Tour Diary: Swing Into Christmas leg 2
The bar was already high. What with snowy Highlands vistas, audiences dancing in the aisles and, as always, a stop at Tebay Services, the first leg of our Swing Into Christmas tour was going to be a hard one to beat. Reader: it may have been beaten. It certainly packed a few surprises…
Pianist Alex and rubber chicken Gordon
We hit the ground swinging with a sold-out show in Cambridge. Which is just as well, because we’ll be back there with both our Sammy Davis Jr. show and Christmas extravaganza next year. Could’ve been awkward. Though there was only one person on the bar for every 500 people, we managed to make the audience feel better by making them watch Mike wave a glass of whisky on stage.
Next up was Birmingham, where things took a bit of a concerning turn, with no fewer than two traffic incidents around our venue! The first one made some of our crew late to the set-up. Unfortunately, the second made some of our audience late to the show. One man had to leave early to catch his train, but threw out the most heartwarming comment: “It’s made me feel human again.” We’re pretty sure this was in regards to the show, not leaving early.
After our brief sojourn West, we were back East for our first-ever gig in Ipswich. And wow, what a stunner the Corn Exchange is! Almost as impressive as our merch table, if the venue staff’s compliments are anything to go by. The venue came with other benefits: namely, the Portuguese cafe across the road. This being an earlier show, we were able to check in to our Travelodge (and yes, we were able to, this time) in time for pizza and Indian takeaways. But the fun didn’t stop there, as two of the trombonists went back to their room to find a total stranger asleep there. Ah, the glamour of touring…
Most Christmassy of all, it must be said, was Bath (yes, we were back West), It’s a town seemingly designed around Christmas – we won’t get into this with the Romans, or people who think about their Empire daily. From Christmas markets around Georgian arches to glitter-faced giant penguins, it made even us feel more festive. On top of that, the Forum was an art deco beauty of a venue, making the whole visit a treat for the senses.
Singer Saara suited art deco
Cheltenham saw its rival’s hand and raised it with the most Christmas trees we’d seen at a single venue yet! This gig was also seemingly the one where everybody’s mum came to visit – even mums of friends. We all made sure to be on our best behaviour and sit up straight. Not only was the gig an extremely memorable one for singer Marvin laughing so much he had to walk off stage, but in our audience were the very lovely (and exquisitely attired) Danny & Erin. This Instagram-TikTok power couple not only made us feel secondhand young and cool, but they also produced a gorgeous video of their time. Check it out!
Although the previous night had ended with a party in Girl Jordan’s (that’s what she called herself) Travelodge room, we were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for our journey to Liverpool. Though the sumptuous venue presents some logistical challenges, we were reunited with trombonist Mark, who heroically came along just to lend us a hand as roadie and Front Of House assistant. What a guy! We gave him pizza as thanks (and money, we’re not tax-dodging billionaires), which he ate on the corridor floor with great style.
We were ecstatic that our annual tradition of selling out St George’s Hall in Liverpool continued – what an audience! We were in such high spirits that Marvin accidentally (?) knocked the whisky out of Mike’s hand. We know what you’re all wondering: yes, the glass survived.
Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall
Our next show wasn’t a sellout, but we’re agog to say it brought us our biggest indoor audience yet: over a whopping 1,100 people came along to see us in Glasgow! The high-kicking in the aisles could’ve been deadly, but the only victims on this occasion were the poor Down for the Count members felled by trumpeter-arranger Simon’s vicious secret word game. The drama may have started in Glasgow, but it didn’t end there…
Death! By secret word game. RIP, bassist James.
After a restful day in wonderful Edinburgh (well, for those who didn’t go hiking up Arthur’s Seat, get pummelled by Thai masseuse or get drenched on a ghost walk), we were ready for our big day of two performances. Little did we know what was in store. Adverse weather conditions, cancelled flights and generally unreliable public transport were a cocktail for suspense. Some of the orchestra only managed to make it just in time for the sound check, or even the show itself. But singer Marvin only managed to get to Edinburgh during the second half of the matinee performance, and made it onto the stage for the encore! Thankfully, our trio of fabulous female singers – Lydia, Saara and Ineza – knocked it out of the park with a quickly-revised setlist. Ineza chilled with her rendition of Etta James’ “At Last”, holding the climactic note until basically the evening performance. Which, thankfully, went swimmingly.
Aside from Gordon the rubber chicken’s scat solo in “Little Liza Jane”, the evening brought another surprise… for percussionist Jordan. Marvin, wearing a Santa hat, called him up to the front of the stage, where the unsuspecting man was presented with a special gift to commemorate Jordan Murray Day – the day Jordan, an expert driver, made the mistake of parking on grass at a garden centre that was actually ground so muddy the van couldn’t get out of it.
Jordan gets a visit from Santa Marvin...
...to commemorate Jordan Murray Day
After another day off in Edinburgh to recover from the shenanigans, our last stop on Leg 2 of the tour was Perth, with its incredible Concert Hall. The acoustics! We think it’s the best we’ve sounded. We’d like to say this show was more relaxed than the dramatic Edinburgh matinee, but sax player Kyran did start bleeding during the set. He powered through, and is absolutely fine. That’s dedication! Maybe we’ll give him pizza.
Some of us had fun in Edinburgh, while others were hit by adverse weather conditions (or cheap umbrellas)
About the author
Polis Loizou-Denyer is Down for the Count's marketing and communications officer. Though it's a long time since he played an instrument himself, he likes to keep creative with his own writing, performing, theatre making, filmmaking and oral storytelling.
