Victoria's Secrets

Update Ahoy!

2009-11-30T17:11:00.000-08:00

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.

First gigs of the new term... INME / Hadouken

2009-09-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

Had a really great Summer this year. Worked at Kendal Calling which was awesome and went to visit the fiancee's mum in Venezuela.

Back to it now, with a pretty intense Freshers fortnight and some great new shows announced.

Also, I got a promotion to 'Events Coordinator'. More responsibility and I am really loving my new position.

Recent gigs were INME on 18th September and Hadouken on 26th September.

Both shows were ok, no real problems on the day, each TM was lovely (esp. Pablo with Hadouken). Both shows were mostly young kids who loved it! Neither show was very inspiring to me though.

Here are a few pics:

INME...
Hadouken...

Next gig is Tinchy Stryder on Weds 7th October. Number 1!

Pendulum / Paolo Nutini @ 53

2009-06-04T02:46:00.000-07:00

It was the show a lot of us at 53 were really excited for, Friday 29th May was Pendulum.

We found out about a week prior to the show that they wanted to do a production day on the day before and do a full production rehearsal for our show as well as their next tour and many festivals they are doing.

It was a really good day, very sunny and I worked from the production offfice downstairs in the venue.

It was just a crew day today and the band would arrive on Friday.

Friday was an early start for most of us, it was immensly hot all day and hard work, hardly got a minute to stop. Had lots and lots of coffee though!

Sound check was at about 3pm, I have to say a big thank you to Mark, Rich and all at HW Audio who very kindly let us borrow a bass amp head for rehearsal after Pendulum's own one died. It was really good of them and got us out of what could have been a bit of a problem!

Here are some pics of the incredibly loud(!) soundcheck (with Production Technician and massive fan Dave W looking on):

The show seemed to go really well, my Mum is also a fan so my parents came down for this one. Was great to stand with them and just watch the show (plus have a few sips of beer - it had been a long day).

I finished at about midnight, TM and band were happy; commenting how up for it the crowd were. Great gig.

Our house photographer was Jonathan Glancy who took some awesome shots despite the tricky lighting. See more here.

Next show was Paolo Nutini on the 11th June, which was a really fun show. Paolo Nutini was as lovely as expected. TM was a bit scary with a famous boyfriend. Few stories for some time in the future from this one.

The Sunshine Underground

2009-06-04T02:36:00.000-07:00

Had The Sunshine Underground on 18th May. I am not a massive fan so wasn't something I was really really looking forward to but I thought they were ace. It was a pre-album tour and they played a lot of new stuff but the songs that they played that everyone knew all the words to really blew the roof off. It was another sell out show which was nice. TM was friendly and band seemed to be too. I'll be working at Kendal Calling again this year so will also see them there.

I watched from the DJ booth, here are a few pics....

The King Blues plus S.O.P.H.I.E Campaign

2009-05-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 10th May we had The King Blues. Another band we have had recently that I really enjoyed. It is always a pain to work on a Sunday though!

The band were due to arrive at 3/4pm so I started the rider about 12.30pm, just so that I wasn't rushing around too much.

Support bands were Myth Of Unity and Sharks who were both late, but everyone was soundchecked and ready for doors at 7pm.

I had listened to King Blues a few times, and thought they were pretty good, but I thought they were incredible live. The gig was packed and most of the audience knew every word which was really great to see. I love music that delivers important messages and stuff to make you think (Gogol Bordello, Dan le Sac vs Scroobious Pip, and of course Bob Dylan) so I really enjoyed the gig. Bought myself a CD at the end and got the band to sign it. Also got a couple of signed posters, one of which will be given away on the 53 Degrees eflyer that goes out tomorrow. Sign up to it here.

The band had also invited some ladies from the S.O.P.H.I.E campaign. The campaign was set up in memory of Sophie Lancaster who died in 2007, following the horrific attack on her and her partner Rob in Bacup, Lancashire. Sophie and Rob dressed in their unique way, expressing their individuality as creative artistic people. S.O.P.H.I.E stands for:

Stamp
Out
Prejudice
Hatred +
Intolerance
Everywhere

The aim of the fund is to provide a lasting legacy to raise awareness of the injustice perpetrated against Sophie Lancaster and to work towards a more tolerant, less violent society.

A very worthy cause, and it was great that The King Blues were helping to spread the word. More about info can be found here.

Utah Saints / NME Radar Tour ft La Roux

2009-05-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Had a really busy end of the week last week. Thursday was Promo Rave ft Utah Saints. Was a great night. I had been slightly worried how well Utah Saints would go down but they were bloody awesome. Also they were really some of the most genuinely friendly people I have met working at the venue. Really great guys. I am looking forward to seeing them play at the Wickerman Festival this summer, me not working and possibly quite drunk.

