Monto – SCiFi Circus

LIGHTS! check, SOUND! check, EQUIPMENT…ahh, just a tick…!

May 28, 2012
by SCiFi Circus

Well, everyone has a few issues at gigs but this was something else…

We got there in plenty of time and all ready. The sound engineer turned up and started to get everything set up:
“Dude, where’s the drum kit and amps?”
“Just in that cupboard”
“This one?”
“Yeah, that one…hang on…oh dear”

Yep, there was practically nothing, just a guitar amp. So while we tried to get hold of the promoter, Simon was busily working out a set that we could play with just one guitar and no drums…

In the meantime the other band, Sound of The Nudge, turned up and to cut a long story it turned out the promoter had made a mistake!! They were apologetic and offered us a gig at the Monto Water Rats to make up for it that night. But the other band had agreed with the manager at The Shoreditch that they would grab their equipment and we could all play a free gig. Since we had people already turning up we stayed and although the set was a little shorter, it was an excellent night.

Big Thanks to Sound Of The Nudge for grabbing their stuff and making the night go ahead. These guys have some awesome tunes and are well worth checking out if you can.

Loads of Thanks, also to everyone who came along and supported us in what started out a bit of a nightmare but ended up in a success.

Set-List

1. SCi-Fi Theme
2. All Too Easy
3. In Other Words
4. Nod to J.B.
5. Hammer
6. Jack Chambers
7. Wave

Gig

SCi-Fi @The Shoreditch

May 8, 2012
by SCiFi Circus

Hey Amigos!

We are excited to announce a new gig date with Monto at THE SHOREDITCH!!
This is a great venue in Shoreditch, East London. It has a bar on the ground floor and a live stage in the basement.

It will be the first time for us there and we want to show them we can rock the place up! The venue turns into a nightclub after the live bands until late at night.

We’re on stage at 9:15pm. But do come before for a chance to catch up around a few drinks before the show starts.

Happy hour drinks 2 – 10pm:
2 x cocktails for £10
4x beers for £10

The venue is operating a guestlist entry price at £6 until 8:20pm: anyone confirming their attendance to the gig will automatically be added to the guestlist – just give your name at the door. If you arrive after 8:20pm you will have to pay the full price of £8.

It’s on a Saturday night so no excuses!
Look forward to seeing you all there!

Gig

As Punch would say “That’s The Way To Do…

April 4, 2012
by SCiFi Circus

We weren’t too sure what to expect from our gig at the Monto Water Rats.

We were given the gig only a few days before and it was only a few days after our gig at The Bowery. Luckily the promoter was the same as The Bowery gig and understood that we might be few on attendance. It also looked like the other acts on the night were going to be mainly singer-songwriters (acoustic/minor band thing). Despite these slight concerns, though, we were certainly looking forward to playing at what is a very cool venue.

When we arrived, a look on the stage told us that we were going to be using the same equipment as at The Bowery. This caused a little worry (a worry that was completely unnecessary as will be shown). Jildas was once again facing a single rack Tom and what looked like a few less cymbals. But like all good improvisors he wasn’t worried. There wasn’t going to be a sound-check, just a line-check before we played. So once we had stored our equipment and had seen a couple of the acts (JC Ryan Band, and Rachael McCaul who were both excellent and worth seeing if you can) we went for some dinner.

Then we were ready to play.

We had decided on a set that we could just launch into and with the jet-powered rocket pants in place that is what we did…

The Sound? I’m not too sure how it sounded off stage, but on stage it was EXCELLENT! The engineer knew his trade. We could all hear ourselves and each other superbly. The volume was brilliant. This made us very happy when playing, which with luck made us give a good performance. Certainly the audience looked like they were enjoying it. They also gave Wave it’s first ‘Mexican Wave’!! 🙂

All in all a great night. Thanks to all who stuck around to watch our set. A big thanks also to the engineer for an excellent sound.

SET-LIST:

Sci-Fi Theme
All Too Easy
In Other Words
Nod To J.B
Hammer
Jack Chambers
The Vice
Awake
Wave

Gig

From London to France…and Back!! The Bowery!

