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October 2006
For various reasons Midnight have had a very quiet year. David took longer than expected to recover from his chest surgery, and Sarah was teacher training in a very demanding school, so there were less time and energy for gigs than we'd have liked. However, we've been using the time profitably to write some new material which we hope to present soon.
NOTE: Because of spam we have had to change our email address.
For information, bookings, tickets, CDs etc, please write to: midnight (DOT) band (AT) yahoo (DOT) co (DOT) uk
March 2006
Good fun at the first Pagan Network Conference -- thanks, guys!
October 2005
We played at the annual Halloween Festival at Queen Mary College, on one of the largest stages in London; there were some other great acts, loads of brilliant stalls and some top quality speakers, and a good time was had by all.
August 2005
We had the most fabulous time playing a 3 hour gig at Le Café Français, a great music bar right in the centre of our favourite French town, Chinon, in the Loire Valley. There had been a mediaeval market that day, and there was a free outdoor disco in the evening just a few minutes' walk from where we were playing, so we thought we might lose out. But not at all. After a superb pre-gig meal in the owners' flat upstairs (thanks, Séverine!) we took the stage shortly before 10 p.m. and had the satisfying experience of watching the audience grow and grow as we played. And we had our first fight! Street vendors had been selling the local wine (about which we wrote our song "Chinon Rouge") for 1 euro a glass all day during le marché médiéval, and one or two people in the town had been enjoying it... Fortunately Jean-Françoise had employed a professional bouncer for the night, so while he was dealing with a very drunk lady attacking him with fists and feet and handbag, the band just kept on playing. We finished some time after 2 a.m. with a blistering "Shoot Out the Lights", exhausted but exhilarated. See www.cafefrancais.fr for some pics: press the Galerie button, then enter Midnight in the Rechercher dans Galerie box.
Summer 2005
We took a break from gigs for three or four months in late spring and early summer while we all concentrated on other things -- and on writing some new songs, which we hope to bring to you soon.
March 2005
We played a very well-attended gig at the Priory School in Orpington in aid of "The Big Climb" fundraising campaign for the school's field centre at Ramfield in Blaenavon, Wales.
February 2005
We're delighted to say that our last gig at the Freemasons Arms raised £60 for the Tsunami relief fund at www.dec.org.uk -- and ticking the "tax" box means that that nice Mr Brown from Number 11 has added a bit more. We had a great time there, and playing the tapes back it sounds as if the audience did too! Sarah's father, a retired professional photographer, had two video cameras there; he's putting together a short promo DVD for us to send to some of the music festival organisers. Our thanks again to Andy Greig for doing such a great support spot.
January 2005
Well, we can say we've played the main stage at Fairfield Halls, Croydon -- even though by the time we were put on most of the audience had gone home! Sometimes there are disadvantages to being the headline band. But it was fun to know that only two nights earlier Status Quo had been stomping those very same boards. We were probably inhaling their very sweat...
But they had the right idea about how to do things. We found their running order still taped up backstage:
"Soundcheck: 5.00-5.30
Dinner: 5.30-7.00 ..."
And they came offstage about the time we went on...
That gig was at the end of November. At the beginning of November we'd taken part in a one-day festival in honour of the great singer-songwriter Pete Atkin: a really good day, with lots of great music.
France last August...
Well, what can we say about that? C'est magnifique, n'est-ce pas?
The entente cordiale was quite extraordinarly cordial. (Actually, it was Chinon rouge we were drinking, not cordial...) The French loved us. We were booked to play a «jeudi jazz» concert as part of the summer programme at Chinon in the Loire Valley. We were supposed to be playing in the open air, on the banks of the Vienne at Riviere, near Chinon, but as we waited to do our soundcheck the skies opened, and stayed open for the next few hours. So a quick rearrangement, and into the local hall -- which we filled. (A special thanks to the two sound guys who got soaked to the skin setting up all the equipment outside, trying to protect it from the weather, then stripping it all down again -- and giving us a brilliant sound.)
What we hadn't realised until we arrived at Chinon, the wonderful mediaeval town we were staying in, was that this year there were only four «jeudi jazz» concerts, and that we were the first of the season. Although Michael and David had been to several in previous years in Chinon itself, this one was about 8km out of town, which meant that people had to make the effort to drive out there in pretty foul weather; and yet, a friend told us afterwards, we had the largest audience she had ever seen there.
We also had a pretty damn good write-up in the regional paper, La Nouvelle Republique.
After that gig, the next one, in our local friendly bar/café in Chinon, was a more relaxed affair. We borrowed a sono (PA) from friends we've known for years, the electro-pop duo Chrysamande, and we also borrowed another friend, Sebastien Meunier, to play drums with us on seven or eight songs -- adding a whole new dimension to our music. We were supported by a local band called Spleen, playing blues-rock standards; and we had fun.
Thanks to everyone who helped us, and to the fantastic audiences we had at both gigs, and to all those who bought CDs!