Sick! @ The Zanzibar:
Friday 20th November 2009
@ The Zanzibar Club, Liverpool
Lineup: Run Toto Run,
Bagheera,
The Mono LPs,
Poly Mackey and the Pleasure Principle,
Lewerin Band,
Them Bones,
This Devastated Fan
It became clear that The Magnet wasn't the venue for Sick! and I'd had my eye on The Zanzibar Club for a while so I got in contact.
Tony who runs the place is very helpful and gave me a lot of advice on some of the bands I was considering booking.
Run Toto Run
He had a standing booking for a band from Wigan called This Devastated Fan who were booked to play the first slot. It wasn't really our kind of music, but it's always difficult deciding on a band that you like enough to book but have to give the opening slot to, so we let it stand and indeed on the night they really impressed us.
I'd decided that if this night didn't succeed then I wouldn't do any more as the costs were spiralling, and so I wanted to try and get all the bands on the bill that I'd wanted to book.
Bagheera
He gave us the small upstairs venue for free (other than the cost of the sound man) so I decided to use it for folk/acoustic bands.
We'd long been admirers of Run Toto Run so we were delighted when they agreed to play, The Mono LPs had been a shining light at The Roadkill gig and had brought about 20 people so they were another "must have". BBC Introducing were giving a lot of coverage to a band called Bagheera and I really liked them so they were another definite, and a band called The Sensorites was another one I was keen to get on board, and a band I'd found reviewed in a Chester newspaper, Polly Mackey and The Pleasure Principle.
Unfortunately, Tony wasn't convinced that the bands we'd booked would bring enough people, and so he added a Lipa band to the bill called Lewerin Band and an Aussie bands called Them Bones.
Polly Mackey and the Pleasure Principle
They weren't really to our taste to be honest though obviously talented in their own genres, and we weren't happy that our painstakingly crafted lineup was being tampered with, but then you've got to see it from his side - to us it's just a hobby, a break from all the real life stuff like working and paying bills, but to him it is business and how he pays his bills.
There was no longer space on the bill and one of our bands had to be dropped. We spoke to some of them about going upstairs, and in the end decided it would have to be The Sensorites on this occasion.
The Mono LPs
Between the two floors we had 12 bands, as soon as one finished downstairs one would start upstairs, and whilst the band were on upstairs they'd do the changeover downstairs. I didn't think they could possibly run to time with such a tight schedule, but fair play to them it ran like clockwork!
Tony was still concerned that the turnout would be low so in an effort to get as many people as possible to the venue I gave the bands books of tickets and told them to either give them away or sell them and keep the money
I still felt we needed a sure fire headliner that would definitely bring people along, but I didn't want to risk too much more money, and even known acts don't always pull in Liverpool.
Then a brainwave struck me - I'd been to Smiths Discos in London which were really popular, so it struck me it would be a good idea to do one in Liverpool. Whilst there maybe weren't enough Smiths fans to do an entire night, we'd get a DJ to play them between bands and at the end of the night.
The Lewerin Band
Andy and Tony weren't particularly keen on the idea, but I sounded out people on Facebook and quickly built up a lot of interest in the idea.
On the night everything went pretty smoothly despite having 12 acts on the bill, apart from a misunderstanding between Poly Mackey's manager and the venue. They'd agreed to filming, but Tony was not willing to allow them to plug into the sound mix from the desk. Once they sorted that out, things went pretty smoothly.
Them Bones
But after midnight there were very few people left, and it was a shame to bring out bands as good as Bagheera and Run Toto Run to such a small remaining audience.
The night was superb musically and had a really nice atmosphere, but most of the bands brought very few people along - with the notable exception of The Mono LPs who brought about 80 (unfortunately most of them seemed to leave with they left the stage).
This Devastated Fan
Tony probably wouldn't have let us do another night if it weren't for the fact that The Smiths disco brought a lot of people down, and all night they were asking what time it would be on.
If it hadn't been for The Smiths disco I don't think I'd have done another night anyway, after all we couldn't get The Mono LPs back every month and there were a few bands I expected to draw a crowd who didn't on the night.
The turnout was good with over 200 people but very few paid to get in and the costs were running high.