Gig report: Eureka Stockade @ Strawberry Fair Festival, Cambridge

Band: Eureka Stockade
Venue: Strawberry Fair Festival, Cambridge
Date: 04/06/2011
Audience: Packed, friendly
Set: She Got Good, All Alone, Without You, I've Been There Before, Caught In The Fire, Resistance, Through Every Darkness
Notes: Having had a year off, the Strawberry Fair returned this year and we were lucky enough to be offered a slot in the acoustic tent. It started off feeling like it was going to be hard work, the whole festival is pretty big and very busy so access with cars is a bit tricky. As a result having to carry my hardware, snare, cymbals, bass pedal and sticks from the nearby multistory across the site was a struggle and I felt knackered before the gig even started, probably also because it was scorching hot and sweaty summer's day. But a pint and a chance to watch a bit of the lovely Fred's House later and I felt refreshed and we played okay I think. To be honest we couldn't hear too much on stage, such is the nature of festival gigs generally, so I'm not sure how we sounded, but there was a nice big crowd and they all seemed to appreciate what we do. As like the previous last few gigs the new material, 'I've Been There Before' and 'Caught In The Fire' seemed to go down particularly well, and we managed to give out plenty of copies of our new single, 'Without You' so it was a worthwhile experience. I was a bit 'cave man' in my own playing I reckon, a bit too bashy and less off the trickery, but some gigs you just have to hit things a bit harder and it seemed to work. It was also great to have Dave Greeves (from Paul Goodwin's band) join us on steel guitar, he's a fantastic musician and we're looking forward to recording with him again later this year.