Ryan Hamilton House Party Tour
Hull, Ilkeston and Malvern
September 5th, 6th and 11th, 2015
On August 25th 2015, Ryan Hamilton released
his first solo album and embarked on a tour of the UK to promote it. However, this was no ordinary tour!
A little while ago Ryan took a brave
decision to rebel from the music industry standards, start his own record label
(Fanny Pack Records) and try and break down the barriers between the artist and
fans. So rather than booking small
venues and leaving the decisions to a tour manager, Ryan took a different
approach and posted a message on his Facebook page asking for volunteers to
offer their lounges and kitchens, as he wanted to do an entire tour of house
parties, as this would allow him to get to know the people who support him and give him the opportunity to pursue
the career that he loves. As Ryan says, after all, it is the fans who pay for
the tickets to go to shows and buy albums and merch that help him afford to do
what he does!
To add even more to the tour Ryan took
along People On Vacation band mate Micky Richards to accompany him on drums. Ryan also later announced guest supports for
some of the shows including People On Vacation band mate Rob Lane, Lacey, Dave
Kerr, Danny Gruff (Stafford), Scarlet (Liverpool and Leeds) and Fisti Kuffs(Great
Yarmouth). Other venues included Newcastle, and Knaresborough.
House party shows usually play host to
between 30 and 50 people depending on the size of the host's home. I have been
to a few house party shows in the past couple of years and they usually consist
of a set from the band (usually acoustic due to noise regulations in
residential areas) and then everyone mingles and gets to spend time with the
band. I have always enjoyed them as they are pretty unique and different to a
normal concert or expensive VIP experience.
Initially the tour was to be 7 dates but
ended up as 9, due to popular demand, and I was lucky enough to attend three of
the parties; Hull, Ilkeston and Malvern.
I was also supposed to go to the Stafford party but was unable to get
there, and ended up spending the night sat in a traffic jam due to a motorway
closure, which meant I missed that show and seeing Danny Gruff.
The first party I attended on the tour was
the Hull party. This party was a very intimate
party which Ryan performed as an acoustic set.
The show was performed in low light and was lit with fairy lights and
candles, which gave the party a really good atmosphere. Only Ryan performed at
this show and it was a really well hosted party. Ryan took plenty of time to mingle and spend time with people after the show.
Due to demand, the Ilkeston party was moved
to the room above 'The Brewery Tap' and was hosted by Dave Tonge the host of
the Noize Level Critical Radio Show, which is an internet radio show. Although
the room was larger than the average living room it was only the size of your
average bedsit, so it still allowed for an intimate show.
Joining
Ryan and Micky as support at this show were Dave Kerr and local band
Lacey.
Dave Kerr played a three song set including
'The Devil Wears Perfume' and 'Don't You Know Who We Think We Are'. It was the first time I had heard Dave play
and I really enjoyed his performance. His
songs were catchy and fitted perfectly with his fellow performers.
Also supporting tonight were Lacey. I've seen Lacey play many times before both
full band sets and acoustic sets. I have
always enjoyed their acoustic sets and tonight's was no different.
Lacey are usually very
serious when it comes to their music but the giggling fit tonight made them
relax and let down their guard so what we got was a snap shot of who the guys
actually are and not just the usual image we get of them on stage. Even with the giggles the boys played a
brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable set, but I think tonight's set is one of my
favourite sets of theirs that I've seen to date!
Ryan and Micky's set was also very laid
back at this show as they too indulged in a bit of silliness and also let the
audience see the real Ryan and Micky and not just the professional musicians
they normally see on the stage.
Whether the silliness was in the form of
Ryan telling Micky not to show off when he spun his drumsticks in the air or
whether it came from the banter that was going on between the performers it
made for a really enjoyable night.
Mid way through the set Ryan and Micky were
joined by Rob Lane, as they 'just happened to have his bass guitar' there! The three of them belted out some People on
Vacation favourites and treated the audience to an alternative version of
'Lonely Fish' as you have never heard it before....
During the introduction to 'Lonely Fish', Ryan
announced that it had come to his attention that the song 'Lonely Fish' could
be played in any musical genre, and so they proceeded to take suggestions of
genres to prove that theory, meaning that we heard a heavy metal version, a reggae
version and a version in the style of R Kelly!
However, the funniest part of the night was
when Ryan played his cover of the REO Speedwagon classic 'Take It On The Run',
which Ryan performs as though it is his own and is a great song, until he
changes the words to 'Take It Up The Bum' and then it hits a whole other
level! There was not a dry eye in the
house after this song as everyone ended up in fits of giggles!
The Ilkeston show was one of the most
enjoyable shows I have been to in a long time.
I have not laughed so much in ages. My cheeks and ribs were aching
from laughing at the end of the night.
All
of the artists stuck around after the show and hung out with anyone that wanted
their time. It was so refreshing to see
musicians that didn't take themselves too seriously and who were happy to
ignore the music industry rules that state they shouldn't get too close to their
fans.
The Ilkeston show was recorded for the
Noize Level Critical show and will air on the 15th September
(rockstarsglued.com).
The last night of the tour was in Malvern
and again, this venue was upgraded due to popular demand ad was held at the
Malvern Town Football Club. Although
this room was larger it still only held about 100 capacity and although the
tickets had sold out again it was not oversubscribed to allow for a more casual
show.
As it was the last night of the tour,
Ryan's Facebook post confirming times and details, confirmed that they would be
being joined by Rob so they could end the tour with a People On Vacation set
and the we should bring our 'party pants'!
We also got another rendition of Ryan's
alternative cover of 'Take It On The Run', which now had additional sound
effects from Micky, just to make us laugh even more!
Half way through the set Rob joined them on
stage and they performed all the People On Vacation hits including 'Because of
The Sun', 'Punk Rock World' and 'Rainy Day', along with another rendition of 'Lonely
Fish', which they again took genre requests from the audience. Tonight's genre requests
included opera, rap, metal, reggae and grunge (You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdV4yaICTqA
)
Although
all of the shows stuck to pretty much the same set list each night (they were open to requests), all three shows were unique and thoroughly
enjoyable. I found that although the parties lasted much longer than billed
they were over way too fast!
If you ever get the chance to go to a house
party on a band's tour, I would recommend that you do so. The tickets aren't over priced like many VIP/meet
and greet tickets you can get for other shows and you get a much better
experience for your money. I have been
to quite a few meet and greet/VIP shows
which have cost the earth and for most you get to spend about 2 minutes with
the band, where as Ryan would probably have spent all night talking and hanging
out had you let him.
My only regret with this tour is that I
didn't go to all the dates. It was an
amazing tour and a unique way of engaging the fans.
Ryan will be back in the UK for a full Ryan
Hamilton band tour (consisting of Ryan, Micky and Rob), covering 9 dates, with support from Danny Gruff. After this tour I don't think Ryan will have
any problems getting his second solo tour a sell out!
No comments:
Post a Comment