Blog: Croydon, City Of A Thousand Dreams

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On the way to Croydon last night I realised that this was actually going to be my first proper gig of the year. Everything else has been EITHER Dinosaur Planet OR bits and bobs in the middle of other things, but NOT an actual normal whole-bunch-of-songs with setlist written just before going on. PANIC!

Well, not panic, but NERVOUSNESS anyway, not least because things were going to be a bit different this time. I love going and playing at The Green Dragon, as it's always a good night AND you get FREE BEER if you play AND the beer is DELICIOUS, but also because it's run by Mr T Eveleigh and there's usually someone else I know playing. This time Tim was off on holiday and all the other acts were unknown to me, so I wasn't sure what would happen.

I walked past the "Excellent Nandos", as featured in this week's Harry Hill, and into the pub where I noticed a sign on the wall saying that "rubbish EDF" were going to be turning off the electricity at 10pm. "I wonder when that was?" I thought. Mark The Soundguy (who tonight was also Mark The Event Organiser) BOUNDED over to say hello and also to tell me that that was TONIGHT. "We've got to be all finished by half past nine", he said. Ah. That would be why everyone was paying so much attention to the chap soundchecking, then. The gig had already BEGUN.

This chap was Adrian Taylor, who was soon joined by Simon Metheringham. Simon went on after him, and was joined by ... Adrian Taylor! I wasn't sure if this was HEINOUS CHEATING, but it didn't really matter as they were LOVELY - ooh, they did proper harmonies and EVERYTHING, it was ACE!

And then it was MY turn to go on. Usually at these evenings Tim asks three questions, one of which is "Do you have a fascinating fact to tell us about yourself?" This time, WISELY, Mark had asked everyone to just LEAP on stage and get going, in order to make sure everyone got a decent slot, but I couldn't resist telling everyone my fascinating fact ANYWAY, which was, of course, The Whole Judge Dredd Business. People looked IMPRESSED, and so I launched straight into THIS:

The Peterborough All-Saints' Wide Game Team (Group B)

Hey Hey 16K

(theme from) Dinosaur Planet

Don't, Darren, Don't

Being Happy Doesn't Make You Stupid

Billy Jones Is Dead

The Lesson Of The Smiths

It all seemed to go pretty well. (theme from) Dinosaur Planet went down the BEST, and it was good to feel that Don't, Darren, Don't works as a song OUTSIDE of its Parent Musical too. Crikey tho, i really MUST be out of practice because I could feel my voice start to BUCKLE after the first couple of songs, and was starting to Properly Strain by the end. Bad Hibbett, extra practice for YOU!

After me it was the very funny Mr Jay Foreman who, as the title would suggest, was very funny, and then that was THAT - time to pack up and GET OUT. Mark led a happy band of us round the corner to his local pub for a swift post-gig pint, which was GRATE. Usually after Green Dragon gigs I have to FLEE at high speed to go and get my last train home, so it was brilliant to be able to relax and have a bit of an old chat. Hmm... starting and finishing gigs early to enable relaxing PINTS afterwards? That's not a bad idea...

posted 10/3/2010 by MJ Hibbett

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