Behind The Scenes : Dover Booking Hall

Behind The Scenes : Dover Booking Hall

Monday February 5th 2024

Last Saturday night we, (REMbrandt), played at The Booking Hall in Dover as part of a double header tribute gig with our friends, U2 Tribe. There are photos and video from the gig on our facebook and instagram accounts (links below), but what I wanted to share in this blog is some of the stuff the average punters don’t see. So here we go, sex, drugs, rock’n’roll, and access all areas!

Tonight’s window into the star spangled showbusiness world of 21st century gigging begins over 160 years ago. The Booking Hall may be a live music venue today, but it was built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company as Harbour Station in 1861. The station was positioned on Elizabeth Street by the docks so that passengers arriving on the ferry could catch connecting trains with the minimum of fuss. The structure was built to impress, in the Italianate style, with an imposing clock tower. The clock itself however, was notoriously slow, and was eventually removed, following a successful legal action by a local businessman who missed his train. Anyway, we’re digressing, buildings are interesting, enough history, the point is, many grassroots music venues were not built as such. These venues are not only providing essential access to the arts, they're repurposing buildings and maintaining their history. Support them......anyway, on with the show!

Soundcheck

For shows like this, the venue typically supplies the sound system and a soundman, who really needs to immediately become your best friend, or all hope of sounding any good disappears rapidly. We don’t have roadies, so it’s a question of getting all the instruments and amps in ourselves, connected and tested, and running through a few songs. The two bands share a certain amount of gear (like the drum kit) for practicality, but it’s typically an hour to load in, then 45 minutes to soundcheck each band, being sure to finish before the doors open to the public at 7pm. What the room sounds like now, will not be what it sounds like when the audience is in, and every room is different, so it’s important to get as settled in as you can while you have the chance.

The Green Room

Some venues sadly have little or no hospitality towards musicians. The Booking Hall I’m pleased to say is not one of those. Backstage we have a lounge area, kitchenette, toilets, a shower and a fridge with something actually in it. It’s not the Ritz Carlton, and it is being shared between nine blokes, but it’s clean and it’s comfy. Between arriving and actually playing can be three to four hours, there's quite often a bit of time to kill and a lot of waiting around. I don’t think anybody actually played the MarioKart.... A few people did trudge up to the garage on the corner to get cheese sandwiches. Uninspired by cheese sandwiches, The Edge chooses to drive into town to find a Burger King. Discussions generally revolve around travel times, people’s ages, good cups of tea, divorces and weird gig experiences, like being supported by The Cheeky Girls...

Anyway, It’s 7:45 and it's time to go on. Better head over to facebook and instagram for those pictures!

www.facebook.com/remgb

www.instagram.com/remgb

www.remgb.com

With thanks and acknowledgements to:

Mark at The Booking Hall and DCR Radio 104.9FM

thebookinghall.com

db Rising Audio Engineering and Acoustics

doverhistorian.com

u2tributeband.co.uk