Gig report: Aidy @ The Jolly Brewer, Lincoln

Band: Aidy
Venue: The Jolly Brewer, Lincoln
Date: 10/09/11
Audience: Passive for the first half, but seemingly really into it in the second
Set: First set (acoustic) - Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Down Like That, Guns, God's Front Porch, 3 Years, 22, Magazines, New Song, Washing Machine. Second set (electric) - Not Your Day, Maybe, Miami Beach, Life In Monochrome, Prettyish, I Don't Even Know Your Name, 3 Monkeys, If That's All That There Is, Waiting, Bored.
Notes: Interesting gig that one, nice venue and very friendly, bit tight for space on 'stage' but no issues with volume as the venue itself is a fair size and we had an excellent soundman who seemed to genuinely care. For a Saturday night it was a little quiet at first, and at times I felt I was struggling to get totally into it during our acoustic set - yet as we've played these songs so much recently I still think we sounded pretty sharp as these tracks are pretty much cemented into our subconscious by now. After a short break we then went electric with full drums, electric guitars and everything, and the whole vibe seemed to change. Perhaps it was because we haven't played many electric gigs recently and it all seemed fresh, or the fact that as the evening progressed the audience seemed more interested in what we were doing. There's a few songs in the second half that I'd personally never played live before and had only rehearsed for the first time on the morning of the show - such as 'Maybe' and 'Bored' - the latter actually being one of my favourite Aidy songs now and I'm keen to have it as a regular in the set. By the end of the show, with Dave rolling on the floor (a regular occurrence at gigs now) and with CD's being sold I felt we really won over that audience and it was a long but hugely enjoyable evening. Turned down the kind offer of going to 'Cubes' nightclub with the rest of the band and Dave's old university friends, instead sticking to my very sensible 'if the venue is under two hours away drive home that night' rule, so instead of the usual drunken fun I found myself in a 24-hour drive-through McDonalds with my good mate (and navigator for the evening) Rachel. Perhaps I am getting too old for all the rock and roll, but at least I still feel young enough to get excited about fast food.