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Driving home from the gig.


arthurhenry
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[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1329383900' post='1541449']
Nope..don't get this at all.
Sometimes I can't wait to get into a warm bed.
[/quote]
For me that's the wonder of it. You've finished a gig, it's late, you're lucky enough to not have to drive anyone home, low or no music to cool you're ears down, empty roads and then bed!
I love the bit of getting home to my bed, it's almost like a reward for a long, late night. "Here you are sire! Come and rest your music invincibility!"



Dan

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[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1329383900' post='1541449']
Nope..don't get this at all.
Sometimes I can't wait to get into a warm bed.
[/quote]
[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1329385982' post='1541498']
For me that's the wonder of it. You've finished a gig, it's late, you're lucky enough to not have to drive anyone home, low or no music to cool you're ears down, empty roads and then bed!
I love the bit of getting home to my bed, it's almost like a reward for a long, late night. "Here you are sire! Come and rest your music invincibility!"



Dan
[/quote]

Really envious - I usually have about 30/40 minutes drive as most of the gigs are local to the rest of the band. I find that I need at least an hour, sometimes two before I can go to sleep - I think it may be the drive more than anything else making sure I'm fully awake.

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I love the solitude and the quiet, although THAT may be just due the the loudness of the music and the quietness of my car immediately after. No problems falling asleep, adrenaline keeps me going for hours, even when stuck on the M25 in the snow a couple of weeks back. Home..large Whiskey and a snack, and some crud film on the box while I wind down...luvverly :)

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Last week's drive home wasn't fun at all. Thursday night, our drummer is driving the singer and myself back from Bridport in Dorset to Bristol. The snow that had hit Bristol earlier in the day had moved in over the Mendips so by the time we came through Shepton Mallet it was looking a bit dodgy and there was talk of pulling over and riding it out. No sooner had that been said, the front whells lost traction, the car fishtailed a couple of times before skidding right across a junction and into a brick wall.
Luckily, we only had scrapes and bruises but the drummer's car is a write off. We eventually got back to Bristol about 5AM an still had to go to work the next day.

The gig was good though - a lovely place called the Stables in Bridport.

Normally our drives back from Dorset (and there are many...) involve listening to Huey on Radio 2 and saying nice things about the gig. Sometimes we have musical themes - our singer hates saxophone, so we often put some Coltrane on to wind him up.

Edited by TheRev
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[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1329388974' post='1541562']
I miss this feeling - only done local gigs recently
[/quote]

Same here. Miss the drive back to Glasgow on a summer night from Twa Tams in Perth or a Dundee venue. Not quite dark, not quite light. Roaring past occasional artics with little else on the road, and quiet choons on the radio. Nice.

Edited by hairyhaw
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[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1329348261' post='1541260']
Dashing down the motorway with my gear to a pub near where I usually stay to get in a drink while the rest of the (non-driving) band sits back in the venue getting happily pissed.

Welcome to the world of upright bass.

Dorothy Sayers said somewhere ''like a double bass player, permanently encumbered with luggage. :)
[/quote]

gig in North London, back in the day when I was squatting... Played a fab gig in a social centre, me on the wash tub bass sounded huuuge... The guy who had been playing the upright in the band before had his eyes popping out, saying "why on earth have i spent 500+ quid on a db, which wasn't audible, and then you come and do THIS to me!" -

He was even more gutted when he, packing his DB in the back of a taxi, saw me flying by on a bicycle with the bass strapped on the back of it ... with the amp on the other side of the bike!!! What a laugh. I miss those days.

Though they were a pain in the ass!

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[quote name='Jacqueslemac' timestamp='1329383421' post='1541440']
That trip home is a special time, isn't it? The roads are quiet and I usually don't listen to any music (unlike the rest of the time), so it's just me and my thoughts.
[/quote]

Same for me, after the hustle & bustle of setting up/playing/breaking down the gear, the trip home is nice and peaceful, hardly any cars on the road, windows slightly open to let the cool night air in, nice and peaceful.

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[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1329388415' post='1541547']
Really envious - I usually have about 30/40 minutes drive as most of the gigs are local to the rest of the band. [b]I find that I need at least an hour, sometimes two before I can go to sleep[/b]
[/quote]This. and this week I have to get back up at sparrows f@rt and drive for 4-5 hours

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Quite envious of some of you. I can't remember the last time i did a gig that was more than 15 minutes from home. I know what you mean though as its a lovely time for reflection.

Once home i find it impossible to go straight to bed no matter how late it is. Always seem to need an hour of wind down before i hit the sack.

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[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1329484664' post='1543162']
Quite envious of some of you. I can't remember the last time i did a gig that was more than 15 minutes from home. I know what you mean though as its a lovely time for reflection.

Once home i find it impossible to go straight to bed no matter how late it is. Always seem to need an hour of wind down before i hit the sack.
[/quote]

I would love it to only be an hour to wind down. I've accepted sleep is going to be a long way off when I get home so I have a bottle of red waiting and an old black and white film recorded and ready to watch.

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We usually play locally anyway so the drive home isn't a chore for me. I'll normally put the old cd's on and it's quite nice and relaxing. I'm normally alone but very occasionally i'll have a mate with me, never the band mates as they have their own cars. I just hate taking all the gear back upstairs afterwards and packing it all away. It takes an age for me to get to sleep usually. I wouldn't change a thing! :lol:

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When we were looking for a new house one of the prime requisites (for me) was a front door that i could reverse right up to so that when opening the boot of the car i can move gear about without getting wet when it rains. Having achieved that i must say its lovely reversing into the drive knowing that its gonna take 2 minutes to unload and pack away. I pity you poor buggers with staircases and no off-road parking.

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a difficult one - I only enjoy it depending on the distances involved, the time and what I've got on the next day!
There's 5 of us though and we have a splitter so we share the driving.

I recall once having spent the weekend with the old band in London shooting a video over sat and sun, a few of us went out on the sat nigh to Camden and got royally wellied.
We managed to do the 2nd day of filming on the sun, but were booked into Rockfield for the week from the monday am so had to go straight there on the sun night.
We had 2 vans, I was driving one with the guitarist and we left London for Monmouth at 11pm - seriously knackered after 2 long days, crap sleep, a lot of ale and hung over.
Somewhere along the M4 we were both struggling to stay awake so ended up driving the rest of the way with the windows fully open, shouting (in a funny way) at each other and punching ourselves in the face just to stay awake. The lads in the 2nd van behind constantly kept flashing their lights and calling our mobiles to try and stop us falling asleep. Never again. Stupid.org

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