Upcoming gigs
Yup – it’s true – we’re gracing the stage of MK11 for the first time in a few years – it’s a great venue and you get three great bands for a fiver. It’s one we’re really looking forward to – we’ve got some new stuff to play and we’d love to be playing it to you. Tell the world – they deserve the chance to be there 🙂
Yes it’s true!
We’re playing live on Saturday (well Steve and Mick are, but that’s another story) and unless you’ve got a really good excuse and a note from your mum, then you really should be there. We’ll be playing a mix of old favourites, new covers and brand new original songs, each of which is guaranteed to tickle your fancy*.
It’s at the Cannon in Newport Pagnell – scene of many rather fun Box Ticked gigs in the past – so the odds are in your favour of a fun night. There are three rather good bands all for less than the price of a pint, which is a damning indictment of the music scene and the cost of beer. Probably.
Steve and Mick will be kicking proceedings off about 8:30 ish, followed by regular bill-mates The Fear of Ray, who will themselves be followed by The Zeroes.
More details here – https://www.facebook.com/events/212533432847383/ – please share the event, bring friends, like our stuff and all that.
See you there 🙂
I know you’re all pretty jealous of the crazy rock and roll lifestyle that persistently unsuccesful original bands lead, and of course you’re right to be – there is nothing more exciting than spending all the money you earn from your day job to fund the job you really love ;-).
Anyway, I was organising a few pictures the other day and came across a few that we took on arrival at the Craufurd for the Ramonas gig a few months ago. I think they do a pretty good job of showing just how remarkably dull/exciting/lonely/together (delete as applicable) the behind the scenes stuff can be.
One of the timeless questions that greater minds than mine have troubled with for millennia, however I know the answer – you go down the ramp opposite where the old entrance used to be to Wolverton Station, start to worry that there’ll be nowhere to turn round, get to the bottom and realise that’s true, accept that you’re there for the duration and just enjoy yourself. Either that or just follow the signs 😉
Anyway, it was taking place on Mick’s birthday, he was feeling very unwell, it had been raining on and off, so everything augured well for a great gig. Actually it was great fun – a fairly sizeable crowd who’d brought picnics along and were generally relaxed and enjoying themselves. Music was providing by the delightful Glass Tears, the delectable Mark Owen, the desirable The Outside This and the delirious The Box Ticked.
We often play ‘no set list rehearsal’ gigs where instead of heavily rehearsing a carefully thought out and structured set, we decide what we’re going to play with a quick chat in the half-hour before we go on. What we’ve started to do more often recently is a genuinely ‘no set list at all’ gig, where we haven’t even discussed what we’re going to play beforehand. The set then comes together via a number of routes:
This was one of the most fun ‘no set list at all’ gigs I can remember, though I can’t actually remember a lot of what we played – I know that Sack, Kebab Van, Every Seven Seconds and Dear Colleague were in there, and I know we threw in a couple of covers – Don’t You Want Me and Stand and Deliver I think. Other than that, I have no idea, but someone will probably tell us.
Fun.
So when promoter Jonathan ‘JT’ Taylor messages you to ask if you fancy playing some stuff at a ‘Scribal Gathering does Billy Bragg’ night, there’s only one thing you can do. You tell him you’re too busy. So when he keeps on badgering you, eventually you have to say maybe, and when the election gets called so there’s an opportunity to play some Billy Bragg songs on the eve of the general election, then you have to say yes.
Both Steve and Mick Box played a couple of solo tracks each – Steve strapped on his acoustic to do “The busy girl buys beauty” and a Bill Bailey Bragg-esque song who’s name escapes me. Mick followed on with piano versions of ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ and ‘Saturday Boy’, the latter accompanied by what was perhaps the first live Kazoo Orchestra to grace this or any other evening of Billy Bragg songs. The evening finished with a full band including Steve and Mick for a rousing ‘Great Leap Forward’.
I wouldn’t call myself a major fan of Billy Bragg, but there are some really great songs in there and it was really fun and inspiring to be part of it – roll on the next Scribal Gathering spectacular.
There’s faux classy and there’s genuine classy and I’ve always thought there was something genuinely classy about photography exhibitions, so it was with great delight that The Box Ticked played a set at the opening of Nicky Kenny’s recent exhibition at the Stantonbury Theatre Gallery.
We’ve got a setlist somewhere, so will pop that up here at some point – if I remember correctly, there was a great live version of rehearsal favourite “The Bastard Son of Dean Freidman” by Half Man Half Biscuit. The aforementioned Dean has always reminded me of my Uncle Barry, but you probably don’t really care about that. There’s a good lyric in there somewhere actually.
Anyway, congratulations to Nicky, and cheers for inviting us.
The Box Ticked are playing support to The Ramonas tonight (April 8th) down at The Craufurd Arms in Wolverton, so get your dancing shoes on and join us from 8-ish I guess. Bring friends, bring fish cakes but most importantly bring yourselves.
Later dudes.
Apologies for the late notice, but we only got the gig late last night – The Box Ticked will be supporting The Woodentops at The Craufurd Arms in that Wolverton TONIGHT!
It says 7:30 on the posters and it’s £12 on the door – I’m guessing we’re probably on first, so being there early would be a good idea 🙂
Be there or be at home, wishing you were there.
Mick Box.