It begins to tell.....

...'round midnight, midnight...

Musician clocking off time

Our vehicles hadn't turned into pumpkins, but we were pretty tired after a long evening in Yealmpton on Saturday 27th April.  We played to help the friendly folk from Yealmpton celebrate 25 years of their twinning arrangement with Milizac in Brittany.

Les Mesures Désespérées ont joué la musique pour les personnes françaises et anglaises hier soir.

Speaking of pumpkins, do you know their favourite sport?  Squash.

We arrived at six o'clock to set up and kicked off around 7.30 while the partygoers had their meal.  To allow civilised bilingual conversation, we played a couple of low key sections.  Actually in many different keys, but...oh, well, you see what a late night does to your metaphors.  For these sections we had clarinet, bass and guitar, followed a few songs by Tessa with bass, guitar and keys.

We were then completely upstaged by the appearance of a new young french singer...

This petite chanteuse was part of a tradition of singing that seems to have evevolved in the the twinning arrangement, and there were further choral sessions during the rest of evening.

The Yealmpton Choir sing "Sloop John B"

The band can't resist joining in

More Desperate music was then played, and we were pleased to see that was well-received.

It was the best conga achieved in a Desperate audience so far!

Couple more pictures - and well done us!



Four to the bar (their usual destination)

That's not your mike, Tessa!

Next week, Sunday jazz lunch at the Bedford Hotel again.  See you there!

The Life of Pie

Following a successful day at a Wedding Fair in February at the Bedford Hotel in Tavistock, the Desperates have agreed to play for their lunch on the first Sunday of the month, for the next few months.

Today was the first - and we were greeted at the front door by the sight of a smart sign advertising the event.  Just like a proper band!

So for a jazz lunch, does the chef make it up as he goes along?  What scales does he use? 



The light and airy venue


We had access to a room to store our cases and coats...

...so we had a nice tidy stage

The aim of these gigs for us is to give ourselves a bit of exposure, in a manner of speaking.  And it seems to be working as we are now in discussion with one of the Sunday-lunchers about another possible gig in August. The events diary for the band is filling up nicely after along quiet period since Christmas. Check out our events on our web-site!

Our audience...

 

As things turned out, we were a bit premature with our set.  Over-excited...  The early tunes were well received, but only by a handful of diners - and by the time it came to the end of our first set, the restaurant had filled up.  Bravely and steadfastly, we elected to plough on without a break.  They'd come for a jazz lunch and, by jingo, they were going to get it.

The hotel seemed to be happy and we were offered free soft drinks.  Strangely, most of the band seemed to prefer slightly stronger stuff.  But this time, the accompaniment was not the usual crisps from the Royal Oak, but the chance to finish off the chef's roasted compositions. 

Living the dream....

Cheers!