05 August 2010

STANTON LAKES REVIEW The Great Gig On The Lake at Stanton Lakes proved to be DSOTW's most successful - and definitely wettest - show for several years! Six weeks of intensive planning and promotion led to a 500 capacity sell-out in advance of the show and thank goodness it did. If we'd have had to rely on 'walk-ups' on such an awful evening we wouldn't have got anywhere near that. The rain stayed away until about 7pm - and then it started. A brief respite around half past proved to be a false dawn and it got more pesistant until around 9.15pm, when thankfully, it finally abated. Thankfully the good people that form our audience came well prepared and a sea of umbrellas and plastic macs greeted the band as they took to the stage. The stage itself, placed adjacent to the lake shore, was formed from two 42-foot long trailers, positioned perfectly side by side to give a greater depth to the stage area. Even then, with a special drum riser and a lighting rig inside the trailer, there was just about room for the band and all it's equipment. A 10k PA system was in place with the two speaker stacks placed on specially constructed platforms at the front - and because of the weather, they were clothed in plastic macs of their own! The band climbed on stage (courtesy of Smithy's step ladder!) at exactly 8.30pm to coincide with an appearance by the extremely brave Colin Davidson, who was flying across the lake to perform amazing aerobatics in his 1940s style Pitts aircraft. This 'special effect' was touch and go right up to the last minute because of poor visibility. Colin had informed us he could hardly see the end of the runway at Bruntingthorpe but amazed us all by throwing caution to the wind and taking to the air. He was a few minutes late to the lake as he couldn't even see it from 2000 feet up - which will explain to those present why the band stood there without doing anything for a couple of minutes! ‘Learning To Fly’ was the opening number and Colin's routine was timed to 4.5 minutes to coincide with the end of the track - we needed to start only when he appeared. On stage we couldn't see much so Ted on drums took a cue from Smithy and launched us into the opening number. Colin had permission to fly at 500 feet and no lower, so hopefully everyone saw enough of what he did. What an incredible start to any concert! The first set featured some tracks from The Division Bell before we started the Dark Side Of The Moon album, which 'On The Run' apart, was performed in it's entirety with a highlight being Emily Freeman's wonderful vocals on 'Great Gig In The Sky' (or Lake!). The band cut loose on 'Money' as Dave Goodwin joined them on sax and the climax of 'Brain Damage' and 'Eclipse' drew massive applause from the gathered audience - who by now had taken down their umbrellas and hoods, the rain finally ceasing about 45 minutes into the first set. As the interval approached the damp and misty gloom started to turn to a night sky, with the atmosphere changing as the lighting effects began to dominate the darkness. Performing 'Shine On' at the start of the opening set was particularly atmospheric and fitted the track perfectly as Pete's keyboards and Andy's beautiful guitar playing enthralled everyone. 'Welcome To The Machine' and 'Have A Cigar' from the same album followed before 'Pigs (3 Different Ones) rocked the place - don't think we've ever played it better in fact. A poignant and moving 'The Gunners Dream', featuring Pete's piano accompanying Mick's vocals with Dave's sax in the middle was a special highlight at this point. By now it was time for some tracks from The Wall, with the audience participation in 'Another Brick' being better than ever. Emily was back on lead vocals with her dad for a rousing version of 'Mother' before we got all the Dirty Women present dancing along to 'Young Lust'! The last three tracks were the same as usual (if it ain't broke you don't fix it!!!) and 'Wish You Were Here', complete with the audience all joining in, took us into the final number of the regular set, 'Comfortably Numb' with Andy Nixon's amazing guitar solo doing justice to the great man Mr Gilmour himself. 'Run Like Hell' was the encore and as the drums kicked in Steve Smith launched several hundred pounds worth of fireworks from behind the trailer, filling the night sky with spectacular rocket bursts as we played under an array of special effect lighting. It looked brilliant - apparently. Couldn’t see any of it from on stage! The feedback we got from the audience as we left the stage was humbling. It seems the weather had no effect on their enjoyment and if anything, actually increased the determination to have a good time. That British Bulldog spirit and shines on! Our special thanks go to the venue owners Mick and Helen, who had the courage to support our crazy idea of doing a concert to 500 people right next to their jet-ski lake, let alone allow us to have an aeroplane perform aerobatics and launch a load of fireworks. They worked their socks off in providing everything that was required from the stage trailers to the generators to power the event, through to the specially brought in portable loos! If ever you're out that way please support their venue, it has a cracking restuarant - and great people - inside! As ever we are indebted to our crew of Cable PA and Light Co Design, both of whom had to work in testing conditions but still provided us with top quality sound and light. Also in our set up are our Mick Burrows, our merchandising man (what would we do without his half-time drinks run?!) and Birmingham Steve who ably helps out behind the scenes. Biggest thanks of all though goes to Steve Smith and Jane Bradley, owners of the Sharnford Arms just down the road. Jane looked after the ticket sales from there whilst Steve, who's idea this whole shindig was, had spent the last few weeks distributing flyers and posters, painted his van into a stationary concert advert on the pub car park, built the stage set up and all it's components, organised Colin and his plane for us, generally worked like a trojan on our behalf - especially the two days beforehand, provided us with chinese food in the dressing room - and then let off all those fireworks! Thank you very much Steve! Biggest thanks of all though goes to everyone who turned out and made the show the succes it was. We can’t wait for next year - and hopefully - no rain!!! Steve - DSOTW

