Long Road Home’s Gig at “The Tropic At Ruislip” Called Off Due to Storms
Long Road Home’s debut London gig at The Tropic At Ruislip on Sunday 23 October, was greatly anticipated by the band and punters alike. Following a successful debut at the Cambridge Rock festival back in June, this was the band’s first London appearance, and several new songs were due to be aired for the first time.
The gig had already proven to be a challenge for the band with regular drummer, Dave Norman, suffering from hand problems (not great for a drummer obvs!) and having to undergo surgery just a few weeks before the gig.
Call In The Cavalry!
The band sweated on Dave’s recovery and a decision was taken just 10 days before the event to call in an old friend of guitarist Steve Summer’s, and dep drummer extraordinaire, Gary Bentley, to step in.
So, a swift rehearsal with Gary was arranged and he diligently learned the songs in a very short space of time. The rehearsal went very well indeed, and all the band were looking forward to the Tropic gig especially as ticket sales were going well and a great night was anticipated.
So, come the day, the band (and new recruit Gary!) set off for the venue in high spirits and in nice, dry October sunshine. Just an hour or so later a call was made to the gig promoter saying that there had been torrential downpours locally in Ruislip and that flood water was starting to seep into the building.
Stormy Weather
By the time the band had arrived for a sound check the news was not good. The rain and storms had persisted, and it was a pretty soggy-looking Tropic that welcomed LRH. The venue director had taken the difficult decision to call off the gig at the last minute due to health & safety issues arising from the continued inclement weather, which was forecast to continue for a few hours at least.
Measures were swiftly taken to put out the news and to contact as many registered ticket holders as possible to alert them to the cancellation and to stop them from coming to the venue in the shitty weather only to be turned away!
The Long “Rainy” Road Home!
So, with long faces, the band set off on the … Long Road Home, a little downbeat perhaps but determined to re-arrange the gig at the earliest opportunity, hopefully in much drier conditions! Check the band’s Facebook page or website at www.longroadhome.co.uk, for gig updates & album news.