Gig report: Flaming June @ High Barn, Great Bardfield

Band: Flaming June
Venue: High Barn, Great Bardfield, Essex
Date: 14/10/10
Audience: Folkie types, lots of them, lovely
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, The Insane Ex-Girlfriend Parade, You Do Moody So Well, Wednesdays And Weekends, The Wizard, Under My Skin
Notes: A really good gig this one, one of those proper good gigs that are fairly infrequent but are an absolute treat when they do pop up. I sensed it would be though because High Barn is simply the most beautiful venue I've ever been to, let alone played. It's not massive, but it's got a lovely big stage size, the whole barn thing they've got going on not only looks special but enables it to have great acoustics, and the whole vibe of the place is artistically inspiring. The sound quality on stage was great too, partly thanks to the venue but also thanks to the excellent soundman who was patient and worked with us to create the best sound possible. The gig itself was part of the folk evening - we were the guest band, before (and I assume after us but I left shortly after our set) everybody sat off stage and sang a song or two, it was joyfully gentle and good spirited. Then we took to the stage area for our invited guest slot and it really worked tonight - we're well rehearsed which helps, and on a personal level with it being my second gig with the band I'm now really comfortable with the set and can start to throw in the odd artistic flourish. The more I start to understand the songs Louise has written the more I like them, they've really grown on me - they're a tad eccentric, often quite narky, but always littered with a full-on sense of energy, at times it's like being part of some dark cabaret show. I love it, anyway, and tonight on a big stage in front of a receptive, large-ish audience, it all came together nicely. Drive home less fun - why can I never get myself home from somewhere which is apparently 32 miles away from my home? Well obviously I did get home eventually, but it took nearly an hour and a half and the route my Sat Nav took me on was just crazy, and I swear that wasn't an 'exit' I came off to get onto the M11...anyway, mustn't let those niggly things mar what was a top class show.