FOUR STAR MARY + SURIKI + TOBY SLATER8th September 2000On the Friday morning, all was arranged, all we were waiting on was the mail-out from Chris from The Park, who was sending us a map to the club when we finally reached Peterborough town centre. Thank God, it landed through the front door just before we left! Four hours later, and many plays of the Four Star Mary tape which was made for the car, we reach our destination, all thanks to Jen, the splendid Little Miss who, out of all of us, is the only one who can drive! We walk into the club, feeling totally lost and out of our depth. "Should we go and ask someone to get the lads for us?" we mutter to each other, but finally decided we should go and get a drink.  On the way to the bar Hellen states, "Isn't that Tad at the bar?"A guy is standing there, with a bald head, and black rimmed glasses. "I don't know," I reply. "No," Mamf insists, and then, "Erm.... I think I recognise them boots!" I say. Yep, Tad it is! We go and buy our drinks, and I am left to approach the unsuspecting Tad. He was talking with someone as I reached him, so I waited in the background. The guy leaves, I walk up to Tad and say "Hi Tad," to which he answers "Yes?" A few seconds silence pass, and this glint of recognition shines in Tad's eyes. "Oh, my God, it is so good to see you again!" Bear hugged again! We stood talking to him for a few minutes when Mamf announces, "We have a little something for you," and hands him the photo album we had created an hour before leaving for the gig. "This is the best thing anyone has ever given me," says Tad as he looks through the photos, a huge grin adorning his face. We stand and talk for about an hour. "I don't think anyone else is coming," worries Tad, but we lay these fears to rest. Then he spies Steve and quotes, "Wait a minute, Steve is just going to die!" He goes and fetches Steve, he walks towards us and grabs Mamf and I and gives us both a big hug. Then Tad says, "Look at this, but you can't touch, I will never get it back!" and then shows Steve the photo album from a safe distance. Steve then disappears leaving us once again with Tad. A while later Tad is called for soundcheck, leaving us to our own devices. Upstairs in the club we get some drinks, and I get curious about the games machine in the corner. On the way to it, Tad accosts me in that bear hug again as he appeared offstage from practising a song with Suriki. "I wasn't going to you, I was going to the game," says I, to which Tad replies, "But you're my magnet!" The gig goes on, Toby Slater and Suriki kick butt. (Suriki are a four piece, Oxford based rock band comprising of Jason (guitar/vocals), Pete (bass), Rich (drums) and the lunar Moon (keyboards). They formed in late 1997, and since have produced two cd's, 'Dehydrated' (released in the States) and 'Turnpike'. Having toured with Marillion, Suriki gained a firm following. They are an exceptional live band, well worth going to see, so keep your eyes peeled for Suriki appearing in a town near you!)  And then it is time for Four Star Mary. Yay! Zu's guitar effects pedal goes haywire, and he is unable to use it, but Suriki pop up with a replacement. They begin with 'Marlene', and we begin to bop about like headless chickens! Tad dedicates 'Shadows' to us and Chisper(!). We continue to act like fools!The gig over, we again stay behind to talk to the guys, and depression kicks in at the knowledge of them returning to the States on the Sunday. Boo hoo. Poor Tad had managed to cut his finger on Steve's bass, and he is having a funky blue plaster put on the cut when I go to talk to him. Aw, he looked like a wounded puppy! Sweetie! He thanked us profusely for attending the gig, but as we said, we would do the same for any of our other friends' bands, to which he looked chuffed. Again, the never lose contact subject came up, and Tad insisted that we talk at least once a week. Aw, we love Tad! More photos were taken, I just couldn't escape the grasp of Steve, he kept dragging me into photos. Argh! Mamf wandered round like a little lost puppy, upset at their leaving. I managed to get lost in the background during photos taken by others, but couldn't escape the wandering hands of Chris, who kept grabbing me... We finally bade fond farewells and left, back to the car and the four hour drive home. We love you guys, and miss you lots. See you soon, babes! Jolly good show! Lexy, Mad Panic. Lexy and Mamf's Mad Panic site contains their photos and more reviews and info about Four Star Mary. They also appear on Four Star Mary's site. |