After a very long evening I then had to get up early and start La Roux's rider at 8.30am. Lots of fruit, herbal tea, french bread etc etc. Annoyed at myself as I have already lost my bloody Nectar card, what a dufus.

Had a fantastic day on Friday. I was wired on lack of sleep, coffee and Pro Plus but still pretty on the ball if I do say so myself.

Chapman Family were really great, nice friendly band too. Spoke to Kingsley (lead singer) about Prince and stuff outside. It was nice talking to him and the lead singer of Heartbreak about music, the industry and the tour itself. I Enjoyed Chapmans set, would be great to see them at 53 or somewhere else again.

Kingsley whacked his head a few times with his own guitar and had a massive bump on his head, it looked like a marble under his skin. Nice.

Magistrates were pretty wet to be honest. Thought the music was ok but not outstanding.

Heartbreak were cool. Sebastian the lead singer had some of the best moves I have seen. What a dude.

I really enjoyed La Roux. A few people I heard were disappointed by the show but what I saw I enjoyed. It may be obvious from her stage presence and manner that she has only played about 8 shows in her life, but she has the strangest voice that it is hard not to be pretty much mesmerised by it. Also I did have a great view side of stage.

After the show the bands had a BBQ outsidet he back of the venue. This is normally the place where fans congregate so it was really odd to see a load of bands there all eating home made burgers off a BBQ.

After the gig I headed over the Ferret, I hadn't been in there for at least a month and it was great to have a nice cold pint of Becks after a long day / night at work. Andy had been playing there that night with Jelly's Last Jam. Once last orders had been called, a load of the bands from the NME tour piled into the Ferret to try and get a pint, they were all turned away / directed to Roper. Saw Kingsley outside the Ferret so knowing he had a sore head, offered him a lift to his hotel in the car with me, Andy and Nat. Had a nice chat from him and Nat told him about when she saw him play a 'shit gig at the Cavern Club' He took that in a good way thankfully!

NME were filming loads to go on their blog, so once that and our gig photos are uploaded I will post links.

Last weeks gigs

2009-05-04T05:23:00.001-07:00

We had Baddies at DIY @ Promo last Thursday. Was great to have a band on at Promo again as last time we had one was Little Boots bloody ages ago!

I enjoyed Baddies, pretty good to watch and had some real catchy songs, I enjoyed 'Battleships', which I have had stuck in my head all weekend. I told them the high bits in that song reminded me of a rockier Flight Of The Conchords type song, not sure if they took that the right way! My only real negative about them was that they didn't really seem to engage with the audience between songs. Hate it when bands mumble. They also had matching shirts. Cool.

Here are some pics taken by the Promo Promographer Oli Sandler.

Fightstar was the next day, I had a really really good day on Friday and was in a great mood. Managed to get myself up on time (after a 5 hour sleep) to get into work and tour round a candidate for the Marketing Manager job, then got on with buying the riders. Nothing out of the ordinary on the rider; sandwiches, cooked chicken, baguettes, beers, wine and jagermeister etc etc.

The band got in about 1pm and took all day to get ready for the gig. The show almost sold out in advance with just 9 tickets left on the door. Was a really good show and the crowd were loving it. Fightstar, although not my bag, are top musicians and with a mix of old and young in the packed crowd, it seemed to me that Charlie was 'Charlie from Fightstar' rather than 'Charlie from Busted', which was nice.

Here are some photos from house photographer Jonothan Glancy (who is ace. See more of his stuff here)

Looking forward to next weekend, La Roux and The King Blues.

RED HOT LA ROUX

2009-04-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

Press Release I wrote at work today for La Roux. Looking forward to this gig..

RED HOT LA ROUX

Chart climbing track from La Roux ‘In For The Kill’ is currently Number 2 in the Official UK Singles Chart, rising from Number 4 midweek and Number 7 last week.

The new 80s inspired pop sensation will be performing in Preston as part of the NME Radar Tour, the music magazine’s infamous annual showcase of new music.

Meaning ‘red-haired one’ in French, La Roux is the synth-pop project of flame-haired singer/songwriter Elly Jackson and keyboardist/producer Ben Langmaid. Their music is largely influenced by 1980s pop music including Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, The Human League and Prince. With an attitude of individualism and eccentric style, La Roux’s Elly Jackson came fifth in the BBC Sound of 2009 poll. There are a new wave of strong, intelligent quirky female singers hitting the charts and La Roux are tipped for even bigger things later in the year.

