One of the upsides to having a kick-arse team, is that everyone cracks on with their job roles, quite often without giving much thought to anyone elses. The downside of that, if you happen to be the person who is in charge of the events, is little things like bills, running costs and the like, don't really come up in your day to day work. So hearing the news this week, as we approach the end of the financial year, that we may still be up the proverbial creek in search of a paddle, came as a bit of a blow! I had thought (in hindsight, naively) that given we have traded quite steadily throughout January and February and were bobbing along quite nicely, that the impending doom of closure was now behind us, however, it would seem that bobbing along will not be enough to keep the wolf from the Crow forever.
At the risk of sounding like a crazy bearded prophet, waving my "The End Is Nigh" placard, the unavoidable facts are that we opened, had 2 months of trading, then 2 years of lockdowns and restrictive measures and the best part of a year afterwards of building back the trade in a very cautious and depleted market with growing running costs! The fact we survived at all is little short of a miracle and whilst things have looked bleak at points during the journey, we have ticked along by cutting costs, hosting some awesome sell-out gigs, various fundraisers, investments and (of course), our fantastic core of music loving pissheads that come down to support us. But whilst our troubles seem so long ago now, eventually, as with everything, they are going to catch us up.
The irony is that we had expected January and February's trade to be far worse and to have fallen deep into bother, but no, we have traded pretty consistently every week and had numerous sell-out nights. The problem has been (the same as for every UK venue) there are also quiet times and while they all seem to balance out, we aren't left with any surplus to invest in moving the business forward or providing a cushion to help meet the bills if there is a dip in trade due to the weather / coronation / holidays / apocalypse etc.
So here we are again, nipples deep in the whoopsie like before, feeling a little foolish that we had perhaps mistaken the growing dung-pile for the promised land. Is this the end? I bloody hope not, but it is certainly more important than ever that we finally have the belter of a year that we have been waiting for since we opened back in 2020! Whilst the recent gloomy weather has been making it feel like we have been stuck in a never ending Winter, (hardly a motivator for hitting the town!), it is officially Spring and the light evenings, clear skies and sunshine is surely now not too far away!
We have a mammoth amount of fantastic events scheduled for the year and we are busy working on other projects from theatre, escape rooms and festivals that all should be ready to launch this Summer. Despite our ongoing precarious situation, things definitely seem far more promising than ever. Perhaps the golden age of drunken debauchery and terrible dancing is upon us and The Crow hosting fantastic events on the doorstep for our growing town will mean we hurtle on a tidal wave out of shitscreek onto more favourable shores... I guess we will have to inflate the lilo and just wait and see!!!
Of course, your ongoing support is vital for our survival and whilst we are sure by now that you know what to do, here's a quick reminder:
Follow us on Social Media (Facebook & Instagram), like, comment & share our posts.
Check in on socials when you pop and see us
Leave us a Google review
Tell your friends, colleagues, neighbours about us
Buy some CCB merch from our website
Attend as many of our events that take your fancy
Pop in and see us / Prop up the bar!
Anyway, that is more than enough waffle from me! We have had some awesome events over the last few weeks and even more scheduled in for the coming weeks.
Coming up at The Crooked Crow Bar...
Wednesday 29th March, 7:30pm: Castle Comedy Night
A classic mixed bill of comedy featuring TV names and rising stars.
MATT RICHARDSON - is a multi award winning stand-up comedian, TV & radio host. He is a hit at all the major comedy clubs in the UK and has gigged overseas on countless occasions. Star of Dancing on Ice, Celebrity Coach Trip, The Stand Up Sketch Show, The Red Bull Soapbox Race (Dave), Celebrity Haunted Mansion, Celebrity Haunted Hotel and Nevermind The Buzzcocks!
HARVEY HAWKINS – Is a BBC New Comedy Award nominee and winner of the Birmingham Breaking Talent Award. He performs comedy all over the country with his "joke heavy" set at some of the biggest independent and weekend clubs.
Harvey has also racked up hundreds of thousands with his highly amusing posts on TikTok and Inatagram, earning him a whole new audience.
"Razor-sharp punchlines delivered with great skill. Highly recommended." - Paul Sinha
The show will feature full support from top UK comedians and the host for the show is Paul Revill
Thursday 30th March, 8pm: Murder at The Crow!
This is your chance for you and your team to crack a cold case at The Crooked Crow Bar! It's completely free, just ask at the bar and you will get given a case file for you and your team to work through. Can you eliminate the suspects and figure out who the killer was?
We are open as a bar too, which means great beer, pool table, board games and great tunes. Over 18s. Dogs welcome.
Free Entry
Friday 31st March: B4 World Domination.
The CCB introduces 3x awesome original bands: Audionasties Bruises Graveyard Rats
This is your chance to support the live music scene, hardworking bands and an independent venue all in 1 night!!! Trust us when we tell you, this gig is going to be EPIC!!!!
DOORS: 8PM (ENTRY ON 1ST COME BASIS) ENTRY: £3 On The Door INDOOR/STANDING GIG OVER 18S ONLY
Saturday 1st April:
12-6pm: BYO Vinyl
8.30pm: Live music from The Reformers
The guys in the red suits are back, with their glammed up, rocked up, dance floor hits!! Dancing shoes are highly recommended, as is arriving early as this is likely to get busy and entry is on a 1st come basis. Free Entry
Sunday Vibes 12-4pm, Free Entry
Aprils full listings will be up on the website this week, so keep those eyes peeled!