Jon Wheeler
- Feb 6
- 2 min read

Behind The Scenes at a gig....access almost all areas!

Last Saturday night we, (REMbrandt R.E.M. tribute), played at The Booking Hall in Dover as part of a double header tribute gig with U2 Tribe. There’s photos and video from the gig on our facebook and instagram accounts (links at the bottom), 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 almost all areas!

A black and white drawing of a railway station — The Booking Hall, Dover.

Grand Designs...

Tonight’s window into the star spangled showbusiness world of the 21st century begins in 1861. 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. Positioned on Elizabeth Street by the docks so that passengers arriving on the ferry could catch connecting trains with the minimum of fuss. The building is built in an impressive Italianate style, with an imposing clock tower, however the clock itself was notoriously slow, and was eventually removed, following a successful legal action by a local businessman who missed his train. Anyway, we’re digressing, back to Saturday night!

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 will disappear rapidly. We don’t have roadies, so it’s a question of getting all the instruments and amps in, connected and tested, and running 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, it’s important to get as settled in as you can.

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. I don’t think anybody actually played MarioKart. A few people 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.