The Leisure Society – Tour Diary #2

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3rd April : Westgarth Social Club, Middlesborough
Hello again TLOBF. We’re back on the bus, zooming up the motor-way playing more Weetabix. Hunky Dory on the stereo, Mike and Will still adapting the rules of the game at their leisure (no pun intended).

A thirty minute stop off at BBC Tees where we perform ‘Cars’ and ‘Bonafide’ and do a quick interview. Arriving at Westgarth Social Club we are met by THE NICEST PROMOTER IN THE WORLD, Andy Carr from ‘The Kids Are Solid Gold’. Soundcheck is not without its challenges, but everyone is so darned lovely we don’t really mind.

The place starts to fill up as we hang out in our little dressing room. There is a handheld snow-machine which we all eye excitedly until Will breaks the tension and lets fly with it. It sounds like a chainsaw biting into an anvil. The idea of spraying snow into the front row’s faces as Nick starts the opening bars of ‘Last Of The Melting Snow’ is mooted, then quickly dropped.

The show is a beautiful thing, we get the impression that the crowd are just pleased someone made it out here, it would certainly explain the profound level of warmth we receive from the moment we take to the stage. The highlight undoubtedly is the moment Christian’s step-father Russ Field (ex Showaddywaddy guitarist & local hero) joins us for ‘Matter Of Time’ on ukulele. We play numerous encores until we run out of songs. No-one leaves. We are invited to various houses and flats and hotels and asked when we are coming back. Seriously – these people are beyond friendly.

Travel Lodge. 1am. We order beers and ciders and ice from the recalcitrant night attendant. Christian proceeds to drop the ice all over the floor and is viciously heckled by a slurring bar-stool-sloucher in a football shirt. Demonstrating surprising restraint, Christian pretends not to hear. Night night.

4th April : St Bride’s Church, Liverpool
We awake in our Travel-Lodge beds with bass player Darren’s darkly portentous words still ringing in our ears. “Be vigilant tomorrow guys, it’s a wonderful city but it’s a different world up there, you can’t buy anything that isn’t locked up behind a cage.” We swear that by the end of the evening, he had us convinced that WE would need to be caged for tonight’s show.

We arrive, we’re playing a beautiful big church, there’s not a cage in sight. Darren is momentarily contrite.

Before the show we head to a local bar to watch the Liverpool v Fulham game. It’s mainly Mike and Bas watching actually, the former as a hopeful Liverpool fan and the latter as a nervous Man Utd fan. On the way home we nip into an off-licence for beers. Upon entering we find that the entire shop interior is encased in a glass cage. Poking his cash through the one yielding orifice, Darren looks back at us with the kind of vindicated grin that only a bass player of his rare breed could muster.

Back at the church people are arriving. The pews are full so people head up to the balconies meaning that when we take to the stage we feel like we’re in a theatre. God’s theatre perhaps. It’s a strange feeling for the seven of us, standing with our backs to the alter, our instruments in hand, cans of Stella at our feet, looking out at a church full of people and singing ‘We Were Wasted’. What kind of sermon IS this?

After the show we drive back to Mike’s parents house where we play pool in the kitchen until the early hours. Band members fall away to their beds one by one. Everyone is exhausted. The last thing we see of Helen she is standing motionless and expressionless with a curious reindeer hat on her head. It is quite the saddest thing we have ever seen, so we all take photos.

5th April : Royal Park Cellars, Leeds
Mike’s parents came from heaven. They construct a makeshift table in the garden to take advantage of the Warrington sun then furnish said table with tea, coffee, toast, eggs and bacon. Christian’s brother Ben (our tour manager extraordinaire) holds court and we all start to feel human again.

Diesel ask us to record a short message for their website to introduce one of our songs. Frankly we struggle with this sort of thing but luckily Mr & Mrs Siddell come to the rescue once more. “Hi, we’re Mike’s parents and this is ‘Save It For Someone Who Cares’ by The Leisure Society”. Sorted.

Our day in Leeds turns out to be very relaxed, pub-based and boozy. Bas leaps to his feet as 17 year old striker Macheda saves the day with a really good leg-kick at the ball (yeah we know how to talk football).

The venue is by far the smallest on the tour so the ‘Tonight’s Show Sold Out’ sign feels slightly less hard-earned than the rest, but who’s counting?

The crowd seem like a shy bunch but they warm up and its a grand show in the end, just as things start to really fizz and pop we have to end though because of the strict 11pm curfew. Boo. Curfew’s are rubbish. Ah well, see you in Birmingham.

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Part 3 coming over the next few days.
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You can still catch the band on the following dates, including an extra special show on the 14th April featuring Loney dear and Snowbird (ft. Stephanie Dosen and Simon Raymonde). More details on that show here.

9th: BIRMINGHAM – The Glee Club – TICKETS SELLING FAST! | LAST.FM
10th: MANCHESTER -The Ruby Lounge – TICKETS | LAST.FM
11th: GLASGOW – The Classic Grand – TICKETS | LAST.FM
12th: NOTTINGHAM – The Bodega - TICKETS
14th: LONDON – Scala* – TICKETS | LAST.FM | FACEBOOK

*supporting Loney dear