Blog: Edinburgh: Day Three

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Our third day at the festival didn't get off to a hugely auspicious start. We DRAGGED ourselves out of bed at an ungodly hour so that we could be down at The Canongait to see If You Like, a show featuring Chap From My Comic Shop. Having dragged us both down there, in the RAIN, I was a little... disappointed to realise I hadn't read the flyer properly, and it wasn't on on Wednesdays. Ah.

We then went and found somewhere to shelter from the raging storm ("Record Downpour, flooding in Leith": The Scotsman) and I persuaded a rather tired Steve that we should go and see "ABFCAP: The life and times of Ian Dury". We YOMPED across town for quarter of an hour, me leading the way PROUD of my ability now to navigate... and found that I'd taken us to the wrong venue, and that the one we wanted was 15 minutes back in the other direction, next to where we'd been before. Ah. Another STOMP and we made it just in time. Happily the show was GRATE - really funny, really moving, really GOOD.

There was then time for another ROUTE MARCH across town, pausing to say well done to the chap who'd played Ian Dury, to the station where Mrs Hewitt and The Rhythm Section In My Blockheads were due to arrive. Two Emotional Reunions later and we headed for the taxi, just as Gary From 6Music rang to sort out the PLAN for our Live Satellite Link-Up with the Steve Lamacq show later on. He'd ring us a while later and give us numbers to ring: SORTED.

We got back to the flat which was PLEASING to the eyes of The Ladies, though there was consternation at the lack of BEER, and after a sort-out we were back on the road of ROCK. Back at the venue Steve went off to do some flyering, Meg and The Ale In My Alehouse went upstairs for a beer, and I went to get set up. There was a bit of an Atmosphere downstairs as there were some RAPPERS who were doing a show later who'd thought they could come and do their soundcheck at 6pm. They didn't bother us, but there was a bit of a ROW between a couple of them about who'd messed it up.

We'd still not heard from Gary From 6Music when we opened the doors at 5.45pm, and nervously stood at the door waiting to see if anyone would come in. Beautifully, they DID, and some of them were people we didn't even KNOW! Moo aka Doktor Cocacola McDonalds arrived - and thus there was a WITNESS for the Derby story - Mr C Gilmour came again to witness the Glasgow one, and we had a chap arrive because he'd read my interview in The Morning Star! ALSO Steve's pal Al was there, who'd come with him for the disastrous trip 14 years ago that was part of the reason we were here today.

It was a lovely audience who were LARFING from the get go, and so it was probably the BEST the show's BEEN, even tho I was a bit nervous throughout about whether we'd be having the Satellite Link-up, and whether it would WORK. A quarter of an hour in Steve left the room to answer a call giving him the numbers to ring, and we were SET. As I was finishing "It Only Works Because You're Here" he left the room again to ALERT them that we were nearly ready, then typed the studio number into my phone, handed it to me, and we were GO.

Amazingly, it all seemed to go REALLY well. I put the phone onto SPEAKER and stuck it in front of a microphone - I was doing it Totally Acoustically again, but the microphone was set up SPECIAL. We had a Bono/THE POPE style conflab involving Audience Shouting and such like, and ended with him playing "The Lesson Of The Smiths" just as I was about to do it LIVE. I spent the next couple of minutes VERY distracted, thinking "COR! That was GRATE!" and had to HEAVE myself back to what I was meant to be doing. The rest of the show got back on track and I must say it was LOVELY, my favourite so far!

Afterwards we got packed up then went upstairs for a drink, as the rain was CHUCKING it down. They do table service upstairs, which is all well and posh but can be a bit frustrating when it doesn't work - my beer took half and hour to arrive, but they DID give us them for free, so all was WELL. After some discussion we dashed over the road to get some tickets for later then SPRINTED down the hill to Red Fort, where we had curry the other day and had another DELICIOUS one today. YUM!

We got the bill quick and SWEPT down to The Pleasance, Steve and Meg to meet a PAL, myself and The Patter IN My Routine to go and see Dan Atkinson's Credit Crunch. We went just because the name was intriguing, and it was OK - some bits very funny, but it did seem a bit messy, especially when he got to the end and went "Er... that's it." All that was left was to hop in a taxi and get home.

We got in a little bit before The Hewitts who arrived brandishing the latest copy of Three Weeks, which had a good review of the show in it - actually a DEAD good review, tho at the end it said 3/5 stars, tho it read like 4. No,honest, it did!

Eight hours later I was AWAKE again and ready for RADIO. I'd had a call on Wednesday to ask if I'd like to do "Toast The Nation" on the 6Music breakfast show. THUS I was up and armed with several facts about Peterborough...though the DJ, Wes Butters, seemed to think I was doing Northampton. He also wanted to know if I'd ever made a noise like a Badger while mating... yes, it was a LITTLE different to the 6music that I usually listen to, there were also Comedy Sound Effects, and I went back to bed feeling a little STRANGE about the whole experience.

And now we're watching Olympic Football, having another cuppa, and getting ready for Day 4 of The Festival. Let's ROCK!

posted 11/8/2008 by MJ Hibbett

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