. Over on the Unplugged stage, Wolfman and It manned the PA. Our first acoustic act was Geoff and Ocean of Curlbooster 2. Ocean did a fine job of Kate Nash's mockney hit and some tune by Avril 'Oooh I'm so punk' Lavigne, but it was the classic CB2 hits of the past few years that really made an impact. I think their biggest fans were Trib and Jamie. In fact, Trib almost exploded when he recognised the first few chords of 'Train Driver'.
It was a day for dressing up, and Kurt Dirt from The Exorsisters looked rather fetching in his pink wig. The boys from the north asked me to introduce them as having been plummeted to Earth from space on a meteorite and raised by dogs in Barnsley. And you know what? I believe them.
Paul Miro took time away from Apes, Pigs and Spacemen to perform a solo acoustic set on the Unplugged stage. Paul had been recommended by Rob 'Laney74' Lane and we weren't disappointed. We have a lot to thank Rob for, and the company he works at Image Printing. They provided the wristbands, posters, programmes, tickets and lots more. We piled loads of work on Rob and probably almost broke him. We definitely owe him a bumper bag of Werthers.
Rob's Teenage Casket Company bandmate Spike was next on the Full Biffta playing a variety of instruments, some of which I'd get wrong if I tried to name them all. Spike's normally at the back of the stage, and it was great to see him at the front soaking up the adoration of an appreciative crowd.
Iain's Unplugged set proved that he is more than just a 'singer in some band' as his MySpace modestly proclaims. He's bloody brilliant. So book him while he's still affordable.
I have to admit I was worried about this next lot, not because I didn't think they were a decent band, but because we thought they may have had a few too many looseners before their slot. However, the slightly sloshed fellas made their way up the ramp, and then broke through the curtain to become the tight-sounding rock troupe Isolysis. Oh, and much to our relief they didn't swear. Thanks lads.
For the hard of hearing this is how I introduced the only band at PHL07 named after a theoretical quantum physics experiment – "Wir sind ganz, ganz glücklich daß wir heute hier Schrödinger und die Katze haben." And for those watching in black and white – "We are really, really happy that we have here today Schrödinger and the Cat." Pretentious? Perhaps, but then the name lends itself to it. They then went on to perform what Steve described as a set of songs by "dead birds and Ozzy Osbourne".
We once saw Bruce Myers perform in a cave and were really impressed. We were also grateful that he didn't turn us down after I'd approached him with the smell of a bucket of whisky on my breath. Bruce is in charge of the open mic at The Golden Fleece on Mansfield Road, Nottingham. They do it every Monday so you should pop along and say hello, and thank you for a great set at Park Hall Live 07.
Down Angel came on to do their farewell gig. I wish I'd seen more of it, if only because the bassist is a real hottie. Unfortunately, I had to accompany the stewards to an 'incident'. One thing I won't miss about Park Hall Live is that as we've got bigger we've had more problems to deal with. Some people aren't content with fourteen great bands, a friendly atmosphere, free activities and extreme sports. It seems they have to cause bother. It's tempting to rant here, but that would let the minority continue to ruin it for the majority of happy campers. If anyone's interested in hearing me moan for an hour or so, just get me a whisky at the next Big Zee's Party 7 and ask me if we had any problems at PHL07. Anyway . . . Down Angel were ace and it's a shame they've called it a day.
There are some things a man shouldn't have to see, especially not more than once. One of these is Crip's arse. For some reason the Patchwork Grace boys decided to drag up and get changed backstage, in the open air, and not in the 'green room' (Phil's big tent thing). Young Crip then kept flashing his buttocks. Oh dear. Luckily their performance was better than the sight of their guitarist's bum. PWG definitely had some of the day's more vocal fans. I only had to whisper the name into the mic to set off a round of cheering. Brilliant stuff. I can't wait for the album, out on September 10th.
PWG were the first band to benefit from the Raw Lighting & Power rig, however it was Dip's set when the real light show kicked. There are some awesome photos knocking about of the Dip lads doing their stuff at PHL07. Dipman returned, tempted out by cans of cider, to help distribute beach balls as Dip sang the specially penned 'Goodbye Park Hall Live'. I got a mention in the lyrics and am unbelievably giddy about that fact. Anyway, it proved a storming hit and the lads were their usual top quality entertaining selves.
The first time we saw this next lot they were supporting an Israeli jazz-funk-hip-hop-sounding outfit called The Apples up at The Maze in Nottingham. They had us grinning like buffoons and we knew we had to book them. Apparently Big Pete was in a jazz trance all the way through their set. Craig from Dip thought it was the soundtrack to some classic porn. Whatever, it was ace. They even had one of their mates dress up like Lily Allen and Bez-it-up on stage. Genius. Next time they make the trip up from Suffolk we'll be there.
Basketcase saw us out with a cracking set of rock and punk classics. Some people remembered them from the first time around. Geoffrey Jumper took a scoot down memory lane as he told me about seeing some of the bands in their heyday, while others just recognised a good tune when they heard it. 'Nelly the Elephant' was great fun as always, especially on the bits we all joined in on. And didn't Dan do well on replacement bass?
Basketcase and then it was time to retire to 'Dip Village', for a quick sniff of Daz's Jim Beam Black and a rendition of the theme from snooker as played by Craig on Daz's acoustic guitar. Bye bye everybody, bye bye.
Tris.
Some of the messages we have received:
"amazing. thank you. x"
RedmonT
"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan ... we TOTALLY loved it !! Thanks to you guys for putting on such a GREAT event ... really, really loved every moment ... what an absolute BLAST! Glad it was a success for you ... I'm insanely jealous cos I want Trash-Stock to be like that one day!"
Jaimz Riot
"Park Hall Live just to sum it up into one word was 'AWESOME' It was the best music festival that Ilson and beyond has ever had and I'm just so glad to have been to all 4!!!"
JoE! IPC!
"was a brilliant day a pleasure to be involved, well done everyone.
gonna miss PHL."
WOLFMAN & IT.
"Park Hall Live was the greatest summer event EVER. Because nothing EVER happens in Mapperley. It was just a pleasure to help out. Gna miss it. XxX"
Trib
"AWESOME! BLOODY AWESOME!!
NEED SLEEP NOW!!
Thanks again for having us along guys, we'd love to do it again.
Stay funky!!"
Small Town Bullies
"Thanks for putting on such an ace do yesterday guys, and thanks for having us on. it was a blast !!!!"
The Exorsisters
"AWESOME
we are so gutted its the last one :(
thanks for having us,was one of the best gigs we have played at so far :)"
The Jet Boys
"thanks for all the effort you've put in over the last 4 years,we had a great time and are proud to say that we did all 4!!
it was a great day and i hope you put on other events in the future
best of luck to you!
carrie & paul"
VS2 Alternative Giftwear
There are plenty more but I'm sure you can leave some extra ones of your own in the space below.
Oh and before I forget, Lammo - We never did shave Phil . . .