March 30, 2012
by SCiFi Circus

It was our first gig at The Bowery and everything went well, sort of…

Sound-check was at 5pm and since we were headlining we got to sound-check first. They said they they could provide a back-line of drums, bass amp and two guitar amps; which is always a bonus since it saves lugging equipment across town! 🙂 This, though, is when fate decided to throw a few curve balls. I plugged into one of the guitar amps to be met with a crackling, bad connection sound. First off I tested the cables and they were fine, this meant it was the amp! Explaining the situation to the engineer for the night (I know he would have had a fair number of things on his mind, but still…) he didn’t appear to be too concerned. He did tell me there was another amp but that was completely gone! Marvelous.

Luckily, since we don’t have a bass player (yet?) I could use the bass amp and the thought of having to run back home to lug my amp across town was quietly subdued. Jildas, though, was greeted with a drum kit with only one rack tom, and you could see his brain re-working the parts for the tunes before he went on. The result? You wouldn’t have believed he played with two rack toms.

With troubles sorted we set off to look for food. In the end we ended up at Trafalgar Square where the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) were celebrating “Le Français J’Adore”. This involved a number of stalls and a stage that hosted a variety of artists from French speaking countries. The event had been going on all day but we only got the chance to see Féloche, who with a cool variety of instruments put on a great show. Jildas acting as occasional translator. All in all it appeared everyone was having a great time, except Nelson who just stood with his back to the whole event! 🙂

After this we headed back to The Bowery in time to catch Moonlighter‘s set. They played a great set, getting the audience involved and kicking out some great tunes.

Then came our turn.

Playing wise everything was excellent, we rolled out the set, including a little interlude to celebrate Matt’s birthday (while he cleared his way through a few drinks). People remarked afterwards that it was probably the tightest they had heard us. This is especially interesting, since sound wise everything wasn’t quite so great. Despite a hopeful sound-check I couldn’t hear myself too well, neither could some of the audience. Some could where they were stood, others couldn’t. Odd. Jildas could hardly hear myself or Simon King. Unfortunately this wasn’t just a case of turning the amps up because the engineer had mic’d them up and was in control of the overall sound. I figured that as long as I kept time with Jildas, and Simon did the same we would be all alright. It appears that we were.

Despite the slight troubles it was a cool venue to play and with Matt’s birthday celebrations carrying on well after, overall it was a great night. 🙂

SET-LIST:

The Call
Sci-Fi Theme
All Too Easy
The Vice
Jack Chambers
Awake
Matt’s Birthday Jigg
Gypsy Slapback
Hammer

Gig

LAST MINUTE GIG….MONTO WATER RATS!!!

March 16, 2012
by SCiFi Circus

HEY!!

We’ve just been given a last minute gig for Monday 19th. At the Monto Water Rats.

This is a great venue where a lot of great artists have played – The story goes Bob Dylan played his first UK gig here!

FREE ENTRY GUEST LIST

Best of all, the promoter has told us that anyone on the guest list for The Bowery gig will get FREE ENTRY to this gig. Anyone who isn’t on the guest list for the Bowery but wants to come to this gig lets us know before and we’ll put you on a list that will get you FREE ENTRY!!

We’re due on at 9:45pm so you don’t even need to make it a late one.

Why not kick start the beginning of the week with some High Energy Rock ‘n’ Roll? It’ll make the week go that much better, Promise…

….would we ever lie too you? 😉

Also on the night are Finn Bonel, Rubin, JC Ryan Band, and Rachael McCaul

Look forward to seeing you there. 🙂

Need a MAP?

Gig

GIG AT THE BOWERY

February 11, 2012
by SCiFi Circus

Hey all,

We are delighted to announce a new gig date as HEADLINE act at THE BOWERY!! with the promoter Monto. This is a great venue in central London. It has a bar on the ground floor and a live stage in the basement.
This is going to be a BIG gig! It’s our first time there and we want to show them we can rock the place up! The venue turns into a nightclub after the live bands until late at night.
So bring anyone you know who wants to party and have a dance!!

We are playing at 10:00pm. But do come before for a chance to catch up around a few drinks before the show starts.

The venue is operating a guest-list entry price at £6 until 9:00pm: anyone confirming their attendance to the gig will automatically be added to the guest-list – just give your name at the door. If you arrive after 9:00pm you will have to pay the full price of £8.

If you want to be added to the guestlist then just contact us via email or visit our Facebook Event Page and click “I Am Going” and you’ll be automatically added.

It’s on a Saturday night so no excuses!

Also playing on the night are: Moonlighter, Elia & The Low Tears, The Jump Cut, and Totem

Hope to see you there…. 🙂

Category: <span>Monto</span>