Whitby Gothic Weekend
In no particular order, here are some highlights of our trip to the UK:
The whole driving thing was quite the adventure. Finn and Dan decided that they were going to be the drivers on this trip and consigned me to the back seat where I held on for dear life as the two of them wrangled the car into and out of traffic. Dan started at Heathrow and we learned how roundabouts work. I figure it took 4 roundabouts and about 20 minutes before we worked out how to get out of the airport and onto the M1.
After a short stop at a roadside facility for breakfast (egg, bacon, toast, baked beans, fried tomato, and sausage) and terrible coffee Finn takes over. She immediate slips into Autobahn mode and we start making really good time. She drives with authority, slipping easily from lane to lane as we pass by Porsches and BMW's. The occasional Jag blows past us as if we're standing still. They glare at us as they pass. I mean really, is it legal to blow past some one who's already pushing 80 mph?
We stayed in a B&B in a small village called Robin Hood's Bay - about 10 minutes south of Whitby. The view was just incredible. I tend to wake up early in the morning when traveling so I took the opportunity to walk down to the water. The weather was warm, there was a cool breeze of the North Sea and I was in heaven.
Our first night in town was spent at a small pub where we met the event organizers and a whole bunch of other really cool people. We also got to hang out with our dear friends The Last Dance. Many friends were made, libations spilled, and a good time was had by all. Oh, one thing: bottles of New Castle Brown in England are much bigger than the ones we have here in the states. ENVY!
Friday morning comes with an early walk down the hill to the beach in Robin Hood's Bay. The view is breathtaking. Cool breeze, warm sun, and a nice bench all combine to make for a very pleasant morning stroll.
The sound crew in Whitby were wonderful. They had the right gear, the right attitude, and the made me feel very comfortable onstage. Being up in front of over a thousand people isn't so much fun when you don't have confidence in your equipment and a good sound crew can make all the difference in the world. They had my guitar tone dialed so well that I could feel every low chord in my gut. Glee!
Oh, yeah: I got to jam with The Last Dance! They invited me and my dear friend Valerie (accordionist/vocalist for The Hellblinki Sextet) up for their last song of the evening - Nightmares. That's been a favorite of mine for quite some time and it was awesome to be up there playing the violin part. I'm such a dirty whore when it comes to music: I'll play with anyone, anywhere. The more impromptu and improvisational, the better. And stepping on the stage with TLD was simply marvelous.
Our own set went really well. Of course, given the sound check we had, I really had no worries. We blew through some old favorites, some new tracks, and a healthy selection of our standards. Sleep Isabella seems to have been the stand out for the evening. At the very first phrase of the violin line, I could hear the crowd go nuts. It was great!
There was dancing, there was cheering, and after all was said and done, there was a lot of hobnobbing with all the steampunks by our merch table. I should just like to state for the record that this crowd of steampunks were all really well dressed. I felt very much underdressed, myself. I simply can't do justice to the outfits so I suggest you hie on over to flickr and hunt them down. There are plenty of photo sets and they are all very well put together.
I think we ended up rolling to bed at about 3am.
I'll post more as I have time and inspiration.
Cheers!
The whole driving thing was quite the adventure. Finn and Dan decided that they were going to be the drivers on this trip and consigned me to the back seat where I held on for dear life as the two of them wrangled the car into and out of traffic. Dan started at Heathrow and we learned how roundabouts work. I figure it took 4 roundabouts and about 20 minutes before we worked out how to get out of the airport and onto the M1.
After a short stop at a roadside facility for breakfast (egg, bacon, toast, baked beans, fried tomato, and sausage) and terrible coffee Finn takes over. She immediate slips into Autobahn mode and we start making really good time. She drives with authority, slipping easily from lane to lane as we pass by Porsches and BMW's. The occasional Jag blows past us as if we're standing still. They glare at us as they pass. I mean really, is it legal to blow past some one who's already pushing 80 mph?
We stayed in a B&B in a small village called Robin Hood's Bay - about 10 minutes south of Whitby. The view was just incredible. I tend to wake up early in the morning when traveling so I took the opportunity to walk down to the water. The weather was warm, there was a cool breeze of the North Sea and I was in heaven.
Our first night in town was spent at a small pub where we met the event organizers and a whole bunch of other really cool people. We also got to hang out with our dear friends The Last Dance. Many friends were made, libations spilled, and a good time was had by all. Oh, one thing: bottles of New Castle Brown in England are much bigger than the ones we have here in the states. ENVY!
Friday morning comes with an early walk down the hill to the beach in Robin Hood's Bay. The view is breathtaking. Cool breeze, warm sun, and a nice bench all combine to make for a very pleasant morning stroll.
The sound crew in Whitby were wonderful. They had the right gear, the right attitude, and the made me feel very comfortable onstage. Being up in front of over a thousand people isn't so much fun when you don't have confidence in your equipment and a good sound crew can make all the difference in the world. They had my guitar tone dialed so well that I could feel every low chord in my gut. Glee!
Oh, yeah: I got to jam with The Last Dance! They invited me and my dear friend Valerie (accordionist/vocalist for The Hellblinki Sextet) up for their last song of the evening - Nightmares. That's been a favorite of mine for quite some time and it was awesome to be up there playing the violin part. I'm such a dirty whore when it comes to music: I'll play with anyone, anywhere. The more impromptu and improvisational, the better. And stepping on the stage with TLD was simply marvelous.
Our own set went really well. Of course, given the sound check we had, I really had no worries. We blew through some old favorites, some new tracks, and a healthy selection of our standards. Sleep Isabella seems to have been the stand out for the evening. At the very first phrase of the violin line, I could hear the crowd go nuts. It was great!
There was dancing, there was cheering, and after all was said and done, there was a lot of hobnobbing with all the steampunks by our merch table. I should just like to state for the record that this crowd of steampunks were all really well dressed. I felt very much underdressed, myself. I simply can't do justice to the outfits so I suggest you hie on over to flickr and hunt them down. There are plenty of photo sets and they are all very well put together.
I think we ended up rolling to bed at about 3am.
I'll post more as I have time and inspiration.
Cheers!