This was probably the most interesting gig we’ve ever played for a number of reasons.
- We didn’t have to reach out to book it. The venue contacted us on MySpace.
- They gave us free beer.
- They PAID us.
- The people in the pub were really into it and complimentary.
- There was slam poetry and soup between bands.
So, about promotion: back then, MySpace was king for bands promoting themselves. We had a pretty slick website, but it was the turn of web 2.0 and people were turning to platforms. MySpace, Friendster, Facebook and so promotion via bulletin boards was rough. The George’s promoter reached out and booked us.
When we arrived they gave us a metric ton of beer tokens. We setup and sound checked and a guy walked in off the street, ordered a pint and shouted “fucking good for a soundcheck” - good start.
The gig was made up of all different bands, different genres and was interspersed with slam poetry and soup for the…..hungry I suppose. It was massively communal and welcoming. We were very noisy in comparison to the other bands, so once our din ended, it would just stop for an entire rammed pub to listen to poetry and gently sip soup. Our mate Benway was there and one of the poets looked to him between slams and said ”Shit beard” - very much a “did we all witness this?” moment. Less slam, more roast.
Afterwards, someone said to Mikee, “Great job, I liked the set, especially Punch Your Way Into Heaven“. He said “Oh you know that one?”
“No, but that is what it’s called …right?” like yeah, duh obviously, of course.