The gig that never was

You see the date, February 27th, you see the venue, the Bridgwater Hall, Manchester, you see the seat number, the time, and most of all you see the band, yes, the Mavericks!

The story behind this gig that never was is that just after the interval having listened to the support, a member of the ‘management’ came on stage and told us the gig was off, cancelled, done with… some problem with water… They were then crass enough to play ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’… I know in the grand scheme of things with all the trouble there is in the world today, a cancelled gig maybe doesn’t seem like much… But for everyone who had travelled there, from all across the country and other countries too, it was a huge disappointment with very little apology. People had had to pay for travel, pay for accommodation… and to be asked to look on the bright side… herumph!

Well, boo the management, but hurrah, double hurrah, thrice-times hurrah to the Mavericks themselves who came out to face the disappointed concert-goers, and more than that, to give a little impromptu concert with a grand piano in the foyer… In the end, this magic moment, for twenty or so of us, was something to be forever remembered and treasured…