Gig report: The Trevor Jones Band @ Evolution Dome, St Neots

Band: The Trevor Jones Band
Venue: Diamond Ball @ Evolution Dome/St Neots Rugby Club, St Neots
Date: 30/06/12
Audience: Busy, chatting
Set: All I Am, Badman, I Don't Wanna Talk About It, Roll On The Rain, Alive, Have I Told You That I Love You, , Solid Ground, Can't Take This Anymore
Notes: Our second gig of the day, and after the new Sat Nav I installed on my fancy new phone took me to a completely different location I was happy to arrive at the huge dome - it looks great, you know it's a slightly bigger gig than your average show when you turn up to see something like that. I had a slight issue with the zipped door and fell in to the venue, which wasn't a great start but I appreciate the bar staff not laughing, even though they had clearly noticed and were struggling to remain professional as I crawled briefly on the floor, legs everywhere. Gig itself was nice enough - we knew the score from the start, it was a huge and very worthy charity event, and we were one of two acoustic acts playing (the other is Libby Holden, sister of Pixie Lott and excellent singer-songwriter in her own right - Libby was very friendly when we met her briefly). We were on just as the audience arrived, it was a swanky, black-tie event but we were very much background music. But we felt appreciated all the same, Jo - the host, looked after us well and we served our purpose. And it was nice to wear a full suit for a change. To quote the legendary Aidan Moffatt - "birth, love and death - the only reasons to get dressed up." Well, let me add a fourth reason to that equation - function gigs.

Gig report: The The Trevor Jones Band @ The Buzz Festival, Cambridge

Band: The Trevor Jones Band
Venue: The Buzz Festival @ The Cornerhouse, Cambridge
Date: 30/06/12
Audience: Minimal, enthusastic
Set: All I Am, Badman, Alive, Can't Take This Anymore, Falling, Old Fashioned Woman, Roll On The Rain, Shine A Light

Notes: Our first of two gigs today, this one as part of the Buzz Festival held on the grounds of the Cornerhouse pub in Cambridge. There's two stages - one inside the pub, one outside. Bit unfortunate that the sun came out as we were inside, but those who did come in really, really got into it - in fact for a tiny audience they were so enthusiastic and it really made us feel welcome. Played this as a trio (the same as the radio gig during the week), we were really tight today I felt - the endings were proper sharp, as they should be. Trevor's voice went at the end though so we had to cut the set short, that's a real concern as we're on again at a big ball in St Neots in about 2 hours time...

Gig report: Louise Hamilton @ The Man On The Moon, Cambridge

Band: Louise Hamilton
Venue: The Man On The Moon, Cambridge
Date: 29/06/12
Audience: 12
Notes: Early evening gig (even earlier than planned because the opening act were "still at KFC" so we took the first slot) to try out some new material. This was half of Flaming June, just Louise and myself. Not much of an audience but the sound was good, played well enough I think, and Louise's new material is really strong.

Rehearsals, singles, and new projects

I've never been a fan of hot weather, it drains me, people who like hot weather are the 'relaxing' type I imagine, but it slows me down and the wasps sting me. Just thought I'd start on a moan, there. There's some good stuff happening you know - and a few things bugging me, but such is life. It wouldn't be fun without the odd thing to keep me on my toes.