27 July 2010

Hi everyone. We're delighted to report that tickets have been flying out the door for this Friday's (30th July) 'Great Gig On The Lake' at Stanton Lakes in south Leicestershire. So much so that we've decided to move the stage to a larger area outside the main building and increase the capacity! Two artic trailers linked together will form the stage alongside the lake and we're putting on extra 'beer stations' as well as running a barbecue and providing camping facilities for anyone who fancies the complete outdoor experience. We're determined this will be our most spectacular show of the year and promise an amazing opening to the set at 8.30pm! All tickets are £10 each and we have had some more printed having sold out the initial 250 and they're available from Stanton Lakes (tel: 01455 283043) with a limited amount also available from the Sharnford Arms, just down the road in Sharnford (tel: 01455 272384). We advise you book your tickets to ensure entry. Stanton Lakes is primarily a jet-ski centre and can be found on Broughton Road near Stoney Stanton in south Leicestershire. For Sat Nav users the postcode is LE9 4JA. You'll see our banner at the entrance gate! We will definitely be including Emily's fantastic version of 'The Great Gig In The Sky' (though we've told her to change the words from 'sky' to 'lake' for this one!!!). Dave Goodwin will also be joining us on saxophone and we'll be performing a greatest hits type of set featuring classic material from all the main Pink Floyd albums. Everyone keep everything crossed that the weather stays fine - see you there! Cheers Steve - DSOTW

09 July 2010

Hi there. Our show at Stanton Lakes on Friday 30th July is shaping up to be a truly memorable occasion. Pink Floyd music performed beside a lake as the sun sets - what could be better? We've been busy behind the scenes and can also promise some spectacular surprises as part of the event. In addition, there's on-site camping if you fancy making a night of it and the venue will also be running a barbecue. Quite simply, the 'GREAT GIG ON THE LAKE' is a show not to be missed. Tickets are £10 each (£5 for under 12s) and are available from Stanton Lakes (tel: 01455 283043) with a limited amount also available from the Sharnford Arms, just down the road in Sharnford (tel: 01455 272384). We do have a capacity limit so recommend you get advance tickets if at all possible. However, we will operate a pay at the gate facility should there still be some available. The venue is on Broughton Road,just outside Stoney Stanton in south Leicestershire, just off the Narborough Road (B4114). Postcode for Sat Nav users is LE9 4JA. See you there! Steve - DSOTW