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Blind Mice: Mouse Party No.5 - The Captain's Log... |
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Ashley's notes. We particularly liked his instruction to himself for the drumming on "I'm So Tired"!
And here's the captains log: On February 21st and 22nd, Mouse Parties 5.0 & 5.1 took place on the Battersea Barge. It was the first time that the Party had taken place over 2 days and we weren’t sure whether we could pull it off without diluting the product. We needn’t have worried. Thanks to the wonderful fans, musicians and the venue, each night had its own unique feel and both were fantastic. On the Saturday, Terri & Bill’s coach party turned up and roamed the decks before the doors officially opened at 5pm. The Cresswell/Skelton clan were also early to arrive for the first leg of their 2 day marathon, keen to grab a table with optimum views of the band. Alex, Garry and Lyndon were remarkably composed and played brilliantly, augmented at various points by (in no particular order) ruddy cheeked improviser Sean Freeman (Level 42) on sax, the boyish Ashley Soan on drums with his unique playing style, Greg Harewood (Go West), the bear with the groove, on bass, and of course Big Tom Edwards on harmonica (taking a break from his duties as sound engineer!). For the first time it seemed that the sound created onstage matched the sound in our heads perfectly, or as Lyndon put it, everything suddenly became unified. The amazing tidal wave of noise that the band created surprised and thrilled us all Alex, Garry, Lyndon, guest musicians and the audience! The first set ran as follows: Don’t
Get Caught The new songs went down extremely well, although some people seemed to thing the Bindley Tree was call the Lyndon Tree. Maybe the introduction wasn’t as clear as it might have been, or maybe Lyndon is reminiscent of a conifer. Come to thing of it…. The Mousetery guest performers on the Saturday were fantastic – Paul Stacey & Adam Phillips, an acoustic duo of immense talent and charm. Perfect to complement the music of 3 Blind Mice. Unfortunately, they were unable to make it on the Sunday evening, so the audience was offered the choice of Big Tom belly dancing or a quiet buffet. They clamoured for Big Tom, but he chickened out. Lyndon’s comment "saved by the belly" may have had something to do with it. Alex also made an appeal for people to buy the chocolate blind mice made and packaged by Pip, only £1 for 3, and all proceeds go towards the new PA fund. He’d sold out within an hour. Thanks Pip – next time we’re going to need more! In the second set, Lyndon surpassed himself with his onstage antics, disappearing under the keyboard at one point, scaring Alex by singing very loudly in his ear and flamboyantly playing the part of MD to the augmented band, not to mention playing a stunning solo with his teeth on a bright green inflatable guitar, and also making a guest appearance as Elton John, with not just one but two pairs of giant spectacles. The second set was a mix of old favourites and a few newer songs: Emily
Has Compassion Fatigue On the Sunday, Peter, whose baby is the wonderful Battersea Barge, joined the band at the piano for a roof-raising rendition of I Saw Her Standing There, and the night was concluded with our own old crowd pleaser, Hellbound Eyes. For the first time, we passed a Visitors’ Book around and were delighted, amused and bemused by the various comments, which included: "Great night! Had to buy the 2 CDs – couldn’t go home without them!!!" – Andrew M, Welling, Kent "Have never had such a good time" – The Queen "Great show!! Well done! The chocolate mice are very tasty." – Barry & Sandra L. Charlton, London "Fab – great night out – hot drummer!! Well done! Will be back for sure." – Linda K, Southfields, London "Every time I feel a bit down, a 3BM gig comes around just in time to cheer me up. Thanks guys!!" – Yolande C, London "Great band, great guests, great venue – PERFECT!!! Again!! Thank you." – Wayne & Tuong-Van K, London "Absolutely fantastic!" – Carey-Lynne C, Gauteng, South Africa "Awesome – hope this is a complement – you guys sound like Supertramp" – Bert G, Gauteng, South Africa "Thank God - Busted for the menopausal generation. Marvellous!" – James H, London "It has been years since I heard such a refreshing group – Absolutely Fabulous!!" – Nits M, London "Better & Better & Better & Better & Better & ….." – Dave C "As always, great music, clever lyrics, and what a great line up. Keep it up – we want more albums." – Ian M, London "Great night as always. You guys are Brilliant. Keep it up!" – Vikki M, London "Fantastic, as always! Or even more fantastic – better every time!!!" – Mandy S, London "Absolutely Rock & Rollin’. Honour to be here." – Linda O, Eastbourne "Amazing evening, really left me feeling in great spirits – not just great music & voices, but a very engaging & entertaining act." – Sophie B, London 3BM Certificates were handed out to the Skelton/Cresswell gang (for being the first to book tickets and to sneakily get in on both nights), to Terry & Bill (for bringing the first Mouse Party Coach Party), to Tuong-Van & Wayne (for being there all the time, every time) and to Helen (for being Alex’s wife). Oh, and in case you were wondering, Wolf did in fact make it this time, just in time for some food and the second set on the Sunday |