Dowsing For Sound is now out of the way - I enjoyed it, in fact I more than enjoyed it (I won't go on again about Dowsing and why it's more than a bit special, and Ickworth was surprisingly fantastic), but it was also rather time consuming so it feels nice to breathe a little before the next project. The next project being the fringe shows...although not much breathing space really, we open in Bristol next Saturday at a lovely little theatre. I'm not really involved with 'Probably The Greatest Goal...' as that's in the good hands of Michelle Golder, who always makes my work look better than it actually is, but from an Oscar Pike point of view we're probably slightly behind with rehearsals, due to external reasons beyond our control. See, this blog is public, I'm aware of that and I probably should be advertising the show and singing it's praises. But I don't need to - because there's enough of that on the internet already, if you want to see more about the show go to my website or look at the Sweet Venues page, this is where I can be honest. It is a lovely show - really nice, it's a bit different to last year's Oscar's piece - less action, more character-based, and a majority of it is set in the present, but it bounces along beautifully, there's a nice twist, some really fulfilling characters. It's going to be great - it's not looking great right now, it has to be said, last night's rehearsal was stressful and a little confusing, but it's only because we want this to be the best it can be. Grace is really into the whole attention to detail thing, she has so many ideas - I want to do her justice. We can, as much as next Saturday suddenly feels really soon. If you're in Bristol next Saturday, come and see it - we're really stressing about this one, it should be worthwhile. At the moment I feel like a totally rubbish actor (that's possibly because I'm not actually an actor), but I've got just over a week to turn this around.

But as I say - lots of good things happening/happened. Dowsing was a good thing, in an unpredictable, emotional rollercoaster kind of way. And with The British IBM things look rosy - our debut single, Animal, was released on Monday (complete with cartoon video on YouTube) and everybody seems to be talking about it, including friends who don't like any of the music I have previously drummed on, it seems to be one of those things that has caught the imagination of everyone who has seen/heard it. And the radio show with Trevor Jones on Tuesday was great too - feels like he's fulfulling his potential and it was a pleasure to drum to those songs.

I've just agreed to drum for a show in Ipswich called, 'The Sound Of Musicals' - it's slap bang in the middle of our fringe preview dates - considering I'm stressed now, this is probably a bit foolish of me to take on yet more work, but I just really liked the idea of this one. I know the musical director from years ago, and it just looks like something I can do really well, and it's in a great theatre in Ipswich, it'll do me good I think. And talking of musicals, I'm taking the music of Bristol-based band The Outlines and writing a musical for them for Lodestar Festival. It's going to be set in a blues bar, which also doubles up as a lonely hearts club, and it's called 'It's All Very Monday.' After all this rehearsing, and re-drafting, and drumming, and driving about everywhere, it feels really good to be writing again. For tonight, at least, tomorrow I need to get back to learning my lines...

Currently watching: Sorry (DVD), Euro 2012
Currently reading: The fringe script, over and over again
Currently listening to: Joe Jackson - The Duke, Glen Hansard - Rhythm and Repose, Dexys - One Day I'm Going To Soar

Gig report: The Trevor Jones Band @ BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Cambridge

Band: The Trevor Jones Band
Venue: BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Cambridge
Date: 26/06/12
Audience: As always with radio, no idea, but it's a popular show - and I know for a fact my mum tuned in, as did our bassist
Sets: All I Am, Badman (plus interview and pre-recorded live version of 'Falling')
Notes: We were guests on Sue Marchant's excellent evening show on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and played this one as a trio - Trevor, Bill and myself. It was really nice - Sue is really nice and easy to do a show with, I know it's her job but she really did make us feel so comfortable. Sometimes with radio gigs it can be a bit sterile - you're going out to an audience of thousands but all you can see is the other three or four people in the building. But this really worked, Trevor seemed more emotive than normal - there was a lot of passion, he seemed to go up a notch or two, and the songs worked so well in this environment. The interview flowed nicely too, just a really good session, that one.

