Reviews...
Saturday 29th March - Haven (Craig Tara) Holiday Park, Ayr
This job certainly has its ups and downs! One week I am in the corner of some wee pub, the next I am on the big stage at Haven! I have stayed at these holiday villages before, and marvelled at the excellent standard of entertainment they put on. To be part of it was frankly awe inspiring! The FunStars at haven have got to be the most hardworking bunch of entertainers I have come across! One minute they are dressing up in a giant Tiger/Bear/Dolly suit to do a parade, then next they are singing and dancing on the stage looking fresh as a daisy, and so full of energy! I'd have loved that job when I was younger, but I'm afraid that the schedule would be too much for me in my old age! Good on you guys! They were the consummate professionals from start to finish, and helped Al and I to link my mixer and laptop into their main PA system. There was no way my two wee Mackies were going to manage to fill THAT room. It was HUGE!
The gig itself was a short one - around 45 minutes. We had a bit of a problem at the start when we had no sound, so I came out to big applause only to do my Marcel Marceau impression. Despite the FunStars thinking it was my mic that was the problem, we found that it was their mistake - the mute button was on! But hey, these things happen, and I'm not surprised that things can get a little muddled when there is no time for sound checks etc. The nature of the business is that you want to keep the punters in and happy, and of course buying merchandise/drinks/food, so the show must go straight from one thing into another. I am amazed that, when I have stayed in these holiday parks myself how everything has seemed so seamless on the surface, while everyone is so busy, working their socks off backstage.
I hope to come back to Haven, and I'm sure I will be a little more relaxed next time. My voice will hopefully be back to 100% too, as I am still a little hoarse. Mind you, I recently read an article that said that if singers only performed when we were 100%, we'd be out of a job 99% of the time!