With their anticipated debut album yet to be released, La Roux are already keen to start on the next one, Elly Jackson says "We have had so much fun making this album over the last four years and are very happy with what we have achieved. I just want to make the next one now!"

On the NME Radar Tour, the 80’s inspired songstress will be joined by NME’s favourite disco titans ‘Heartbreak’, saviours of the indie dance floor ‘Magistrates’ and Teeside’s grizzliest new quartet ‘The Chapman Family’.

The NME tour, which has famously given a leg up to the likes of Crystal Castles, White Lies and Friendly Fires, will be coming to 53 Degrees on Friday 8th May.

There will be a FREE Aftershow party for all ticket holders hosted by 53 Degrees’ weekly indie clubnight ‘DIY’ featuring resident DJ Karl Yates.

Lancashire Tickets www.lancashiretickets.com
Online from www.53degrees.net
SEE www.seetickets.com 24 Hour Credit Card Hotline 0871 220 0260
Ticketline www.ticketline.co.uk 0161 832 1111
Action Records, Church Street, Preston. 01772 258809
Students’ Union Reception, Fylde Road, Preston. 01772 893 000

---Ticket Info---
Doors 7.30pm,
Advanced Public Tickets: £9.50
16+ / Aftershow 18+

Kasabian at 53

2009-03-27T04:02:00.000-07:00

What a long day! I was the Day Runner on this show which means driving round buying things all day for the band. It is always mentally hectic but fun.

We had touring catering in, where they basically turn the upstairs room of 53 into a kitchen and dining room, this is a common thing for the bigger bands we get in. I started at 8.30am and had to go off and buy lots of eggs, bread and morning papers, once I got back it was time for the big shop. 3 trolley fulls of food from Sainsbury's! Myself and one of the caterers went to buy it and ended up having 3 extra staff helping us pack the trolley. Reminded me I really need to get a nectar card!

I then went off to get lots of crates of water, beers, quality wine and spirits for the guys. Stopped off in town to hunt for some maracas requested by the band. Ended up finding some good ones in Music Cellar that I then saw on stage that night which was nice!

After lots more shopping and rushing around I was treated to a gorgeous chicken and chorizo bake from the tour caterers. Mmmmmm!

Kasabian had been spending their day either at the venue or in their hotel, my last job of the day was to take the 53 Degrees minibus to the hotel and pick the guys up bringing them to the venue. I am sometimes crap even with the simplest of directions so I set off in good time to make sure I wasn't late! When I was writing my press release for the gig I had read that Tom (lead singer) was a massive Star Wars fan. He has a life size R2D2 and also owns the bike from ET! I buy myself Clone Wars stickers every now and again so decided to get some for him as a little present. I gave him the stickers, although not all of them as I was too tempted and had to keep some of them myself. He loved them!

Stayed on and watched the show with Laura (Marketing Distribution) and Jamie (Street Team), we squeezed through the crowd and onto the dance floor where there was a bit of room. I recommend at future 53 Degrees shows people try to get a bit closer as once you go down the step closer to the stage, the atmosphere, view and sound are all fantastic.

"I bought those maracas!"

Didn't see much of Sam, Dave and the 53 crew on this show as everyone was so busy!!

What a show! Really great performance, atmosphere, lighting etc. When we have a show as big and successful as this it is such a good feeling to know that you have had a part in it.

I heard that Tom and other members of the band chatted to the 53 Degrees bar staff for about 40 minutes after the show, offering to buy them all a Sambuca! Then met a few more fans outside. Nice guys.

Only one drawback, when I checked the dressing rooms the next day, I think they may have taken my ironing board cover! Grrr!

Things are going to quieten down over April but May is going to be ace. Paolo Nutini is announced today and I am also really looking forward to Friendly Fires and Pendulum.

May gigs at 53

2009-03-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

May is going to be a really great month of gigs at 53 Degrees. We have something for everyone with Fightstar, Imelda May, The Sunshine Underground and The King Blues. Even a couple of classic coverbands Whole Lotta Led and seYes. We also have Friendly Fires, La Roux (NME Radar Tour) and Pendulum which are all going to be awesome shows. Last time Friendly Fires played I really enjoyed them and cant wait for that, La Roux is ace and Pendulum will be amazing! For more info and to buy tickets go to www.53degrees.net

Click on the posters to read them...

Little Boots at 53 Degrees

2009-03-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

We had Little Boots playing DIY @ Promo last Thursday at 53 Degrees. I managed to get the night off (which is a rarity!) but came in to catch the last few songs. What an ace show! Here are a few pics taken by one of our fantastic house photographers, Ian (website / flickr).