Gig report: Ickworth Park Relay For Life Festival, Ickworth

Bands: Eureka Stockade, Flaming June, Dowsing For Sound
Venue: Ickworth Park, Horringer
Date: 23/06/12
Audience: Changed throughout the day thanks to the unpredictable weather, those who did stick with it though were very enthusiastic
Sets: Eureka Stockade - Caught In A Fire, Been There Before, Without You, Violence, Goodbye You've Gone, Heroes Fall, The Drinking Song, Through Every Darkness, All Alone. Flaming June - Rejoice, Under My Skin, You Do Moody So Well, The Devil's Daughter, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, I Feel Love (Louise solo), The Insane Ex-Girlfriend Parade, Rumplestiltskin, Stop The Ride, Wednesdays And Weekends. Dowsing For Sound - Keep The Car Running, What You Know, Safe From Harm, Take Your Mama Out, Illuminated, Noches/Whirl/Puirt, Tonight We Fly, Sweet Disposition, Take Me Home, Beautiful Child, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall. 
Notes: As predicted, that was a long day. The second year running I've had the pleasure of playing in multiple bands at the beautiful grounds of Ickworth Park as part of the Relay For Life day in aid of Cancer Research. It's a big-scale, often moving event - organised by an inspiring team including the wonderful Lorraine Cockerton. The grounds of Ickworth are just stunning - I don't normally feel anything towards architecture or just buildings in general, but our little stage was set to an amazing backdrop, it seemed even nicer than last year, if that were at all possible. The stewards were also particularly helpful when it came to getting me as close to the stage as possible to unload and just seemed to really appreciate the artists involved, this kind of thing is virtually unheard of at festivals these days at this level. 

Alongside playing in three bands I took part in the relay with a team made up of fellow Dowsing For Sound people. I did it dressed as Santa Claus, it's a long story (typically which involves trying to impress somebody, I am not going to try and impress anybody ever again), and although my red trousers kept falling down (I was wearing another pair underneath, obviously) and my beard snapped off half way through my third gig of the day, it kept me warm as the chill kicked in and kept people smiling, because at the end of the day everybody loves Christmas, even in mid-June. Eureka Stockade were my first band of the day, back with our original bassist, the legendary and frighteningly funky Nathan Jones - our first show with him for about 9 months I think.  I thought we were worryingly lacking a sense of togetherness in the rehearsal on Friday, but the gig itself was really lovely - perhaps the bad rehearsal woke us up a bit, and we were pretty tight. It was the first time my parents had seen Eureka and my dad called this morning to sing our praises, which is nice because he does talk an awful lot of sense. Flaming June were next up - I had to sit down for this one (normally I like to play congas stood up) as my Santa trousers kept falling down, so on a personal level my own performance was a little on the relaxed/lazy side of things but Louise, Steve and Clare were on good form - and the songs are so punchy too. Flaming June are a lot of things, and as I pointed out after the Pidley event a few months back, perhaps the strongest quality to the group is that they're a really good festival band - it always seems to work. 


After a quick rest, in which I sat in the rain and watched a little theatre, and then my old chum Ade's band, the consistently entertaining Wreck Scene, Dowsing For Sound were due on stage. There was an obvious problem though - the plan was to be the same as last year and have the choir on stage and band off it. But with the weather conditions becoming more difficult (and apparently rain and amps don't go together), we tried to have the band under separate cover - before realising we couldn't see the choir and they couldn't see us. So we attempted what looked like the impossible - to cram the whole choir and band on the tiny stage, and hope the sound somehow works out. It shouldn't have done, but it did. I was basically behind the choir, which was a bit strange (following Andrea's direction through a tiny gap of singers) but when you're surrounded by such lovely people it's always good fun. Musically we were without Sammy and Richard, both of whom were away, so slightly scaled down with just Andrea, Nicky, Gav and myself as the band, and due to the size restraints I had to play a scaled-down kit. With everything against us, the rain getting heavier, slightly cramped performance space, the pressure suddenly seemed to be off. As a result, it was a truly enjoyable experience - the choir seemed void of any nerves and just sang their hearts out, the band played with smiles, fluency and freedom. Perhaps these things were missing from the Corn Exchange gig last week. Great fun - the songs have completely sunk in now, it was a confident performance and you could just feel everyone on stage really getting a buzz out of it. Lovely, lovely gig. 


After packing away, grabbing a drink and a little banter, we watched the Candle Of Hope ceremony, a touching reminder of what the whole event was in aid of. The rain continued, but the spirits were never dampened. A nice day, on top of the three bands I did the relay - my first hour was earlier in the day (joined by various people - including my Eureka Stockade bandmates at one point), and then some more in the late evening (some unscheduled laps with Jemma - really nice to just catch up and rant a bit, and then my final hour was at midnight with Nina - the conversation flowed and the time just flew by). Decided not to camp, it was the right decision I think - I still had enough energy to drive safely, and was home by 2am, so not too bad. 


