Gig Update...

Ended up OK! We played a blinder, after a quick mid-afternoon rehearsal, and we went on at about 9pm, played our stuff and got off stage to a rapturous reception.....

Was a wee bit nervous before-hand, including a wee vomitous bout in the morning which might have been hangover induced, but I don't think so...

We were one of six bands playing:-

*Estrella - Pseudo Bon Jovi clones with headbands, cowboy boots and on-the-knees guitar solos, with a pretentious lead singer who would suck his own cock if he could extract his head from up his own arse for just a minute...

*All Stitched Up - a punk band in the true sense...guitars out of tune, raucous shouting, and each player playing nothing in common with anyone else. Good punk attitude though...

*The Stevie Taylor Fiasco - A collection of classic Rock songs, including Dio's "Holy Diver", Van Halen's "Eruption" (which Stevie played, not me...as if!) and "Paranoid", which one of us managed to fuck-up! (It wisnae me!) Cracking versions of "Perfect Strangers" and "Rock You Like A Hurricane" too. We got plenty of congrats afterwards, but then you get to expect that, and learn not to believe it all. Pissed people talk bullshit far too readily...we did manage to get some chicks dancing, and even one old rocker shaking his dandruff to Deep Purple! Gawd bless you, Gordy!

With a full lightshow, and a 300 plus crowd, the on-stage temperature was into the "fucking hot" level, and I came offstage sweating like Dyer and Bowyer in Souness' waiting room....

*Crimson Tide - a young band from Bettyhill, and by far the most impressive of the night. A brilliant use of dynamics, switching between soft, gentle acoustics to brutal, just-under-control distortion and with some haunting vocals as well. Only negative was the singer reading lyrics from a stand, but maybe he's new. Surely if he'd written the songs he'd know the words..? Look out for them, for I predict they could go far...

*Boss Hogg - a Glasgow based band comprising entirely Thurso-born musicians. They were quite good, and while not my cup o' tea they did come across as quite powerful. As main organisers of this charidee event, they were due a better crowd than they got. A lot of the kids deciding to leg it to the nightclub before it closd.. :(

*Findo Gask - An Inverness band who have been courting a record deal recently. These fuckers were pure mad mental. I spoke to them about half an hour before they went on stage, and they were totally chilled. Cut to 10 seconds into their set, and they're just going mad...singer chap is twisting and turning, staggering on and off stage, tortuously screaming unintelligible vocals, while shouting obscenities off-mic ("FUCKING BITCH" etc.) during interludes...They even managed to create a wee mosh-pit, during which an extremely drunken 30yo-ish fat woman fell on her arse twice...Quality!

All in all, a successful night, with proceeds from the £4.00 ticket price going to the Caithness Nerve Centre, which cares for people with neurological problems.