Cross posted...
I struggled to think of what to name this post. I was trying to be witty and punny with "Lip Service" somehow, but I am just
too damn tired for that.
I'll start at the beginning.
After running the music through, curling my hair, packing up the gear, the makeup, the dress and flyers/CDs, we were on the road.
We left a little later than planned, but still made it into Glasgow for 3pm. Google Maps had not been kind in my printed directions, but D's phone set us right and we ended up in a parking complex very close to the venue in the centre of the city.
We dropped the gear off at the venue (which was being decorated!) and were asked to return for my soundcheck at 4:30pm. After a very quick wander in Glasgow (the usual suspects: Starbucks, the Apple store) in the rain, we returned to the venue and I started getting ready. My soundcheck was delayed a few times to allow the headline act (
AMiTY) to do her check, but it was fine as I needed to glue some eyelashes on (my extensions were looking a bit sad!) and get that glittery dress on!
I finally 'checked at around 5:20ish, and after trying to get my cabling to work and finding a better solution, the piano and mic were set and tested, and sounded
fabulous. Like, I've never had a setup
that good. It was lucky that we moved the monitors closer, too, as the room got pretty loud later on.
I was asked at around 5:50 to leave the green room and have a wander so the cast could arrive and settle in a bit. They didn't really show up until 6:40ish so we just wandered the 3-floor venue, looking at the set up and decorations, etc. The signing room had mannequins with costumes from the show and a merchandise table (on the left, just out of shot in this picture), where I managed to leave flyers and a small amount of CDs - they sold out pretty quick! I think that actually worked in my favour as people were saying to me later, "Your CD was sold out! so how can I get one?"
Some flyers came back, but not many - so that's great, hopefully new people to look at the sites and sign up to follow me!
After letting the cast settle in, I went back into the green room to fix my eyelashes and met them all, and they were all incredibly lovely and accommodating. They were already on the red wine, and sadly the white wine in the room was warm, and so was the Foster's! Anna Skellern, who is Australian and plays Lexy, thought it was hilarious that Foster's had been put in the room because "No one fucking drinks Foster's!"
I didn't get long to relax, as the cast were whisked away to start the signing, and I was then taken upstairs to the ballroom. The very funny Jen Brister was entertaining the crowd, and the room was packed - partly with people hanging about, but mostly because the signing queue went all the way up the stairs and into the ballroom!
Shortly before going on, Lee (event organiser) said I could play an extra song if I wanted to, as I had more time. I tried not to panic, as I had prepared a few extra as this sort of thing almost always happens! I didn't have any sheets with me but decided I could wing it.
I played
Wellington, then
Shine On,
Break Your Heart and the new song written for the show,
In the Dark. In-between songs I bantered a wee bit about the show (and not being able to show my scene to my mother!) as well as how popular my Twitter account had become, because of
Lip Service fans. I'm currently at 455 followers, and I think I had 80 before I was on the show.
So it felt appropriate to take a picture of the audience for Twitter!
The crowd were very appreciative and I had a few laughs with my stories and of course I had to pander a little by saying we need a 3rd season! I definitely feel the show deserves one.
In the Dark is recorded and nearly finished, just needs a few tweaks - so I'll be getting that out ASAP. The debut went really well, and after it, I had to quickly decide what to play. I went with Hiding, which I haven't played in quite a while (apart from a few quick rehearsals) and mentioned it was off of my EP and when I said the title, I had a wee cheer from the front! Fun!
All in all, the performance went off without a hitch, and I really enjoyed myself. Afterwards, I was whisked back downstairs where I was able to relax and have a drink with Dave. I also took a picture with the lovely Amy (AMiTY).
I hovered around and then went out occasionally to check the queue for the signing area and to grab a drink from the wee "Shot O Clock" bar.
The first time I went out I was immediately grabbed by two Portuguese women who explained in broken English that they were fans of my music and took a photo with me. Then another fan I'd been talking to on Twitter called out to me and I went to say hi to her as well.
We decided we'd go upstairs and watch Julia & the Doogans play.
I then tweeted out to "come say hi!" and was almost immediately accosted by two other Twitter fans, one for just a chat, the other for a photo. It's the best fan photo of the night I think! (left)
By the bar a few ladies from Newcastle grabbed me for a chat and asked me to come and play down there sometime (maybe I will!)
I then spent the rest of the night listening to the music upstairs and when it became too hot, returned to the green room. While AMiTY played, I ended up signing flyers with random peoples' markers and one with an eyebrow pencil!
Downstairs I had more photos with fans, and when the signing was finally over, took a few photos with members of the cast, Heather and Anna. We spent a lot of time in the green room with the cast and just relaxing and keeping cool. It wasn't a hot night in Glasgow, but that venue sure kept the warmth in!
Finally, after the cast had gone, when the DJ was winding down and most of the fans had left, I changed back into my jeans and tee, and chatted to more fans in the hallway. I had a lovely fan tweet to say she wanted to buy tunes, so I visited her with a flyer ("that's good service!") and then another tweeted to say she wanted to buy me a drink - but as we were hoping to leave, I was outside the front door, so told her just to come and meet me. She had surprised her girlfriend with a trip up to the event and they were just lovely people. In fact, everyone I met was just so incredibly nice and were having such a great time.
Just before midnight we collected the gear, chatted to the media crew and then headed out to the car, to pay our £10 of parking for the night (pretty good deal, I thought for nearly 9 hours!). We hit the road, stopping only for petrol, and I was in bed falling asleep at 1:30am.
To say it was a great night would be a massive understatement. I'm so thrilled to have taken part in it, to have met all of these wonderful people, and to have played to a room of fans who seem to genuinely love what I do. The outpouring of support and love has been amazing, and I honestly felt for the first time in a long time that my music was reaching people and all the work I put in was worthwhile.
I'm so proud of myself, and that is a wonderful feeling. I can't wait to write and record more and get more out there.
My wee set of photos of the event is here. Professional photos/video to be linked soon.