A busy day, and a worthwhile one. I feel lucky to be playing events like these, and there's a few more coming up in the next couple of weeks with various bands, it's bloody lovely being a drummer sometimes. And the people you meet - people are just great, you know. But moving on...the previews for our fringe shows open in less than two weeks time and I need to get my head around this acting thing, sharpish, and the next couple of rehearsals are so important. I need to focus, get a haircut (I'm on the verge of becoming a long-haired hippy, must nip that in the bud straight away) and achieve what I know can be achieved. After the England v Italy game tonight, of course.

Gig report: Dowsing For Sound @ The Corn Exchange, Cambridge

Band: Dowsing For Sound
Venue: The Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Date: 16/06/12
Audience: Very packed, very nice
Set: First half - Take Me Home, Keep The Car Running, What You Know, Safe From Harm, Fake Empire, Illuminated, Pull My Heart Away, Guide My Feet, Take Your Mama, You Are My World; Second half - Noches/Whirl/Puirt, Charlie Darwin, I Wanna Life, Sweet Disposition, Undertow, Empty Room, Tonight We Fly, Your Own Spell, November, Glosoli, Beautiful Child, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, Encore - One Day Like This
Notes: Well. I've been delaying writing this one for a day or so because I just don't know where to start. I call myself a writer but it's near impossible to put into words the huge range of emotions of Saturday. I'll have a go. Actually, this morning is probably a good starting point, when I went to pick up my drums from the venue having left them there after the show so I could get drunk with good friends at the aftershow party (I often refer to my drums as 'my babies', in this case I was probably a crap father) and had a brief but nice chat to Andrea - our leader, our genius, the woman behind all of this. She explained to me that perhaps we should just rely on the audience, maybe the audience were right after all - they must be; they pay to watch this and they were ecstatic by the end. And perhaps the choir were right too - they're a joyous bunch anyway but after the gig I've never seen so many smiles (and proper smiles, not just polite smiles, these were smiles of raw emotion, of genuine happiness) and a load of them were still singing at the party. All of these people, these many people - including my friends who made it (many of whom - Jon M, Julia R, Rohan, turned up at the very last minute realising this would be a goodun) said how much they enjoyed it, I've had the texts and Facebook messages, all of these people can't be wrong. 

Yet I still felt uncomfortable; on an entirely personal level, about my own performance on the night. After last year's gig I was buzzing - I was jumping around and high-fiving strangers, I probably looked like an idiot. This time around, as soon as the gig finished, I felt more than a little frustrated with my drumming. It can't have been helped at times - there were issues with the sound and as a result the general consensus was in the first half the band were drowning out the choir. In the second half we made a conscious effort to play quieter, but as soon as you find yourself feeling restricted it does lose something at times. But as I say - it can't be helped, it's a difficult job to control the sound of so many people, it's a miracle it happens at all. Other things could have been helped, I mean (and sorry for swearing...) what the fuck was I doing in 'Keep The Car Running?' It's not called 'Keep The Drum Beat Going' for Christs sake, can't believe I missed that stop...but it's a credit to everyone else on stage that we stumbled through it and a majority of those listening would be none the wiser. Until after the gig, if they're reading this blog, of course. And the bit where I really get to let fly in Take Your Mama was just messy, but I put that down to over-excitement. The second half was much better though, possibly because I gave myself a little pep talk. 

