Castells - FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the alternative pop band, Castells, talks about the story of their first experience playing a gig together. You can check out the story below:

So our first gig was actually an open mic night at a place called the New Cross Inn, based in a London suburb. This pub, every Tuesday, puts on this night for bands - you’d get all sorts of weird and wonderful people there, all performing different types of music - whether they were just starting out (like us), local bands with a following or surprise acts from bigger touring artists, it was a great place for bands to go and jam and test out their material. There was truly no pressure for bands to be amazing. Everyone was simply there for a bit of fun.

We went, had a few beers and laughs and then shit our pants when we found out it was our turn. There we were, four best mates who’ve known each other since school, stood there, shaking with nerves as if we'd never ever practiced, or even MET before. We all did a shot of whiskey to calm the nerves (two of us hate whiskey, but it’s a tradition now) before awkwardly taking the stage. We played 2 original songs and one cover - it actually went fairly smoothly! The crowd danced and we felt pretty cool. Looking back at old videos we can definitely say we did NOT look cool, but we move anyway.

The strangest thing that we can take from this whole ordeal, was the random lady who entered the pub with a variation of handheld percussion instruments, bongos and cymbals. She wasn’t even there to perform, but simply stole our thunder from the crowd by hitting various instruments way off beat. Usually this should annoy a musician but it gave us so much energy knowing someone was having so much fun listening to our music. It was beautiful to see, as she began sharing her instruments around the crowd for everyone to be involved. It was a moment we’ll never forget, and we’ll always be grateful for that first show, and in particular, that lady for reminding us daily of why we do what we do.

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