A couple of weekends ago, the Kenisia crew headed north after a great night in Bristol at the Junction with Anonymous Tip. We played the weekend with the mighty Catch It Kebabs and a fantastical time was had by all!
Saturday, 24th March found us in Barnsley, in search of food and footie scores before the gig. We found what we were looking for and ventured back to The Arches for a grand night of entertainment. First on were the lovely Make It Better Later, with a lovely violinist and a drummer with an interesting Irish/American/Nothern England accent. The played a smashing set. Next was Kenisia, with a slight delay due to my costume change – Phil could be heard all the way in Leeds, shouting ‘Get on with it!!’. We did get on with it and went down a treat, we were told. We made friends with a bald, madman named Bob who is currently stalking one of our crew. It’s not a bad thing though. Then came the Catch It Kebabs, whom we hadn’t played a show with in a long time. They were amazing as always. Dave is one of the most entertaining frontmen I’ve ever seen. It’s hard not to smile and dance along when he’s on stage. The rest of the Kebab crew are brilliant musicians and equally entertaining to watch.
At the end of the night we sent our trombone player to bed and the rest of us went in search of drink and merriment. We found it in a basement pub (the name escapes me) and then we wandered to another club with bassist/vocalist Jamie. I was a bit worried when I saw the rest of my crew being led off with Dave as I stood in a queue of a very load and buzzing club. It turned out to be a pleasant experience, from what I can remember of it. The night ended with Steve and I watching Southpark at Jamie’s, drunk and slowly sinking into unconsciousness. The next morning the Kenisia crew were all reunited and headed for Manchester.
Manchester was as lovely as ever. The sun was shining, we weren’t too hungover and had a wander round before the evening’s festivities. I saw a few bands earlier in the day and then went in search of my crew for a pint in some sort of secret-society pub not far from the Retro Bar where the gig was. We saw our new chums Make It Better Later and were excited to take the stage ourselves. The last time we played the Retro Bar we had to be towed to the gig and just barely made it in time to play! We had a good time even though I had a bit of difficulty with the Pimp Handstand. It all worked out in the end. The Kebabs played a stellar set as usual and at the end of the night hugs all round and we headed back to Bristol and Bath.
It was a great weekend and we are really looking forward to our next gig with the Kebabs on Thursday 12 April at the Junction. I only hope our Steve knows what he’s getting into as he’s agreed to put them up after the gig. As Nelson Munce would say, HA HA!