Update Ahoy!

Hello folks,

Been a while since I have had time to sit down and put fingers to keyboard on this blog. Here is an update in whats been going on in all things 53.

Tinchy Stryder / Chipmunk
Have to say I preferred Chipmunk to Tinchy, so am excited that he will be returning to 53 in February (with a full live band). It was a fun show though and at the end Stryderman had a bit of a party in the dressing room with some of Preston's classiest ladies whom I helped whisk backstage.

Zero 7
Not much to report from this show, Zero 7 were lovely people. They had touring catering which is always a treat (a touring kitchen which sets up in our smaller room). I always make sure I am extra nice to the chefs in order to get some delicious food.

Calvin Harris / Mr Hudson
Really enjoyed working this show. TM was friendly which always makes things easier, Calvin andhis band were lovely and are from my favourite place in Scotland (near to where my wedding will be). Didnt see much of Mr Hudson and only saw a few Calvin hits. It was pre-X Factor pineapple and in case you were wondering, there were no pineapples on his rider.

Little Boots
Bloody nightmare show to work! Little Boots (Victoria Hesketh) is from Blackpool and we had her biggest, closest to home gig. There were 100+ friends and family on the guestlist that was organised by her Mother (who was actually really nice). However, she kept changing the list, people were insisting they were Uncles / Cousins and that even though there names werent on the list, they were actually on the list. Grrrrrrr. There was also a request for a last minute aftershow just for friends and family. This was also a bit messy. Learnt a lot from that gig. Main thing, don't let parents get involved. She put on a good show though, lots of costume changes and a great singer.

Alphabeat
Wasn't really looking forward to this show but they were fabulous! :)

Dizzee Rascal
Had looked forward to this show for ages. It was on Halloween and a Saturday so spent quite a chilled day carving out a few pumpkin heads to go on the stage. I updated my facebook with a line about Dizzee having pumpkins on his rider. A local journalist picked up on it and wrote a story on it for the paper. Must have been a slow day. There also might have been some condoms on his rider, good job I didn't mention those.
The show was pretty good, highlights for me were Old Skool, Bonkers and standing with Laura watching a girl who had the oddest 'I think I'm sexy' moves. V funny.

The Enemy
Pretty good show, although I have no opinion on The Enemy, didnt watch much and didnt really want to. We did have a fire alarm go off while they are onstage. MY BOSS NEEDS TO SORT OUT THE SMOKE DETECTORS! Thankfully, we didnt have to evacuate and the band thought it was pretty funny.

Kids In Glass Houses
Didn't work this show much as we also had a show on downstairs, but they will be back in Feb supporting Lostprophets. I met SJM rep Kara who was cool and ran everything smoothly upstairs. I feel for her as shortly after the gig she went on tour with the next band..

N-Dubz
This show was rescheduled 4 times. It was our first (and probably last) all ages show. It was originally confirmed for June 09. It was NOT worth the wait.

Friendly Fires
After the turmoil of N-Bumz, Friendly Fires was really great. Full band including brass, great tunes and really great atmosphere in the venue. I didnt get to see much unfortunately but did see them lauging at a typo on our Freshers Guide to 53 Degrees where we described them as Fiendly Fires.

Twisted Wheel / The Carletons / Some other band
Twisted Wheel are great, really like those guys. We must have had them about 6 times at 53 and its always a cool gig. The Carletons are a local band who have played here loads too. Their first gig was when they were all about 17 and a bit rubbish, but they have really shaped up and I felt quite proud of them in a weird way. The other band pissed me off so I am not even going to acknowledge them in my blog (plus I cant remember their name just now).

The Magic Numbers
Hairy, smiley, round, 2 hour set.

Dragonforce
Bloody cool show. All a bit Spinal Tap on the stage, with ramps, risers and platforms everywhere. They apparantly also wanted to bring snow. Enjoyed the gig loads. TM John was cool too and we got on which was nice. We were talking about H&S at shows and he told me about a show he did once in Bradford with Public Domain (Bass In The Place London) a good few years ago where the lazers shooting around the room were so strong that at the point they shot out from you could light a cigarette.

Next gig is this Friday with Ian (Lightning Seeds) Broudie and James (Starsailor) Walsh.