Copthorne Carnival

Copthorne Carnival again ...  our usual set in the ring

Consortium Tour - Bristol Set Lists

Ryan James

• Fistful
• Breath & let go
• Machine
• Jerusalem
• Whoa
• Gaga
• Over the River
• Mountain
• Trouble
• River of Bones
• Serenade
• Yo!

 Noterminus

• Tarnished Halo
• Hilary
• Muted Creatures
• Fast One
• Hell No
• Crawling Seasons
• Haselupkers Ink

Sankara

• The Harm Principle
• Full Flow
• In God we Trust
• Enigma
• The Dolls House
• Lullaby for a Lost Boy
• Guilded by Gaslight
• Chasing the Sun
• Light Your Journey Home
• 
  
• (Precious Things)

Sankara - The Tunnels - Bristol

Final date of the Consortium tour ...  Bristol. I was hoping for some good footage to do a tour video from, but I suspect that "Prankgate" kind of put paid to that, although some of the tracks will be good.

Steph would be making her first outing on the tour, having been constrained by work commitments during the rest of it. First of all I had to drive to Coventry to pick up KT who needed to get back home and this was the simplest way. From there it was straight to Bristol, and no trouble in finding Temple Meads station. As we pulled in we spotted Scott and Maria wandering around, who gave us directions to the venue.

The venue was in two tunnels under the station approach road,  with plenty of free parking (it being Sunday) outside. While we were hanging around for access the girls went off in search of sustenance (note to self .. don't expect change from any money given to them!).

Getting the kit into the venue was very simple with access to the doors and ramps down to the main floor. we just backed the van up and walked it all down. the tunnels were quite wide, one for the bar and lounge area with the other for the stage and main floor.
As the gear was being unpacked, Jay and I were talking to the sound guy, who we found out used to play with Mark Knight (who dep'd with Blue horses after Debs left) in K-Passa. Much tall tales and reminiscing later....

The girls returned from their "shopping" trip and gave me back a few coppers and some hot cross buns, and the set up the merch stall by the bar, suitably situated .

the Pranks started fairly soon after sound check, but these are described well enough on other pages... Ryan's blog and Jay's blog -  suffice it to say they escalated and the dropped off.

Apart from the pranks the sound was the best of the tour, and the show was really very well honed by now. (except for when I tripped up over a couple of leads on stage!). I wait to see how the video footage comes out.

The other great bit from the night was meeting up with Andy after what seems like an age. He popped down to see us and brought his camera. it was good to catch up and we look forward to seeing his photos.  Not to be out done, Jay's daughter Buffy arrived down from uni as well (really looking for a cheap ride home) but also enjoyed the show as well as playing the main line photographer.

After the show an much lengthy good byes we headed off into the night bound for home ... uneventful drive and fell into bed at 3:30 am.

Sankara - The Courtney - Teignmouth

The Missing Gig of the tour ...  We were not at this one, it was just too far.

By all accounts this was a rocking night ... Ryan did not play as his acoustic set up was too much of a challenge for the PA..  but Noterminus and Sankara had a great time.

The after gig Curry was, I believe, the start of the pranks that continued into Sunday!!

Sankara - The Garage - London

The second half of the Consortium tour.. this time west going east and back a bit.... The first stop was London ..  kind of local(ish) for me, and the prospect of getting back to my own bed really appealed..

The thought of driving around the M25 on Friday night whilst the world was heading out to their country estates and second homes did not appeal and I quickly found out that I could get a cheap parking ticket at Gatwick and ride the train/ underground - even better the tube station was less than 50m from the venue. .... Sorted.

Sue and I cruised up tot eh long term parking, caught the bus almost immediately and then the train was on time a few mins after we arrived on the platform. Train journeys are not fun, but my way of coping is to plug in the electronic pipes and get lost in some serious practice - not good for your companions, but it gets me through the time. Before long we pulled into Victoria, and were fighting the crowds to the tube station (this just reminds me why I don't work or live in London).

At Highbury & Islington tube station it was chucking it down ... we hovered in the foyer for it to slow down a bit, and then did a big circle to find venue. As the rain came on heavy again, I gave up and looked on the phone, only to find it two doors down.

We waited outside for a few moments before my mind translated the images coming into my brain ...  we could not possible load through a door in rush hour when there are red lines on the road...  there had to be another door... there was and it was the other side of the building.

