Gig report: Jon Orchard And His Band @ The Carpenters Arms, Cambridge

Band: Jon Orchard And His Band (Jon, me and Neil Cowlan)
Venue: The Carpenters Arms, Cambridge
Date: 03/04/10
Audience: A bunch of scary looking men at the back who hated us and a couple OAP's at the front who couldn't get enough of us
Set: Loads, I think Jon just made it up as we went along
Notes: I spent my works' bonus on a lovely pair of congas (and also a football, because I'm still a kid at the end of the day) and I was really happy to be able to play them so soon - especially with Jon and Neil, as it suits the music. We played the first half to just the guys at the back who didn't want us there, and then the second half to those plus the old couple at the front who were so keen on what we were doing I found their post-gig praise flattering and it almost made it worthwhile. Basically, we played to barely anybody at all and it's remarkable we get paid what we do for this because they clearly didn't make that back at the bar. But we played really well tonight, the second gig as a trio and my third with Jon, and my first that really felt like it was working - I'm understanding the songs better now, and those congas sound remarkable, I could play them for hours. Oh yep - I did tonight actually, it was a long old gig. The Carpenters Arms remains one of the most scary and uncomfortable venues around here, but we need to get over that because we have a residency there.