Jelly's Last Jam at DIY @ Promo

2009-02-25T07:38:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we had the fantastic Jelly's Last Jam playing at DIY @ Promo. Was a really great night, everyone was really up for it and the band played really well.

I am a little biased as the drummer is my brother! Really great band though, have thought that since they started. It is always good to see them play 53 Degrees.

My brother is ace. If it wasn't for him playing drums and being in bands since we were young, I might not be doing what I am doing today. I used to travel to a lot of gigs with him watching his band or watching lots of other bands, I started to pick up more and more experience and contacts along the way and had lots of fun. Plus we get on really well and he is one of my best friends :)

So yeah, good gig!

Check them out! http://www.jellyslastjam.co.uk

Chaotix at last DIY @ Promo

2009-02-15T04:54:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday (12th Feb) we had fantastic Preston band Chaotix headlining 53's student night Promo upstairs in indie room DIY. (www.myspace.com/chaotixuk)

Good band, played well and great people. They have played at 53 3 times now and each time they play they are getting more accomplished and entertaining. As well as our resident Promo photographer Oli, we had a new photographer that night too; Jonothan Glancy (www.flickr.com/photos/jonnyglancy) who took these awesome pics of the band:

The Twang

2009-02-10T15:23:00.001-08:00

Had The Twang on at 53 tonight. It was a sell out and the crowd were really up for it. Lot of crowd surfing going on in the encore; one guy kind of flipped vertically headfirst over the barrier with his legs up in the air. The bouncers caught him but it looked really odd, wish I got a pic of that! The lighting tonight looked awesome. Well worth the dusting they got over Christmas!

Preston band Underdogs were the local support for the gig. Really enjoy them playing as they are always very cooperative and professional and always put their all into their sets. They were also very cool tonight as they agreed to lend all of their gear to main support 'The Ruling Class' who were 3 hours late. They told me they were driving from London and the traffic was bad, but I heard a rumour they were messing about in Manchester all day! I gave them a bit of stick when they finally arrived and didnt stay to watch their set (that will teach them!). Heard them before anyway, unoriginal boring pap. If you are an up and coming band and you get the opportunity of being a touring support, remember that in order to get away with dicking about and pissing people off you must be AWESOME! These guys were not.

It has been a while since our last proper gig at 53 so it was a really good feeling to have one and made me really look forward to some of the stuff we have coming up. Check the 53 website for all our shows plus keep checking later this week as we have a few more to announce.

Verne Troyer

2009-02-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Verne Troyer made a guest appearance at our student night Promo last night. He arrived in a small silver van with blacked out windows with his tour manager and various other security and minders. They arrived at about 11, did a 45 minute spot, a Q&A with our DJ then a meet and greet with the students then had to dash off to do another PA in Blackpool.

I managed to speak to him a bit and got a few pictures but there wasn't time to ask him about 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus', the new Terry Gilliam film he is in with Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell, which is also actually Heath Ledger's final film.

Last night was a show that we were a bit worried about logistically but everything went incredibly smoothly, Verne and his team were really friendly and thanked us for all we had done. Was a really good night!

Reuniting T.A.T.E with their stuff

2009-01-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

Went to 53 to meet up with The Airborne Toxic Event this afternoon to give them the bag of leads, pedals etc. They were happy to get it back and said the tour was going well, off to Derby for a sold out show tonight. Here they are in their splitter bus with the bag:

The Airborne Toxic Event lost and found

2009-01-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

LA band 'The Airborne Toxic Event' played at 53 Degrees last November. It was part of our weekly student night DIY @ Promo. Was a bit worried about how well they would go down as they were relatively unknown and drunk students can be quite harsh. Anyway, they went down well and were really nice guys. It was actually Thanksgiving when they played and unable to offer them a turkey dinner they admitted anything glutenous would do so I sent them to the all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant down the road, Buffet @ Preston.

The day after the show Steven (guitarist) texted me to say that they had left a black bin bag full of leads, pedals etc in their dressing room. When I got into the venue I couldn't find it anywhere, I let him know that unfortunately the cleaners probably threw it away. Anyhoo it turned up about 2 days after the band had gone back to the states so I have kept it in the rider cupboard since then.

I keep hearing The Airborne Toxic fellows on my current fave radio show The Adam and Joe Show on Radio 6, it reminded me about this bag of stuff. I checked the band's myspace and they are actually back in the UK now, so I texted them and they will be swinging by sometime as a little tour detour to come and pick it up.

Check out their music here: www.myspace.com/theairbornetoxicevent