But then of course I have to remember; it's not all about me. And everyone else is completely awesome - and I mean that from the heart. It's so easy to get wrapped up in ones own minor mistakes (the fact that I am though is only because I care, so very much, about this project), and not see the beauty of what's going on around you. I still don't know how Andrea does it - I don't understand how her head works, how is it possible to be in control of everything that's going on - the choir, the band, the piano, keeping the audience happy? Remarkable, absolutely remarkable. Nicky excelled herself on violin - during the start of the second half with her solo I could just see the mouths of audience members dropping open at just how brilliant this girl is, Sammy had amp issues but still remained the ultimate professional throughout and didn't put a foot wrong, Richard's artistic flourishes on trumpet and percussion added a whole new dimension to the show - it's what defines us from being a regular backing band to something all the more exciting, and Gav on bass - well, without him I don't think any of this would work, not only is he the most positive man in the whole building but his playing is also ridiculously tight and it's a constant relief to me as the drummer to know that whenever I go off on an erratic drum fill I can lock back into his grooves with relative comfort, above anything else he's an intelligent musician. And there's the choir...this is their show at the end of the day, and they made it into a show. The most obvious joy in watching them is that they all just love singing - they put every ounce of their soul into the songs, smiling, relishing every second of it up there. Yet musically they are outstanding too, they seem to perform as a team, they support each other, I defy anybody to not feel something during their version of 'Illumunated' - on a personal level my legs trembled a bit, it was that beautiful. And the whole concert was littered with these moments, and whenever there was a technical hitch, or something didn't seem to be going to plan, their positivity never seemed to wain. There isn't a bunch of people like those Dowsing choir types, anywhere else, I'm certain of this. 

I've been listening to the recordings this evening and suddenly it all makes sense, I'm starting to understand the relentless feeling from everybody else that this was a total success. Because it was. Completely. Putting on a show of this scale, of this quality, in a relatively short space of time...on paper it probably shouldn't have worked. Anyone can stick a few singers together and put together a band to gently play along, but where's the excitement in that? Dowsing For Sound is ambitious; it's ambitious in the choice of material and the choice of arrangements for them, it's ambitious in the choice of venue and the way the whole show looks, and feels, and sounds, yet never strays from the simple value of entertainment. Andrea is ambitious - and everyone on that stage shares her ambition, completely, and as a result everyone in the entire venue feels more than a little bit inspired by it all. Just look at those songs - seriously, look at that choice of tunes...nobody is going to beat that. 

Everybody seems to be on a bit of a Dowsing comedown after the highs of Saturday evening,  I am too. Even if I'm still analysing every single drum beat, I haven't stopped thinking about the show. Which makes it difficult because I'm really needing to get my head around some new projects, there's a lot I want to do and there's some really exciting stuff in the pipeline over the next few months. But it's gigs like the one on Saturday that every musician wants to play, the kind of show that sticks with you life. I feel privileged.

Gig report: Eureka Stockade @ The Portland Arms, Cambridge

Band: Eureka Stockade
Venue: The Portland Arms, Cambridge
Date: 15/06/12
Audience: Busy, happy
Set: Violence, Been There Before, Goodbye You've Gone, Caught In A Fire, Without You, This Vow, Through Every Darkness, The Drinking Song, All Alone, Heroes Fall (encore)
Notes: Eureka Stockade have always been one of my favourite bands to drum for (I don't tend to hang around in projects for too long but I've been with these guys for years now) and it's nice to be back in action with them after a slow 2012 of gigging - we've got some good gigs coming up and the momentum seems to be building. This was the first of the summer shows, and there was a nice vibe about this gig. Possibly because of the football - we were on shortly after the England game (luckily they won so spirits were high), but also because the set feels really fresh - three news songs in there, and in 'This Vow' we have a real gem on our hands I think. Nice gig, good crowd - which was amazing considering the footie, and once again an absolute joy to be on stage with Claudia who was joining us on bass. Performance-wise; lots of life, a little shaky at first but by the time we got to 'Caught In A Fire' we were proper flying, the audience seemed to be really, really into it.

