Spires tour blog #5: Meat raffles and being harassed by hideous troll-like women

Part five of Spires‘ tour blog for Terrorizer. Four dates in, after their show in Grimsby, today features a meat raffle and being harassed by a hideous troll-like woman.

GIGS PLAYED:4
MILES TRAVELLED: 440
MEAT RAFFLES WON: 1 (no, seriously!)

We’re now back home in Manc land for a couple of days before heading ‘darn sarf’ on Wednesday. Much as I’d love to tell you about the well-needed rest I’m getting, the reality is that I’ve got two hellishly busy days working, and have just managed to squeeze enough time to write this blog. Metallica we are not.

Yesterday the tour hit Grimsby Yardbirds, and it was truly a day of polar extremes, ranging from great, to terrifying, and always surreal. Grimsby on a Sunday afternoon is not a particularly glamorous place; the main street was almost entirely deserted, and the continous grey concrete buildings and bordered up shops serve as a constant reminder of the legacy of Thatcher et al in the 80s. Upon leaving the vehicles we decided to hit the first pub we could find, for a quiet drink and a bit of reflection. The moment we walked in there was a western saloon style tense silence, which perhaps managed to last 30 seconds until we were harrassed by a hideous troll-like woman who’d consumed enough booze to fell an elephant (I’m fairly certain she wasn’t an elephant, but can’t be sure). On the plus side, I feel my downing-a-pint skills have improved considerably.

Determined that there had to be at least one pub where we could drink without fearing for our lives, we took a venture along the high street, and then found the friendliest, most welcoming pub on the planet. One thing you notice about fairly run down Northern towns is that except for the small minority who’d like to glass you for breathing in the wrong manner, generally the people are open, warm and welcoming, with a real sense of togetherness. But enough of the heartwarming sentimentality, lets get to the point…

We won the Meat Raffle! Yes that’s right, Spires and Incassum return home with a whole leg of lamb, worth almost £30! After this obscene piece of luck, the imminent gig seemed right down in our list of priorities, as it was much more important to celebrate our victory with one too many pints. On the way to the venue Chris from Incassum was heard to mention the timeless classic; “Oh fuck, I’m battered”.

Yardbirds is a cracking venue, and a biker pub in the true sense (home of the Lincolnshire chapter of the renowned Warlocks M.C.). We’ve always gone down well with the biker crowd, which is fairly surprising as we tend to be somewhat ‘flouncier’ than the average extreme metal band, but we recieved a very warm reception, and were even asked for an encore, allowing us to extend our set and play some material we haven’t played for a little while. The downside of this was that with it now being the 4th gig on the trot my throat was cut to ribbons, and my vocal range was cut by literally about an octave. Time to actually learn some vocal technique, methinks. Rather than attempt all the high notes and make a tit of myself, I had to adapt certain melodies, and leave out certain passages, but overall i think we got away with it. Definitely a venue we’d like to return to.

Well, leg one is over, and it’s been a great experience. Next installment will be on Thursday, after our Kingston gig. Stay tuned for tales of shandy drinking southerners (way to half our fan base!), overpriced everything, and more cliched hyperbole to counteract our general lack of rock and roll behaviour.

See you next time!

Paul & Spires

Spires have the following dates remaining on their tour:
November 30 – Kingston Peel
December 1 – Reading Face Bar
December 2 – Derby Old Bell
December 4 – Manchester Moho