"Walkies" (2010 Off The Leash Tour of Dorset and beyond) The 2010 Photos ...

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23rd July - Chetnole, Melbury Bubb, in the middle of nowhere, near Maiden Newton

The Gig at Hell Corner

A few hundred yards from the delightfully named, Hell Corner, the gig at Chetnole will go down in the annals (spell check works) of DWC as surely the furthest gig from anywhere, anytime. The proximity of the beer tent, and the two old dogs (sans collars) wandering around were comforting, but the audience appeared to be in the next field and took some cajoling (whatever that means) to tear themselves away from the Hog Roast (awesome), the Puddings (equally awesome) and the wine (can't comment), to come and dance. DWC have finally succumbed (this is becoming Thesaurus Corner) to the ultimate dance moves of ... YMCA. Learning it 10 minutes before the gig, with the associated raggedity (I made that one up), didn't seem to matter, as it went down a storm ....

25th June - Hindown, between Shaftesbury and Warminster

The Gig with the Awesome Barbecue

There are some gigs which stand out - and this was one of them! The first was seeing "DWC" signs on the way there: immediate delusions of grandeur. Then there was the set up with an awesome barbecue (you should have seen the puddings!), a beer tent and even nice "festival" loos. With Glasto a few miles away ... who needs Gorillaz? They danced and they made it a great night - and with our new outdoor sound man, Dave, we were on a roll. Then the moon came up, shimmering gently in the pale blue sky above the glorious woods opposite ...(hang on, I'm getting carried away here ... sorry). A great night!

Thanks Krys for the pics

18th June - Maiden Newton at War

The Gig with the Tanks

It was s touch surreal, having to park next to a WW2 Sherman Tank and doign a gig in front of people dressed up in all sorts of weird and wonderful army/navy/air force garb (including the odd SS Officer) but, hey ho, we're well used to doing things with people dressed up funny and in strange places. It was the night of the appalling England performance against Algeria (0 - 0, for those who like to be reminded of such things) and our job was to try and cheer people up. We got them dancing (not the SS Officer, though, who stood at the bar and just ... looked). A big thanks to Ron, the stand in bass player, and Laurie, pleeeaaase get a diary which works.

12th June - Outside Wimborne Minster (not)

The Gig That Didn't Happen

We got word a week before this gig was supposed to happen that the licence to play music outside Wimborne Minster had been suspended because of the England v USA match taking place on the same night. A shame cos we were looking forward to doing this one - but we understand the reasons and, in the words of St Arnie of California, "We'll be back" ....

4th June - The Tavern Crossways

The Gig on Henry's Birthday

Tony's finally off to Alaska (we think!) so the newly appointed 6th Dog, aka Young Henry, dutifully turned out on his 17th Birthday to sound and light the Dogs - YH, you are a star! As for the gig, apart from the glitter ball, it lacked a certain pzazz - although the new addition of Laurie venting his spleen singing "Nights in White Satin" was a highlight, as were the fish and chips, which rate highly on the "DWC Good FnC Guide".

14th May - The Blandford School

The Gig With The Empty Hall

Dogs headlined an evening to support the school Student Support Worker, Ken Reynolds. The first band on were a very talent bunch of year 9s, Last Resort, and they were followed by Natascha Sohl, who has a CD out ... we felt the age of the evening was going up and the talent in the opposite direction. The small audience were responsive but, like the proverbial dance hall, clung to the walls and danced there, leaving a whopping big gap in the middle. Ho hum. Another gig and another experience.

23rd February - St Andrews's Kinson

The Thelma's 90th Birthday Bash Gig

With Geoff back from his wanderings, it was off to Kinson to honour the 90th Birthday of the Chief DWC Groupie, Thelma with the traditional can of ale (or two). Quote of the night from one "senior" attendee who was asked if she had enjoyed it and that it hadn't been too loud, who replied she had had a good time and that it was fine because she had "taken an Asprin before she went, just to be on the safe side."

Thanks Rose for the pics

13th February - Evershot Village Hall

The Gig With The Glitterball

As the glitterball daintly lit the hall up, the band fired up the opening chord of Sylvia - and Tim broke all previous records by breaking a string immediately. Apart from the faux pas that we were eating (thanks for the lasagne) and the audience weren't (and we wished them bon appetit), the gig went well. As a Valentines Eve gig, the couples were far more interested in smooching than bopping...

22nd January 2010 - The Sealy Suite, Blandford Forum

The Gig With The Tombola

The Dogs were back in town and over 120 turned up to see us on a foul night (it always is when we gig in Blandford) and were treated to new songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" (how does that end?) and "Something" (the solo was nearly right) and "Don't Stop" (to finish with - how ironic is that ....?) The tombola offered such gems as tiny chocolate Santas - people who come to our gigs know how to live! And nearly £800 was raised for the Blandford Parish Centre Project.

Thanks Jess for the pics