Why I love Dowsing For Sound

I'm going to be approaching things slightly differently this week; the fringe shows are being put momentarily to the back of my mind (apart from signing contracts for preview dates and occasionally looking at my script in my lunchbreak), I won't be working with my other music-based projects (apart from Eureka Stockade who I am gigging with on Friday, and also sorting out my costume for the filming of the British IBM promo video) and I'll even put aside my rigorous fitness regime. Well, you could argue that has been 'on hold' since January anyway, because I'm clearly just not the type. But the reason why? It's because I need to be focused, focused on all things Dowsing For Sound as this Saturday it is the gig.

I try not to think too much ahead of a gig - it's so easy to over-analyse everything and lose sleep over big shows, at the end of the day typically no matter how big the gig is if you're well prepared, rehearsed and in good shape (ie; eat 2 hours before the gig so that you go into it feeling strong but not bloated, have a cheeky half pint so you're relaxed but not pissed) with well-tuned equipment no situation should be too daunting. But Dowsing For Sound is something else - this project is a complex beast to say the least. Centred around a full choir (I think there's about 55 of them, all of them seem lovely, I might add), I have the pleasure of playing drums/percussion/timpani for the band that backs them - a band that features some of the most talented people I have ever worked with - or even met, I have generally been spending rehearsals in awe of my bandmates. We're all held together by Andrea - our musical director, who is one of the most inspirational people on the planet. This whole thing was her brainwave in the first place, she's created a musical monster but somehow manages to make it work; keeping the band in shape, keeping the choir in their place, playing piano...all simultaneously, it often borders on miraculous.

We did a gig last year and it was up there with the best nights of my life - hence the reason why I was reluctant to come back, because I just wasn't sure if it could be bettered. But somehow, it's gone up a notch or two, I couldn't see how - but it has. Everything feels just that little bit more powerful, it's brighter and bigger than before, if last year we hit top gear, this time around we're hitting overdrive.

We're playing at The Cambridge Corn Exchange this Saturday - two sets, ticket sales going extremely well, press and media all over it. I've told a few people this is the 'biggest gig of my career' - and it is. Not because it will be at the Corn Exchange - I've played there a few times before, not because of the size of the audience - I've played to bigger at festivals. But it's because of the scale of the ambition of this show - it's so adventurous, it's so bloody clever. And quite tricky, but that's what rehearsals are for. I'm not going to say what is in the set just in case anybody reading this is planning to attend, but it's a wild, crazy setlist, joyful yet heartbreaking, simplistic yet at times intensively complicated, all tying in nicely. Basically, it's a bit of a treat.

I can't believe I'm writing this BEFORE the gig, or even before the dress rehearsal - which is tomorrow night. But I've been listening to the set all day at work, cementing the songs in mind - I need to know these tunes like I know my lines for my plays, it needs to be perfect. And yesterday's rehearsal was just wonderful - there was a session we had a few weeks back with the choir and band together and I got all hot and bothered and drummed like a loser. Since then though we've had more rehearsals as a band, and yesterday with the choir (who have been rehearsing for months for this gig) things felt like they were gelling nicely. Just in time. That's a relief. There's a couple songs I'm not needed on, so naturally when I have a spare moment I retreat to my safety zone; aka Facebook mobile. But whilst viewing inane statuses from people moaning about the weather and such, I virtually froze; hearing that choir so pure, so beautiful, I almost felt emotional. But I'm a man, so none of that. But they're so good, so, so good.

So this week my head will be in a Dowsing frame of mind. The gig on Saturday feels very much like a cup final, months of hard work coming to fruition in one big centre piece. There's a lot of people involved with Dowsing For Sound - it's a community, one blessed with a great sense of friendship and support for all involved. I said that you can't think too much about a gig - but this will be more than a gig. Dowsing For Sound isn't just a choir with a band, it's something we think about constantly, the project that keeps our routine-littered existance exciting, it's a way of life.

So anyway, no pressure, then.