Gareth, Vinden, Noterminus and Ryan were all there waiting for the van to arrive, and pleasantries were exchanged, before we popped into have a look at the venue ...
Upstairs again in the smaller room (downstairs was being used by Eddie and the Hotrods and Nine below Zero). but again a perfect size for this tour. the room was rectangular, with the toilets to the side of the stage (also the dressing room, which resembled a sauna). The bar was at the back of the room. The stage was comparatively cramped, and we had to put the guitar rack in a cupboard to one side.

Additionally Jay and Paul had given up with the straight DI boxes and brought along speaker cabs, so they were not relying on the monitor mixes. Not sure if it was this or the break, but the boys were really on fire this night with plenty of jumping around.

For dinner we raided the local Waitrose city store, you can tell this was London, loads of fancy pastries and Pate, rather than bread and pork pies!!.

Sue manned the merch stall which we placed by the front door made cosy with a washing line and some coat hangers.
Trade was variable, but we did sell some cds to the guitarist from Nine Below Zero before he did his set!!

At the end of the show, we could use the front entrance, which made loading the van easier, and after some quick goodbyes Sue and I headed for the tube. The journey back was memorable only for the drunken loud mouths on the train, with tails I would really rather not have to endure...  but it was only for 30 mins. At Gatwick there was a short wait for the bus, but another testament to British society with the scramble for the bus and depositing suitcases everywhere. Before long I was curled up in my bed fast asleep.

Saturday would be spent preparing for the next day and the final date of the tour.

Consortium Tour - London Set Lists

Ryan James

• Fistful
• Breath & let go
• Machine
• Jerusalem
• Whoa
• Gaga
• Over the River
• Mountain
• Trouble
• River of Bones
• Serenade
• Yo!

 Noterminus

• Tarnished Halo
• Hilary
• Muted Creatures
• Fast One
• Hell No
• Crawling Seasons
• Haselupkers Ink

Sankara

• The Harm Principle
• Full Flow
• In God we Trust
• Enigma
• The Dolls House
• Lullaby for a Lost Boy
• Guilded by Gaslight
• Chasing the Sun
• Light Your Journey Home
• 
  
• (Precious Things)

The Consortium Tour - York Set Lists

Ryan James

• Fistful
• Breath & let go
• Machine
• Jerusalem
• Whoa
• Gaga
• Over the River
• Mountain
• Trouble
• River of Bones
• Serenade
• Yo!

 Noterminus

• Tarnished Halo
• Hilary
• Muted Creatures
• Fast One
• Hell No
• Crawling Seasons
• Haselupkers Ink

Sankara

• The Harm Principle
• Full Flow
• In God we Trust
• Enigma
• The Dolls House
• Lullaby for a Lost Boy
• Guilded by Gaslight
• Chasing the Sun
• Light Your Journey Home
• 
  
• (Precious Things)

Sankara - The Duchess - York

Woken  by the sun somewhere around 9am .. not bad for a night in the van.  Music was coming out of the Frankie & Bennie's so we just had to check out the "Full English" whilst making use of the facilities. After a leisurely breakfast it was back to the van for some people watching and general chin wagging with Jay.. gradually most of the party made it out to the sun shine ..  and maybe some breakfast. For the rest it woudl be late lunch.

Just after midday we had everyone on board the respective vehicles and off up the motorway towards Leeds and then York. Totally uneventful, apart from following the van at the start with a lazy sat nav, resulted in going the wrong direction.. soon sorted and we took the lead until, we pulled into Morrisons just 400m from the venue, as we would find out later. Lunch was much the same as the previous day.. and followed some hanging around in the sun, until we had exhausted our 2 hours free parking.

Blindly following the "idiot box" we first had a problem where the sign said "only Buses and Taxis" before we read the bit teat exempted Sundays, then we went straight past the venue and dived into the tight narrow streets of the "shambles" before finding a way back ... the entrance was around the back, but - no parking - so having spied the venue it was then back to a suitable car park near Morrisons to wait for the loading time to arrive.

Much jollity later about Protein shakes, the time had come to load in. there was a great ramp around the back that lead directly to the front of the stage., but to access the loading bay was down a narrow cul-de-sac with no turning point. Even worse the nearest parking was on the roof up a ramp that only just fitted the van with the wing mirrors folded back.  interesting drive up, but coming down in the dark would be even more testing.

The venue was the largest we would play this tour, with a stage at the end of a long room with a bar off it and lounge areas scattered around. The only question was around the wire mesh barrier in front of the stage and bit of broken glass in the pit! the floor was again tacky at best.

