The bloomin' English weather... (Well it is a Bank Holiday Weekend I guess)

It's the end of May, very nearly June and you'd expect, given the brilliant Easter we had and the weather recently in general, that booking your wedding reception at Carsington Resevoir that it would be reasonably warm and pleasant, perfect for everyone to be outside singing and dancing and having a good time... and thats exactly what Lee & Jemma did.

It was all prepared, Rio 5 would be performing where they normally have outside seating for the visitors to the Resevoir, plenty of space, gorgeous views over the water and then, mid afternoon, the rain started...

But it's Lee & Jemma's big day, they weren't going to let a few drops of rain get them down, so we set up in the restuarant upstairs in the Visitor Centre and although during the daylight hours it didn't look like much, after Karen and her team had decorated the place, put tea lights on the tables, we'd set up our kit and light show, Craig the DJ had set up next to us, we'd got Bernie the Magician wowing both us and the audience (how does he do it?) the scene was set for a wonderful night.

We'd like to thank Lee & Jem for inviting us to perform at their wedding, it really as a true honour (and thanks for the advice on pricing) and we wish you all the best for the future, and you're welcome to attend any of our gigs in the future cos you really are a breath of fresh air.

PS: There's something quite disturbing about a duck quacking at 1.30am when you are loading up the van to come home...

Social Clubs, Working Mens Clubs, Rate Payers Clubs...

It's not very often that I feel that strongly about something, strongly enough to get on my soapbox and start spouting off, and Rio 5 don't have any political leaning, we're just here for the fun and the beer thanks, but...

With Post Offices closing, local shops being put out of business by the Supermarkets and Pubs closing, the heart of our communities are being ripped out, and so whole area's of housing estates are becoming ghetto's, no-go areas which become run-down and destroyed. Coupled with this the fact that not many families sit down to a meal together every day, due to working patterns etc... the fabric of community life is evaporating, no-one knows their next door neighbour or whats going, no-one keeps an eye out for each other any more and that is very sad.

The only bastion of community life left now is the local social/working mens club, these places are great for entertainment, the concert rooms are nice and large, the stage (complete with resident huge Hammond organ) has plenty of room for "the turn", the beer is cheap and you can have just as much fun as a night in town (and you don't have to spend £10 on a taxi there and back, £6 to get into a club, take out a small mortgage to get a round in and get food poisoning from a dodgy kebab)...

So Rio 5 played Inkersall Social Club, where they have live entertainment on every Saturday night to a mixed crowd of young & old (and we won £20 on the bingo) in a wonderful room with our light show which, despite the small number in the audience (approx 30...) was very well recieved.

And you can't tell me that there weren't families on the estate where Mum & Dad watched (and moaned about) TV all night whilst the kids were in their rooms either on the internet or playing on their Playstation and didn't have a conversation about current affairs...

Get yourself down to your local social club, meet the people that live around you, make new friends, arrange a BBQ, keep the pub trade going and see a decent band... You'll feel a whole lot better if you do...

Rio 5 to perform next years Eurovision song?

Yet again Great Britain have failed to make waves in the Eurovision Song Contest! Joint 2nd-last?! Oh my goodness. No wonder my Euro correspondent failed to keep me up-to -date (either that or she fell to sleep..)

To this end I've decided that Rio 5 will write a song for next years Eurovis, we can't do any worse can we?

Seriously though, I think Derren Boulton should write and produce a song in his shed and we should perform it,

Actually I spent last night at Sheffield Arena watching Bryan Adams and it was fantastic, saw a few things we can steal and adapt for the Rio 5 show, a mini stage at the back for large venues, how cool?!

"Kev, the gig at Staveley has been cancelled, can you think of anywehre else that has bands on Saturday nights?, I've tried Brampton Manor, The Oak, The County ad they're all booked..."
"Er, how about The Grouse?"
"They don't have bands on Saturdays do they?"
"No but we did let them down the other Thursday and it is a Bank Holiday Weekend so... and the worse they can say is "No" and we'd be in no worse position would we"
"Ok, I'll give Nige a bell, see what he thinks"
(10 mins later)
"Grouse 5/5/07 booked"

And that, boys and girls, is how Rio 5 landed a Saturday night gig in The Grouse Inn, Chatsworth Road.

Now I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit apprehensive about it cos it was a BH Weekend, they don't normally have bands on Saturday nights and the weather had been gorgeous so surely everyone would have been having a BBQ, wouldn't they?

So when we got there at 1915hrs and it was busy, I still wasn't happy cos Brampton is one of those walk-around places where no-one really stays in one pub all night so I'm thinking, what if they all take a walk up to the "golden triangle?", I shouldn't have worried.

It was a cosy set up but we crammed it all in and by 9.00pm we were ready to go, I think we might have even maybe been loked at for a Wedding (come on James Youle) and so 9.15pm off we went, and we had a great great night, and by the time we'd got to Mustang Sally, Gimme Some Loving we'd got them eating out of our hands so when we cranked it up for Delilah they were close to ecstatic singing along at the top of their voices,

So then we tried to leave them with Stick Together and they wouldn't let us leave the stage so we came back for an encore of Town Called Malice and the Rock n' Roll medley and thought that would be enough... surely to goodness but no,

So we did Wishing Well (by Free) again for Nigel and then they let us finish.. a fantastic night... maybe there might be more bands on Saturday nights, who knows?

Thanks to everyone that came, Draper, Mark Webster, Martin Webster (no relation), Kev Walton, Matt, Simon, Kelly from The Shambles (coming soon as a 4-piece) James Youle (go on, book us) Jamie-Lee, Mrs Stone, and last but by no means least, Debbie with those tights... mmminx

Next outing is Inky Club, Dade Avenue, would be great to see some familiar faces there too

Love & Kisses
Rio 5