Ah, Autumn. One of the cosier times of the year, with a distinctive orange hue to everything. Whether it be pumpkins on porches, the crisp leaves on the ground, or Ken and Matt’s facial hair (they’re actually both gingers in disguise if you look closely). For The Busketeers, this time of the year establishes the gentle slope down of wedding gigs before the winter, and is characterised by more events in firelit pubs and taverns, along with drives that always seem to be in the dark. That being said, however, the last few weeks have still featured many outdoor festival-stage gigs, all complete with their inevitable share of funny stories, mild disasters and great memories.
The Looe Weekender and Toilet Incarceration
Looe has always been a hive of musical activity, and the Looe Weekender is a shining example of the town’s commitment and evident passion for supporting live music performance. It’s a completely free festival across the weekend wherein the numerous venues in Looe host dozens of talented local acts – if you’ve never been, we highly recommend checking it out next year! We were fortunate enough to play on both the Saturday and the Sunday, at the West Quay Stage and Hannafore Kiosk, respectively.
The weather was glorious on Saturday. The beers were flowing and the crowds were dense; the vibe couldn’t have been better really. We were backstage doing our usual thing of discussing what the setlist could be and whether everything was in tune, when it suddenly came to our attention that Matt had been in the toilet for quite some time. The Busketeers are fairly familiarised to the average length of one of Matt’s bowel movements and this, without going into further detail, notably exceeded that length. It was then that we checked our messages and saw one from Matt: ‘stuck in the toilet!!’.
Bewildered, we rushed to the gents and, sure enough, found a door with a jammed lock and the somewhat muffled voice of a Matthew on the other side. This was not at all ideal – we were literally minutes away from having to be on stage and playing – but the inconvenience of the situation was markedly dampened by just how unbelievably funny it was. Olly immediately attempted to jimmy the lock with a set of car keys, while Ken was bent double with laughter, thinking about having to explain to a crowd of festival goers that we couldn’t play just yet because one of the members was imprisoned in the latrine. Thankfully, with the help of one of the stage crew, we were able to get the door open and save Matthew Gordon Brilliant (that’s what Ken calls him) just in time to get on stage and rock out a set! The crowd were brilliant and the reception was, as always, hugely appreciated.
The following day we were back again, this time treated to a much more intimate vibe and the Hannahfore Kiosk – a very warm and welcoming stage with rows of comfy deck chairs and the smell of good food in the air… they even had fresh crab sandwiches! It was a lovely gig, though on smaller stages like this, it does mean we have to exercise our ability to chat a bit in between songs, and we’ve always considered ourselves better at singing than talking. Still, the reception was once again very flattering and, with that, we proclaimed the Looe Weekender an all-round success.
Salcombe Live and the Attack of the Pathogen
The first weekend of October, we were gearing up to play at Salcombe Live. Much like the Looe Weekender, Salcombe live is an absolute banger of a town-wide festival that we are always so keen to be a part of. It’s once again hosted across the various venues in the town and is always brilliantly organised – we couldn’t recommend it more!
However, an obstacle presented itself in the early hours of Saturday morning, and not a fun kind of obstacle like a kissing gate or a cow in the road. Matt had unknowingly become host to a viral intruder, rendering him bed-bound with flu-like symptoms (as I write this I’ve just realised this month heavily features Matt in peril… but I digress). There is, of course, not much that can be done in situations like this other than to crack on and do the best we can under the circumstances. While Matt’s presence was sorely missed we managed to play a belter of a set at the Devon Rum Bar Saturday evening. The crowd were WILD, and we finished wearing sweat-drenched t-shirts and big smiles. We recommend checking out the Devon Rum Bar if you’re ever in Salcombe!
It's fair to say the three of us were all feeling it a bit on Sunday, likely due to the incredibly rowdy set the previous night, and the fact we were a man down. In honour of our missing member, we decided to throw together a makeshift Matt scarecrow to join us on stage, comprised of a disused microphone stand and a Busketeers t-shirt. We had the pleasure of closing Salcombe Live at the Ferry Inn, a privilege we’ve enjoyed for the last two years and where the atmosphere is second to none. It would of course have been better if we had our fourth member with us, but we feel that the Salcombe Live performances went as well as they could have done, and we were thrilled so many people enjoyed it.
A Few Quick Announcements!...
We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s blog; before you go, we have some key future events we’d like to highlight.
Firstly, we are pleased to announce that on New Year’s Eve we will be playing at Steel Brew, Plymouth. This is an awesome, very spacious venue with a phenomenal craft beer and ale selection – we’ve played some more stripped-back Sunday sessions there and they’ve been a blast. Please stay tuned for more details as they arrive; we hope to see you there to usher in the New Year with a boogie!
However, if you already have plans for New Years (or just simply can’t wait that long!) we will be smashing out a set at Annabels, Plymouth on November 9th which is a Saturday night. It goes without saying this is always a wild ride and great fun – hopefully catch some of you there.
Thank you so much as always for all the love and support; have a great day and take care.
Ken, Luke, Matt and Olly