We managed to find a good slot for the merch stall slightly behind and to side of the stage, but also covering the entrance to the dressing room.

During sound check, KT and I went off for some food ... Pizza would be the nearest we could find and definitely sustained us through the show.

No real hitches during the show, timing again was a tight but ready for this I ran around and got Noterminus on stage as early as possible..  so they were all tuned up and line checked ahead of the start time. They still went over, but not as dramatically and Sankara made up the time to finish on curfew.

Packing up was simple by now and we were very quickly ready for loading ..  Getting the van down was all luck, and good judgement, all I can say is the extra cost of the electrical wing mirrors proved its worth here like no other time.

Once everything was loaded, KT and I said our goodbyes for this half of the tour and headed South. We would carry Vinden down to the services at Nottingham, where the equipment van would head off to the South West and we would continue South. At the services Vinden transferred to ready prepared "nest" in amongst the kit in the back of the van.

Another round of goodbyes and we continued down the M1. I was going to drop KT at Bedford ready for the first day of work placement the next day. However as it came to it, I ended up crashing on the sofa of her Travel lodge room at 4am rather than continuing.

The next day I dropped her off at the industrial unit she would be working in and continued home (via the office) ready for a good long sleep.

So completed the first section of the tour. Time to recharge the batteries (literally and metaphorically) before it all starts again on Friday, this time in London.

Tour collective

Sankara - The Corporation - Sheffield

I awake with that feeling of "where am I?" and why is the bed a funny shape ... and soon jump to reality .. the car park behind a Travel lodge... Unlike those inside we had to make our way to the services for comfort breaks. No "Full English" at this services, but rather over priced coffee shops, so grateful for stocking up the day before, it was back tot he van and test out the stove..  Once I had remembered how to light it we were sorted.

Usual problem today ....  "what time do we leave in the morning?" should have been "when do I have to get up to get breakfast before we need to leave?". So after herding the cats out of the comfort of the duvets and TV we had to stop for coffee and donuts before continuing.

The journey to Sheffield was remarkably unmemorable, and before long we were circling a Morrisons. Finally the message was getting through and we met Noterminus having a late lunch outside, with bulging shopping bags of snakes for later ...  all except Paul who could not find any protein shakes ... on tour I ask you!  KT and I followed suit and had bread and sausage rolls, with fruit, whilst Ryan indulged in a vegetarian breakfast (don't ask).

Trundling into town after this feast we found the venue easily and parked up outside, filling the meters for an hour, until we could see if there was anywhere better (there was not but at least it was free after 18:00).
Noterminus were ensconced in the pub on the corner, and I had a look around the neighborhood, until the van turned up .. they had gone a slightly different way, but followed the basic itinerary.

While we were debating the opening time, a head popped out from the back and we were let in. Load in was much simpler as the exit lead onto a loading dock with ramp access to the venue. very similar activity to the previous nights, and soon we had all the gear strewn over the floor.

We were in the smaller room which had a raised stage (over 1 m.) but suited us perfectly, slightly worrying but not needed, was the perspex full body armour around the mixing desk.
There was a nice alcove by the emergency exit for the merchandise, and KT was out of direct line of the speakers
During the soundcheck I seemed to have caused a few perplexed looks as I was outside, in the courtyard. The rain had given over to a nice evening and I was enthused to get out the bagpipes .. the sound was travelling into the venue ;). But I did manage to entertain a whole block of students, as well as Noterminus and Ryan who had never seen me play before.

We had three dressing rooms this time .. mainly I would guess because nothing was on the main stage, but they were a healthy walk away. through to the main room, through a door to the right of the stage, round the inner loading bay, up some steps, through another door, follow a corridor around to the right, then turn sharp left, and they are arranged to the left. but luxury to be savoured. It also gave me an opportunity to re-charge the camera batteries, without having to keep an eye on them all the time.

The show went smoothly, apart from Noterminus running over again 6 mins (at least it was consistent), but this time with a very strict curfew Sankara had to cut a track out, to meet time. This was a subject I would repeatedly remind them of on later shows, but the extra 6 mins always stayed!!

