CHEAPSHOW LIVE... AND DIGI LIVE 3...!

As many have said already, Cheapshow Live was great on Saturday night. It was exactly what we both needed. I hadn’t expected there to be quite such a pro-Digi crowd. I’m always a little bit wary of Cheapshow’s audience, given that Paul and Eli are very beloved, and the fact that I’m not sure I’m entirely universally loved as a Cheapshow guest! But… it turned out that we were very much on home turf, and there were so many Digi t-shirts, so much crossover in our audiences, that I needn’t have worried. It was great chatting to many of you afterwards.

At the last minute, Sanja had to step in as an on-stage guest, when Ash Frith pulled out due to Covid. Given we both featured (albeit portrayed by Paul and Eli) in a Digi spoof video, it felt right to me that she’d be part of the show. Especially as she’s been in so many Digi videos with the two of them. She has more than earned her right to be seen as part of Digitiser in her own right.

It was also just lovely not being the organiser of the whole thing. I’d helped a little bit behind-the-scenes, with editing the videos, but the pressure was off. It ended up being one of the rare occasions when I was quite happy with what I contributed on-stage, because that was all I had to think about. Beanus made a surprise appearance too, which I’d kept secret from Paul and Eli.

Nicely, I think I learned a lot from the show with regard to what we want to do for Digi Live 3. Firstly, I think we’re going to do away with the interval. Not having one kept the momentum going, and obviously meant that the show kept to time (which we’ve had a problem or two with in the past)! It was also – in the spirit of Cheapshow – more lo-fi than Digi Live has been.

While I’m loathe to say we’re going to do a stripped-back show next time – something you’ve come to expect from us is a bit of an ambitious visual spectacle, and I’m a bugger for being unable to do anything by halves – I do think we can find a better way of achieving that spectacle. Gannon basically had the whole show in a single suitcase. We had to hire a van both times!

Lastly, and this is clear from the two Digi Lives to date, it has become a real social event for all of you. Sanja and I love meeting everyone, but there never seems to be quite enough time.

I love that David Walford’s Chunky Fringe has become part of the event, so we’re going to have a think about how we can make more of that.

I can’t promise it’ll happen – we need to have a proper talk through it all – but my dream is that we spread Digi Live 3 over two days. What I’d love is some sort of event on the Friday night. Very chilled. Very low-key. A Q&A type of thing that doesn’t knacker us too much, hopefully proceeded or followed by some sort of a Patreon meet-up for the upper tiers. Then David would have Chunky Fringe during the Saturday afternoon. Then a full-blown Digi anniversary show on the Saturday night. I’ve a few ideas how we might structure the show (I’d like to celebrate all of Digi in reverse chronological order, from Level 2, to the current YouTube eps, Digi The Show, Found Footage, then classic Teletext-era Digi).

But anyway. We’d likely price it so you can buy either a weekend ticket, or just a Saturday ticket, with eligible Patrons registering for the free Patron-only event, whatever that might be (could even be on the Saturday afternoon). Again, this is all just first thoughts (though I’ve actually been thinking about it for over a year).

The dates we’re looking at are in late-June, early July, or September. Hopefully warm enough for a car park get-together!

Obviously, Harrow Arts Centre is the prime location, but I may also look into a couple of other potential venues (still around there, as it keeps costs down at our end). While I appreciate that without a confirmed date you’re unable to say for certain, I’d love to know whether you’d be up for both nights, or just one. It’ll just help us in terms of planning.

I’m going to make a poll over on Twitter, so if you can head over there and vote in it that’d be great.

Again, I can't promise a two-day thing with absolute certainty. Sanja, I know, has her reservations, because the live shows have absolutely wrecked us (in part because of that ambition), but if Marillion (average age 108) can do three-day conventions, I'm sure we can manage it. 

We’ve got Sanja’s brother and his girlfriend staying with us this week (he’s hopefully going to be in the next Digi video), and my daughter and grandson were here at the weekend, so we realistically won’t be able to properly lock this down until next week or the week after at the earliest (depending on Harrow Arts, who are notoriously slow), but we’ll try and get you news soon, so you can get planning.

I think that’s about it. Everything is still up in the air with my mum and dad, and day job work, but I’m now starting to think about the next block of filming for Digi Level 2. I’m gutted we’ve had to pause it, but I won’t put it off for too much longer. We’ve just needed to get things like my daughter’s wedding, Cheapshow Live, and this week’s family visit out of the way to give us a clear (well, clear-ish, given everything) run of time.

Right. That’s it. Feedback (and poll vote) please!

Paul