----- Original Message ----- From: "grg" <lysergic@btinternet.com> To: "All bound for Mu-Mu Land." <klf@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, August 26, 2005 7:04 AM Subject: [KLF] Drummond appearance at Greenbelt
Has anyone else noted this? I haven't read it on the list so maybe its under the radar...
radar on... ping! "Oi... move out the way... lions coming through!" Gimpo leans out of the drivers window and bellows at the throng of oncoming christians who beam smiles of confidence in salvation... well it is Sunday We finally make it to the checkpoint. Gimpo shows no sign of slowing down and insistantly jabs a finger toward the backstage crew vehicle pass sitting in the front of Bill's LandRover windscreen. The flourescent jacketed man thinks twice about stepping out in front of Gimpo and instead opts for pointing at his wrist... Gimpo returns the motion with a clenched fist out of the window... the bright orange wristband blazes his right of entry and without any further trouble we are in. There is a real family atmosphere to the camp and before lunch the kids go off together to explore the festival leaving Bill, John, Gimpo and I to discuss the arrangements for Bill's talk later in the Centaur Hall. As Bill isn't due on until 4pm he and Sally decide to take in a seminar they are keen to attend by Karen Armstrong http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/?l=1308&pr=78 Gimpo hails the kids over his walkie talkie barking a series of taliban and al quaeda call signs to attract their attention as well as that of some poor GCHQ minion some 5 or so miles down the road. When the kids return Gimpo hands everyone a vivid blue t-shirt with bright orange writing front and rear and we set off for the venue in the LandRover Gimpo explains that we only have 2 official backstage permits and by all wearing the same shirts there is a better chance he can sneak us all in... he's right! all those years of roadying have taught him the essential tricks of the trade... John goes inside to find the festivals coordinator whilst we unload the trailer [which isn't full of lions... justaaart!] By the time we've unloaded John returns with a fistful of orange wristbands and explains that the current performers [a christian rock ensemble] arent due off stage for another 45 mins but we can take the kids backstage to Bill's dressing room... we set off into the auditorium single file like a school trip, John leading seven kids and finally I make sure there are no stragglers As we enter the arena the god botherers are in full swing, amps cranked and speakers blasting... its enough to wake the saints and i guess thats what they are trying to do. We snake our way to the front of stage area then John climbs up onto the side stage and leads us a full 50ft in front of the enraptured crowd It's now that one of the most surreal experiences NOT encountered on acid or any other such substance occurs to me... whether it was the slightly strobelike effect of the stage lights or what i'm unsure but we walked out accros the side stage area in definate slow-motion the kids matching shirts emblazened with the message "PREPARE TO DIE" drawing the attention of a good chunk of the audience at front of stage and raising several confused stares We arrive at Bill's dressing room, dump the kids with some cold hospitality refreshments and head back to where we left Gimpo... Gimpo's patience is being tested, the god botherers have just started there second encore and are at least ten minutes overdue leaving stage and to add to his frustration a "jobsworth" has just told him he's got to move all the kit we've unloaded because its too close to a fire exit We shift the stuff the requisite 5ft just in time for the stage doors to open... Gimpo glares at "commandant jobsworth" and exhales "i told you it wasn't worth shifting" the guy retires and we set up... About 20 minutes later Bill and Sally turn up... by both accounts Karen Armstrong's talk on Fundamentalism was inspirational in its vision and she had so packed out the seminar tent they had had to open up its sides to accomodate everyone "Yes she could have easily filled this place" as the words leave his lips the look on Bill's face changes as he realises the size of the auditorium we are standing in. Gimpo presses a cold can of red bull into Bill's hand and begins sorting out the technical arrangements between Bill and the Sound & Light technicians. The soundcheck annoys Bill... he doesn't want a mic... even Gimpo's radio mic for the filming is uncomfortable. In the end he despatches the kids to the far corners of the auditorium and asks if they can hear him ok without a mic... they say they can... [never trust kids!] Gimpo knows this too and just as a precaution gives the sound engineer the transmission signal from the radio mic so he too can use the pick-up I'd seen Bill talk at various events at the Foundry, the Artsdepot in Finchley and the BCA gallery in Bedford... all of them were intimate venues ideally suited to the close up familiar style and nature of Bill's oration... this place is probably twice the size of a sportshall with a capacity somewhere between two and three thousand Just before Bill goes backstage to prepare John comes over and excitedly tells us that there are about 100 or so people queing up outside and there's still 10 minutes before the doors open... given that this is already beyond the usual attendancies John's excitement is rather infectious... in fact by the time the lights go down I reckon there is about 300-400 The performance goes smoothly despite having to switch the mic on after about 15 minutes so that none of Bill's projection is lost as he moves around picking up paintings and various other artifacts... it runs about 90 minutes and ends with a chance for those interested to buy a segment from the picture he cut up into 20000 pieces Amazingly there are at least 250 people lined up and a lot of them buy more than one... all things being equal it is an unqualified success and after we have packed everything back in the trailer we head back to camp for a drink. This is the very first festival that Bill's performed at and both he and John agree that next years uk festival circuit is a must and maybe the European festival circuit for 2007 For those who haven't yet had the chance of seeing Bill "on tour" and whose interest in the man goes beyond his music and whether he really burned all that money there should be a good many more chances to come... Hope you enjoyed tim