It has a post code, so in theory - with the aid of satellite navigation and Bobby’s map reading - it should be possible to find the place. Yet however many times we go there, we still always manage to get lost either on the way or on the way back. It's as if it keeps moving, so the road you think takes you back to Reading now leads to Farnham... On this particular visit, Dave's sat-nav was only capable of finding a series of roadworks on the way there, and on the return trip Phil, Bobby and the van full of gear somehow ended up in Farnham (but coming into the town from the opposite side to where Crondall is supposed to be). We have a theory (probably originating from Kev, our self-appointed science expert) that aliens may be involved...

Even if you manage to find the village, that's not the end of the surreal goings-on. Crondall appears to be the archetypal English village - lots of quaint old houses, all built before 1910 and all way outside our price bracket. Very picturesque, very rural, very much the perfect picture of English country life... and very empty. We went for a walk after our soundcheck, and didn't see a single person (apart from Andy from "Rockin' The Joint", who'd ridden up to see us - top man!). We did see one local establishment with "free tibet" available; we guessed this must be some kind of local - or possibly inter-galactic - delicacy. We did consider acquiring some to share with Janie as a post-gig snack, but sadly the shop-keeper had also disappeared. In fact the only people you ever see in Crondall are the people who are there for the gigs - all the locals have been abducted by aliens, so that they aren't injured when the aliens move the village around the countryside in the middle of the night. It may sound like a wild theory, but check it out for yourself... the evidence is building, and we expect the national press to pick up on this story any day now. If further proof is needed, just take a look at this photo (above), showing how the front gate outside one of the houses has fallen off during one of the nocturnal village moves, and has then been put back on incorrectly by the aliens (because, as everyone knows, there are no garden gates in outer space). And now we are onto them, we have even started receiving messages on our Guestbook from beings from Alpha Centauri...

Anyway, enough of this (although remember - you heard it here first!). What about the gig itself? Well, first things first, Janie & Adi and their team of helpers made us extremely welcome, with cups of tea and sandwiches for us as we set up. The soundcheck went relatively smoothly, and before we knew it 9:15 came around, and we were up on stage, tearing into "Ice Cold". As we'd expected, not too many jivers up early on, but plenty of strollers (led by Jan), and as the first set drew to a close, plenty of boppers too, as "Long Blonde Hair", "Jeepster" and "Sexy & 17" tempted Aaron and others up onto the floor.

(Photo - left - courtesy of Janie at Crondall Rock'n'Roll Club). At this point we'd like to voice our gratitude and appreciation to all those who came to Crondall to see us. Too many to name everyone, but some old friends we hadn't seen for years (with an interesting line in dance moves!), and some new friends we've made at our gigs this year. You all created a fantastic atmosphere that led to a real fun night for everyone there. Also to the dynamic duo, Adi and Robin on the decks (who else?!), who did a great job keeping the audience happy all evening with some cracking tunes (any DJ who plays the Polecats is AOK by us!).

We changed the start of the second set around and kicked off with a couple of straight rock'n'roll numbers that got some of the teds up jiving, and then straight into "Honey Don't" that added more jivers to the dance floor. Following some helpful feedback from various sources, we'd tweaked the sound during the interval and sorted out one or two problems from the first half, and it seemed to be appreciated by those dancing and watching. Sadly, just when we were all enjoying ourselves, we looked at the clock and suddenly realised we only had five minutes left, and four songs to squeeze into that time! It was never going to work, so reluctantly we dropped a couple of original numbers from our planned set list, and finished up with a full dance floor of energetic boppers to "Long Black Shiny Car" and "Lonesome Train". At least, we thought we were finished, but we were brought back for two encores, so the evening for us finished with "Somethin' Else" and a reprise of "Ice Cold", before handing back to the dynamic duo to play out the evening with - as always - an excellent selection of top rockin' tunes.

Top, top night, loved every minute of it (despite the sound problems in the first half).
Photos from this gig are now loaded up - please click on the "Photo Gallery" button (left).
If you want an alternative view of the gig, read on for selected highlights of a review written by Janie, club organiser. For her full write up, click here.

Janie's Review of the Crondall Gig - June 16th 2007
A five piece band almost arrive in 4 pieces & 2 halves at Crondall when The Predators arrived in the drummer's works van, clearly marked "excellence in construction". Well, with Bobby, the hyperactive barking nutter bass player from Berkshire as the front passenger, I think that DESTRUCTION would be more apt, as he decides to open the door of the van before it's parked! I think that Bobby was just very enthusiastic to get onto that stage. The enthusiasm & excitement just oozes from him, in fact, they all can't wait. That is so noticeably clear. So full of Cheshire cat smiles that remained for the whole of the evening, apart from concentration time!
There's Rob (Singer), Phil (Drums), Kev (Guitar), Dave (Keyboard) & Bobby - you already know about Bobby!
They covered songs such as "Ice Cold", "Long Blond Hair" and Stray Cats' "Sexy & 17". And they actually had people dancing in the 1st set, which is unusual for Crondall. We normally have the crowd drinkin', mingling, enjoyin' themselves and then dancin' during the 2nd set mostly. I must admit, there was a little sound problem during the first set which was rectified in the break. People still had a ball.
The wilder faster songs, like "Rock This Town" and "Jeannie Jeannie Jeannie" where a lot better and went down with the crowd much more impressively than the slower tracks that they covered. The faster songs were enjoyed by the band also, as that meant Rob - lead vocalist - got a chance to bop around on the stage. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and Rob said I should come along to their rehearsals to keep Bobby in check!

So, until the next Rockin' Party at Crondall, please support your local and not so local clubs. They need you!

Janie.

Reproduced with permission