SCi-Fi Circus – SCiFi Circus

It’s Sound Jim, and Just As We Like It!

April 29, 2013
by SCiFi Circus

So another gig at The Enterprise, Chalk Farm with the promoter Big Note.

…and how did it go?

Another great gig at this very cool venue, with a little hick-up!

We were pretty excited to be playing back here because it was going to be the first time with Yann and we were up for showing off our new sound. We also had a new track that we were getting pretty pumped about and we wanted to see how people would react to it.

When we got there everything seemed to be all good, but then we found out that none of the guitar amps worked! No one had told Cliff, the engineer, this who was under the impression that, while one of the amps wasn’t working, the other one was fine!! Unfortunately none of the other bands had an amp and the only one was what Simon had bought with him. While this was fine for the other bands who only had one guitarist, for me this wasn’t so good. That left only one real option…

…to put the guitar (and fuzz pedal!) direct into the mixing desk!!

Now some will know that this isn’t the most favoured of methods, and those that don’t. Take my word for it. The only option was to do a bit of nifty EQ’ing and blend it as best into the rest of the band. Remembering that this was the instrument that was going to be doing most of the lead work.

…and the result?

Through my monitor it was pretty raspy, and I was a little worried but according to some people I spoke to in the audience, it was fine and ironically some said it was better because they could hear some of the solo’s more clearly! Since the gig is pretty much to make sure the audience has a good time, I can’t complain.

Despite this almost non-existant hick-up the gig went brilliantly! Yann again showed how much of a great bass player he is and the audience loved it. The new song Psyche Jam (a sort of Floyd-esk jam) was received exceptionally well and got a great response, which was cool because we had a whale of time playing it! 🙂 🙂

There were also excellent sets by Jude, The Dark Rays and The Best of British Suicide.

All in all a great night. Many thanks to everyone that came down to show their support (we really couldn’t do it without you 😉 ), Cliff for his engineering wizardry, and Big Note for letting us play.

SET-LIST:

The Vice
Synesthesia
Hammer
Jack Chambers
Swirl
Psyche Jam
Flesh

Gig

GIG! GIG! GIG! @The Rattlesnake

February 20, 2013
by SCiFi Circus

Roll Up, Roll Up!! The wait is nearly at an end!

Soon you will hear the Circus as you have never heard it. It’s time for us to unleash Yann on you all…

In association with Symptomatic Presents we will be playing at : The Rattlesnake, 56 Upper Street, London, N1 0NY

We’re due on at 7:45pm

Tickets £8/£6 Adv.

Also playing on the bill are:
The Strangers, The Superficial, Paris Pickpockets and Sabre Tooth Monk

You’ve been warned…. 😉

Band Members

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ROLL UP!! ROLL UP!!

December 2, 2012
by SCiFi Circus

SCi-Fi Circus are very pleased to announce our newest member of the group:

Yann Le Guénic

Recently arrived from Paris, Yann will add a whole new dynamic to the music with his bass. How will this sound? We’ve been leaving rehearsals with massive smiles on our faces, if that’s any indication.

…and the newly opened massage parlour round the corner is pure coincidence!!

So prepare yourselves for the SCi-Fi sound, but notched up to 11. The set has been re-energised and several new songs are being crafted, so watch the gigs page for opportunities of hearing this for yourselves. You won’t be disappointed. 🙂 🙂

Incidentally, Yann’s presence also makes the band a truly 50/50 Anglo-French enterprise. Uniting these two great nations, something that all the monarchies/governments could never do… 😉

Enterprise

Sunday Morning?…Not Yet, it’s Still Saturday Night – The…

July 4, 2012
by SCiFi Circus

Sometimes we all have off gigs….luckily this wasn’t one of those. It was an awesome gig!!

To begin with we were the first electric group of the night. Big Note like to have a nice selection, some acoustic acts to get everyone into it, and then the electric groups to finish it off. As it turned out there were a number of very mellow acoustic acts. This created a nice mellow atmosphere, people relaxing around the stage, almost just chilling out…

…Then we came on. We’re not really a group that is best described as a mellow sounding band, as a number of you who have been to our gigs can testify. We like to launch into the set, and tonight we couldn’t make any exceptions!! We were very eager, for one JD had a new snare skin which cracked like a mother F*#@ker. We just couldn’t…

So we didn’t!!!

Once the initial shock had passed (a few people remembering that sitting by the amps is not the best idea) people suddenly remembered this was Saturday night and started to rock out, you guys were on form!! This fuelled us even more and by the end of it we were knocked out, sweaty, but completely buzzing.

Many thanks for Big Note for hosting us, Cliff the engineer for a great sound and , of course, all of you who came to hear us and made it another awesome gig!! 🙂

Set-List

SCi-Fi Theme
All Too Easy
In Other Words
Nod to J.B.
Hammer
Jack Chambers
Synesthesia
The Vice
Wave

Gig

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!

Enterprise

NEW GIGS – The Underbelly & The Enterprise

April 6, 2012
by SCiFi Circus

Hey! We have a few new gigs on the horizon.

The FIRST GIG is at The Underbelly, Hoxton Sq on Sat 12th May at 8pm with the promoter Symptomatic Presents.

This is the first time we have played at this venue and with this promoter. So come and help us show them how it’s cut in the Circus fashion!!

Time: 8:15pm

Cost: £6 on the guestlist or with a flyer.

We’ll add the flyers soon. Or head over to our Facebook events page and click that your going and well add you to the guestlist. Alternatively just drop us a line and we’ll add you.

The SECOND GIG is at The Enterprise, Chalk Farm on Sat 30th June at 9pm with the promoter Big Note.

Big Note always put on a great night and we enjoy playing for them. So come along for what will be another great night.

Time: 9pm

Cost: £5 with a flyer (we’ll add these soon)

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. 🙂

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Tag: <span>SCi-Fi Circus</span>