Varsity Drag UK Tour Diary 3: The Magnificent & excellent van...punk & disorderly in Peterborough

Sunday dawns to another post-rock tableau of sleeping bags, snoring folks and sun creeping into the DS/Georgie house in beautiful Cambridge. Today is the scheduled arrival of The Magnificent, the kindly benefactors who will be supporting us for the next week with van, navigation, and gear.

We meet James, Matt and Charlie, who are obviously as great a bunch of fellas as we could hope to be trapped in close quarters with. Best of all (well, for me, at least) James and Matt have contrived to supply me with a freshly set-up SG, which plays like a dream. We share a few pints and some veggie sausages and mash at the Portland Arms, to which we must now bid a fond, if temporary, farewell. Outside, we greet the touring van, which is most excellently set up -- with facing seats in back, train-car style, as well as some fold-out table sort of things.

By late afternoon, we're off to Peterborough for the all-afternoon-into-the-evening "Punk & Disorderly" extravaganza at The Park's Club Revolution, or, more properly (apparently) "Club Revolution at The Park." Whatevs. There's another slate of excellent bands, including -- once more -- Beverly Kills, Southport and Vanilla Pod! As for our hosts The Magnificent, the acquit themselves according to their name: a power-pop/punky trio, they're as good a match as we could have hoped for, and play a fantastic set -- looking forward to getting to hear it a bunch more times...

With Aston and so many of his stable of bands in attendance, it's basically Old Home Day for us 'Dragsters. Rather cavernous place, but comfy -- plenty of room for merch setup and cozy corners in which to recline, scarfing down Indian food from one of 18 joints on the same block. My tuning pedal expires on stage with some minor drama, but this is rock & roll, and you all know how THAT is. :-)

Josh drinks the blue beverage (called "WKD," I believe) behind the bar which I had dared him to do: I have a sip at his insistence, and it's not half-bad -- more like two-thirds. No injuries sustained. But I'd hate to imagine what more than one of these ghastly things would do to the human head.

Back to Cambridge at a reasonable hour, somehow. Guess we're getting in the groove. -- Ben Deily

COMING NEXT: Norwich--the madness continues...

[originally posted here]

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Varsity Drag UK Tour Diary 2: The Portland Arms rocks our world... Joshua arriveth... show no. 1

Our first actual day (that is, the first not addled by sleep deprivation-induced auditory hallucinations) dawns in the UK to find us at DS and Georgie's place, tucked into our customary room -- which we notice is now equipped with an economy-sized plush owl, whose goggle-eyed & deranged gaze tells us we're clearly among friends.

Cambridge -- which of course we never even really had a chance to see last time -- is pretty amazing, what with the punts all over the Cam, and the castle-like 800-year old college buildings constantly on every side. There's also a clock -- said to be one of the most accurate in the world, for what it's worth -- topped by a hideous insectoid-racheting thing: think HR Giger's pocketwatch, only 2 meters tall. We get lunch at a joint called the Anchor, which proudly claims via several prominently-placed placards that Syd (née "Sid") Barrett hung out there constantly as a young man, listening to the live music which ultimately (the sign goes on to claim) inspired him to biff off on his own musical thing. Er, Happy Atom Heart Mother's Day to you, the Anchor.

Later in the day, our Boss Tuneage label honcho/president and chief impresario Aston Stephens and wife Julie arrive, bearing gifts: t-shirts, and a box each of For Crying Out Loud, Rock & Roll Is Such A Hassle and... as my heart pounds in anticipation... one which is revealed to contain freshly-pressed copies of [the forthcoming long-player -- Ed.] Night Owls. I hold it in my living hand! Triumph! My life has not been in vain.

This evening, we get the luxury of being audience rather than entertainer, and enjoy a fantastic slate of bands at the Portland Arms, including a brace of label-mates: Vanilla Pod and Southport (featuring the remarkable Simon Wells, formerly of Snuff). After the show, 'round midnight, Josh rolls in with bags in tow, apparently none the worse for having run London's gauntlet of treacherous, malevolent old ladies.

Next day, after a somewhat (expectedly) rowdy evening spent with DS and Georgie's placed filled to the rafters with Southport and us, we're up and preparing. A few million revisions later, we've got a set sorted that seems to balance old stuff (the first record, and the live record we probably should be promoting) as well as the brand new stuff that we've felt compelled to unleash so precipitously on the world. Sigh, 2 records out within 4 months of each other makes for this kinda balancing act, gaah. :-)

The Saturday night lineup at the PA is a fabulous (and resoundingly gyno-centric) array of bands including Tiny Tigers, We Rock Like Girls Don't, and Beverly Kills -- fronted by our very own Georgie! Upon taking the stage for our set at evening's end, I feel compelled to apologize to the audience for Josh and I not being girls -- but at least we have Lisa's cred to warrant our presence on a stage graced by such feminine rock power.

An incredibly loud set, but the audience seems psyched as hell, bouncing all over the place and cheering, so who's complaining? In tribute to Josh's quasi-religious pilgrimage here to the Portland Arms, we play our Soft Boys cover -- after all, Robyn and the boys recorded a live record in this very room. (Josh has punctuated the last 24 hours or so by glancing around whilst repeating, in somewhat stunned tones, "Hey, we're in England. I can't believe we're in England. I can't believe we're at the Portland Arms.")

The usual after-party and after-after-partys rage on, but L & I manage to crank up the white noise machine and hit the sack. After all, tomorrow is another working day. Albeit the Lord's one. -- Ben Deily

COMING NEXT: We meet our great benefactors, The Magnificent...a most excellent van...punk & disorderly in Peterborough!

[originally posted here]

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