|
|
Backstage diary - Retrofest 29 August 2008
"Any chance you're free on Fri 29th August?" I had to think about it for a while, I was wondering what hideous and embarrassing shenanigans Carole Anne had up her sleeve. I thought "Ach, a wee promotion on a Friday night can't be that bad?" Well… Firstly, she didn't tell me I'd be speaking into a microphone, in front of hundreds of people! And not only that, it would be to my home crowd, at Retrofest in Strathclyde Park in The Well.
Thankfully it turned out to be an absolute belter of a promo, on stage as backing dancers for Steve McKenna's Big Band! Steve McKenna, being the smashing DJ from Real Radio; the Rockettes went all out Festival-Chic. 5 of the other girls (Jade, Pauline, Nikki, Kelly and Stacy) joined me and with only one week to get ready for the big night we got started on our dances.
We were a leg-warmer short of an 80's routine so we got our thinking caps on to come up with routines that would fit the weekend's theme and would show off Steve to his best. Armed with our Fame-inspired routines and our sparkly leotards Madonna-style (well our hot pants are close enough) we headed to the Real Radio studios to meet Steve for a quick rehearsal on the Friday night.
When we got to the park we got through the VIP section and straight backstage. We certainly weren't ready for the mud! Practicing backstage before we performed was quite a challenge. The Rockettes can now say we really have danced on all surfaces; sand, grass, tarmac and mud! I felt sorry for poor Stacy! It was her first promo and we were covered in grass and getting ready in a Portakabin, but she coped brilliantly and Kelly did amazingly well too for her first promo back.
Far from panicking, we were all too engrossed on Steve unpacking his bags. "Ooh these hot pants are 'awfy' tight." Aye, you're telling us Steve!! We were part of Steve's master plan to wow his audience. His set included a few interesting costume changes. Think 'Sandy' from Grease, a Rockettes uniform (revealing to say the least) and Freddie Mercury (a girly white vest) so I think there are some things Steve's not telling us.
Steve's voice was fantastic and the 80's songs he had chosen really got the crowd going. There was a slight hiccup when we thought we had heard our cue and we nearly all piled on stage, thankfully we managed to grab Jade just in time before we ruined the surprise. Then it really was our turn to join him on stage.
We were to follow a ballad, so it was my job to run out, grab the mic from Steve and shout "Girls! Are you ready to rock and roll?" (Now you don't need to ask me twice to do that!). In my best festival shout-out voice, I screamed to the crowd, and we got a roaring shout of "YES!" back.
First dance down, and the buzz was overwhelming. The crowd really got into it and our nerves started to ease a little. Until… the DJ played the wrong song. We waited! "Other track" we hissed. Another wrong song! "The other track" we shouted. He finally got the hint, and afterwards, the poor DJ did say he had never been so petrified of such lovely cheerleaders (well he should see us when we don't get fed!).
Straight into our final routine and in a flash it was all over. Let's hope The Rockettes get asked to perform again next year. I hope we do, coz I've lost my voice practicing my shout outs!
Keep 'Rock n Rolling'!
Linz x
   
Photo Gallery (click to open)
|
|