Uneventful and rapid breakdown, however Jay and I quickly scotched any rumours of the (allegedly) skint members to head for the pub, by declaring we would head out directly to the abode for the night - a travel lodge in Barnsley. I was still tired and wanted a good nights sleep.

the lodge was in the industrial park, next to a Frankie and Bennies', where the vans would be parked as all the closer spots were taken. This suited us well, but not enough to get the top up, so plan B... moved some stuff around and lowered the back of the back seat - this was a little short but I would sleep solidly. However first there was the need for facilities. Everyone had disappeared, but luckily Jay had the room numbers and, by looking like we belonged we walked through reception and selected one to knock on .. By chance we hit he party animals room, but to our surprise, rather than everything in full swing they were almost tucked up and ready for sleep!!

The rest of the night was a blurr until thirst woke me in the morning.

Consortium Tour - Sheffield Set Lists

Ryan James

• Fistful
• Breath & let go
• Machine
• Jerusalem
• Whoa
• Gaga
• Over the River
• Mountain
• Trouble
• River of Bones
• Serenade
• Yo!

 Noterminus

• Tarnished Halo
• Hilary
• Muted Creatures
• Fast One
• Hell No
• Crawling Seasons
• Haselupkers Ink

Sankara

• The Harm Principle
• Full Flow
• In God we Trust
• Enigma
• The Dolls House
• Lullaby for a Lost Boy
• Guilded by Gaslight
• Chasing the Sun
• Light Your Journey Home
• 
  
• (Precious Things)

Consortium Tour - Birmingham Set Lists

Ryan James

• Fistful
• Breath & let go
• Machine
• Jerusalem
• Whoa
• Gaga
• Over the River
• Mountain
• Trouble
• River of Bones
• Serenade
• Yo!

 Noterminus

• Tarnished Halo
• Hilary
• Muted Creatures
• Fast One
• Hell No
• Crawling Seasons
• Haselupkers Ink

Sankara

• The Harm Principle
• Full Flow
• In God we Trust
• Enigma
• The Dolls House
• Lullaby for a Lost Boy
• Guilded by Gaslight
• Chasing the Sun
• Light Your Journey Home
• 
  
• (Precious Things)

Sankara - Asylum 2 - Birmingham

Friday morning ...  Early call to India for work.. I was up and in the van by 8 am, and listening in while eating some Welsh cakes from last night. The calls went on until noon, although I did get another hour sleep in between the early calls.

During this time Jay had picked up the van, and after a quick stop at Tesco's for food, by 1 pm we were on the way to Birmingham.

A short comfort stop at the M5 motorway services and some rolls, and before long we were driving into the heart of Birmingham. not really sure where we were heading, just following the "idiot box". we effectively traversed the middle and past the bullring, before ending up in an industrial area. It is hard to tell whether this was empty because of Friday half day early finish, or just run down clothing and manufacturing.

The Asylum was an industrial building turned into a couple of venues and a suite of rehearsal/ recording studios. There would be no entry until 5 pm, so we parked up in the impressively convenient car park, and waited for the others.

Gareth arrived next with Noterminus in his car, we occupied ourselves while the time past waiting for the venue to open and the van to arrive.
Simultaneously the van and the sound guy arrived. SO we all traipsed into have a look at the venue. Upstairs (again), with a tight turn on the stairs (again). This lead into a reasonable length room, with a low stage at the end ... so no worries about being cramped into on corner. The other notable thing was the floor ...  stand still for five minutes and you would be glued to the spot...  even the carpet by the door was in such a state that the stools were permanent fixtures, impossible to move once they settled into the gooo.

Load in was easier, as  now everything was in the van, and with the logical order of things, it was simple to move from van to floor to stage.

During Soundcheck, KT and I went off to find something to eat, and also the local supermarket, for late night snacks.. after wandering around and asking a few people we found the local Tesco's and then back via the Chippie (where we bumped into Gareth and jay doing the same thing).

For the first time this tour there was actually a dressing room .. and was large enough for all bands. I must remember in future to carry some disposable mugs for Coffee/ Tea as there was a kettle, but nothing to put it into.

The show went similar tot he night before as the pattern settled in, and it was soon time to load up the van again. This was equally as simple as load in ... the van was right outside the front door.

After everything was packed up, some idiot (to remain nameless for now - but would crop up again) wanted to go to the pub ...  the nearest likely looking place as no longer a pub but a Lebanese restaurant. After walking up past the Tesco's we ended up in some place, which I guess would be OK in Daylight, but all I really wanted was some sleep. The party fiends were still at it at 1:30 am before I gave in and announced I was leaving and the person needing a lift needed to leave with me or walk ....  suddenly everyone was going - I wish I had made the statement and hour earlier!!!

