30/9/2006 Chas & Dave @ The Chickenshed Theatre

Subject	Chas & Dave
PostedDate	9/30/2006
	Yes really! When I discovered the rockney legends were playing only ten minutes walk from home I knew I had to go. I'd never seen them before, didn't have any of their stuff in my CD/record collection, and could only name four of their songs - but what great songs they are! The venue was the Chickenshed Theatre - not the most suitable of venues for this act, and the tickets seemed expensive at £ 17.50, but a chance to see Chas & Dave on my doorstep was too good to miss! The evening nearly went wrong as I turned up late without a ticket - to find out the 300 seat theatre had sold out in advance. At the gigs I go to normally, arriving around nine gives plenty of time to catch the headline act. However, this wasn't a normal rock venue, and there was no support act. I arrived to be told that Chas & Dave had started their second set!  Fortunately, a couple of tickets had been left on the door for people who couldn't make it and I was allowed to have one of them for a fiver as I'd already missed over half the show. Result! Rushed to the bar to grab a beer on the way in and found a pint of Guinness already poured and got it at the knockdown price of £2 - things were getting better! I was shown my way to my seat in the theatre - good view not too far from the front. A seated theatre is certainly not the best place to see this act - a club, or even better a pub would be ideal - propping up the bar with a pint in my hand. However, the atmosphere in this venue was excellent in spite of it's unsuitability and Chas & Dave were terrific - great entertainers as well as great musicians! I was worried that as I'd missed over half the performance I wouldn't get to see some of the only Chas & Dave songs I knew. I don't know what they played in the first set, but I got to see them play 'Rabbit', 'Gertcha', 'Ain't No Pleasing You', and 'The 'Sideboard Song' plus a whole load of other stuff - some of which turned out to be familiar like their hits 'London Girls' and 'Margate'. I was well pleased! They were selling signed CDs out of their suitcase after so I had to get one of them as well. A night of top entertainment - and all for a fiver - a right result!