Gig report: Aidy & Flaming June @ The Cornerhouse, Cambridge

Bands: Aidy (with Dave on bass and me on percussion), Flaming June
Venue: The Cornerhouse, Cambridge
Date: 22/01/11
Audience: Sparse, but scattered to seem like there was more of them, very enthusiastic and helped make it all worthwhile
Sets: Aidy - not sure, Flaming June - Rejoice, Under My Skin, The Devils Daughter, You Do Moody So Well, The Boy I Knew Before I Met You, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like (no drums), The Insane Ex-Girlfriend Parade, The Wizard, Little Love In A Cruel World, Stop The Ride, Wednesdays & Weekends, Rumplestiltskin, Encore - The Infidel
Notes: Quirky little gig that. I've played the Cornerhouse a lot, and sometimes when it's empty it feels slightly demoralising, but tonight there was enough people there to make it work and we all came away feeling very happy. I played in the final two bands of the evening, after some bloke who's name I forgot (but was actually fantastic, annoyed I didn't note his name) and then the ever excellent Tom Tilbury performed. The set with Aidy was as always good fun, the 'rehearsed banter' between him and Dave worked really well tonight, the sound was good and there was a nice vibe to the performance, helped by the audience who seemed to enjoy it, a couple people at the back seemed more intrigued/confused/humoured than anything. There isn't anybody like Aidy performing in Cambs at the moment, so it was nice to see lots of new faces 'get' it tonight. About ten minutes later I was back on stage with Flaming June for our first gig of the year. I think energy levels were slightly down tonight, and we played a long-ish set, but even an 85% powered Flaming June is enough to grip those watching - the songs are just so strong. We went down very well, I thought my own performance was a bit messy, but Louise, Clare and Steve were top-notch as always. The new material worked a treat, and we even had a genuine demand for an encore, which considering it was a largely neutral audience was a really positive thing. Ending on The Infidel, another one of those songs in the set I didn't actually know, we left the stage on a really positive note. It was a good night tonight, certainly not a classic, but a good workout and very positive all round.