We walked back to the van in pouring rain - another reminder we should have left earlier, and then negotiated our way tot eh Travel lodge on the M5 services. We have 3 rooms and 11 people, Jay and I would sleep in the vans, top keep an eye on the kit, and KT opted to stay with us too .. it was a bit obvious to put the roof up so we arranged the seats to face each other and slept across them.... not entirely successful, but meant the next night we would try plan B. I was so tired I did not care and was asleep very quickly.

Tomorrow Sheffield.

Sankara - Full Moon - Cardiff

So the first date has come around ... all I have is a post code, I have never been to this venue, (or any of those on the tour), so it will be an adventure. We arrive early and pass the end of the road the pub is on, but this end is blocked off, and in our attempt to come back a different way we circumnavigate Cardiff at "going home time", so it is gone 5 pm by the time we finally get there.
 The Full Moon being down a side street was not an easy place to load/ unload, no immediate parking, and several venues all protecting their own turf expectant for the (hopefully) coming crowds.
Negotiating a short term unloading spot, we took out the camera kit, but left the lighting on-board - the venue was too small to be cluttered with lights. Once emptied the search for a parking spot was on, we moved over the bridge and searched around the back streets for an empty not reserved for residents spot. Eventually finding one, but I would come back several times during the evening to check it was OK!

The Venue is upstairs, round several corners, down a bit, and into a back room, the (very small) stage huddled into the corner between the Bar, the fire exit and Gents. The boys will be huddled together tonight fighting for space.

Loading was a little chaotic, as this was a "home"
venue, everyone arrived under their own steam, and the kit was loaded and dumped. Then Vinden went to work building the kit.

Once everything was loaded on stage the sound check process went under-way.  KT and I left in search of some food, and snacks for later.
Around the corner we found a "express" market, and stocked up on "goodies" and water. The food of choice was Chinese ...  an oriental fast food place, with eat in facilities.

Back at the venue KT had the merchandise stall on a table by the bar, with Jay manning the entrance table downstairs.

We started on time and by curfew all three bands had successfully negotiated their sets.

Breakdown was relatively straight forward, and although there was many more people around, we got the vehicles up close and loaded quickly.

KT and I were crashing with Jay and Ruth's along with Ryan. It was 2 am before we finally settled down amongst the cats and sleep. Tomorrow would be a long old day, bit we did not know this at this time.

Consortium Tour - Cardiff Set lists

Ryan James

• Fistful
• Breath & let go
• Machine
• Jerusalem
• Whoa
• Gaga
• Over the River
• Mountain
• Trouble
• River of Bones
• Serenade
• Yo!

 Noterminus

• Tarnished Halo
• Hilary
• Muted Creatures
• Fast One
• Hell No
• Crawling Seasons
• Haselupkers Ink

Sankara

• The Harm Principle
• Full Flow
• In God we Trust
• Enigma
• The Dolls House
• Guilded by Gaslight
• Precious Things
• Chasing the Sun
• Light Your Journey Home

The Consortium Tour

Sankara is finally making a national tour ...  7 dates over 2 weekends. The tour will be a collection of 3 acts (Sankara, Noterminus, and Ryan James) ..  they have all played a one off gig at the Globe in Cardiff a few months ago, but this was the real thing.

to keep costs down and retain flexibility, we were all travelling together, and apart from Vinden being shared between Sankara and Noterminus, they would also share the Back line of bass rig and guitar connections, including pedal boards.

KT will be with me for the first round of the tour helping out with the merchandise, and door entry where we have to manage.

I had never met Ryan Before and the first time he started the proceedings off it was a surprise. Essentially he is a one man band, in the old fashioned sense, but with a piano rather than guitar/ banjo, etc. He certainly had some eclectic tunes, and was committed to entertain.

Noterminus were up next ...  again new to me, I had heard one track, and knew of Maria from her solo work also when she also supported Sankara at the EP launch.

Noterminus are very hard to pigeon-hole, and this is something they seem to be very proud of. Underlying are hard rock/metal riffs from guitar and bass, with a melody line straight from the Matt Cohen school of song writing. The package generates highs and lows, and I suspect each person will have different one.

Changeovers would be swift with the shared back line, and the additional fact that Vinden was playing drums for both Noterminus and Sankara, so no drum kit to change, no dual loaded stages, just a swift change and line check.