Gig report: The British IBM @ Proud Camden, London

Band: The British IBM
Venue: Proud Camden, London
Date: 10/06/12
Audience: Busy, happy
Set: Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Down Like That, Cannibal, Animal, Sugar Water, The British IBM, Not Your Day, 3 Years, Washing Machine
Notes: Whilst the timing of this gig wasn't ideal for me personally (having had a manic weekend of gig and rehearsal stuff), this wasn't a bad one at all to play. Have to be honest - we weren't overly keen at first, playing a late slot on a Sunday evening in a city where we're not really known didn't really fill us with optimism, but on arrival we were made to feel very welcome and there was a decent-sized crowd there. Aidy got the train in slightly earlier than Dave and myself, and we only found the venue after somebody gave us a flyer for the show and that person pointed us in the right direction. Proud Camden is a great venue - really vibrant with nice big stage, and the promoter is Allan's Promotions - who are based around here so they knew what they were getting with us. Decent set, well rehearsed, we're all just so comfortable being in a band together - we know these songs inside out (the new material fits in perfectly, it took a few gigs to get them up to scratch but they work a treat now), it's always a pleasure. A tiring pleasure though, got in at 2.30am and up at 7am this morning, but that was a nice enough gig in front of a friendly, if chilled, audience.

Gig report: Flaming June @ The Golden Hind, Cambridge

Band: Flaming June
Venue: The Golden Hind, Cambridge
Date: 09/06/12
Audience: Quiet but really nice
Set: Rejoice, Under My Skin, You Do Moody So Well, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, I Feel Love (Louise solo), The Insane Ex-Girlfriend Parade, Little Love In A Cruel World, Rumplestiltskin, Wednesday's And Weekends
Notes: That was a nice little gig that. We were supporting Will Kaufman who was playing a Woody Guthrie set - Will's an American performer currently on tour, such is my somewhat exhausting schedule right now I didn't stay to watch him which is a shame but I spoke to him briefly before the show and he's a very nice chap. The thing that threw me slightly this evening, as it always does in this situation, was the fact that the audience were all-seated. It felt like they were there to watch a theatre play, if anything it was far more sophisticated than we're used to - it was close to being a sellout so it felt very busy too. Although at first it felt like we were playing in a library I realised this wasn't the case - it was a slightly (and I mean this in the best possible way) older crowd, and they actually listen to the music, they smile when they hear funny lines (and there's plenty of them in Louise's songs), and then applaud generously at the appropriate moments. If anything they were the perfect audience, that's probably why it took me a few songs to get used to the vibe. It felt like my first gig in ages with Flaming June, but it's lovely to be back - the 40 minutes just flew by, the songs bounce along so nicely. I messed up the ending of 'Little Love In A Cruel World' but apart from that it was a well spirited, jolly set. Feel bad for leaving so early but I'm knackered - have spent the day clearing emails, sorting contracts for the preview dates of the Edinburgh show and feeling slightly physically dizzy, so keen to rest up ahead of tomorrow's frankly ridiculously long day. Me coming back early has nothing to do with the fact there's highlights of the European Championship on at 10.20pm on ITV. No. No. No not at all...

The calm (well, rehearsals) before the storm

I've been pretty quiet with the whole blog thing over the last few weeks, but that's not because things haven't been happening as such - on the contrary things are busier than ever, hence why I've often been too knackered to update this thing. I seem to be in endless rehearsals at the moment - for various bands, plays, and at some point all of these projects will burst into life. It's rather worrying that they are all about to burst into life around the same time - it's almost like there's too much excitement around the corner, and if I'm moaning about the amount of rehearsals how much will I be moaning when the shows actually happen? I'm moaning a lot at the moment; about the amount of lines I have to learn for the new Oscar Pike show (I wrote the bloody things, I should be able to pick them up), about women (very unprofessional of me for accidentally 'liking' somebody I'm technically a drummer for, let's get the gig out of the way and move on), about the fact my landlady is having lots of work done on the main house meaning I can't park near the front door of my flat which is a bugger when you're a drummer. Sorry to all those I've moaned at recently, there's quite a few of you, in person and on email. But things are happening - next week it's the Dowsing For Sound gig at the Corn Exchange which will be a huge, complex show and it's one of those slightly scary gigs that you live for as a musician. A day later we're filming The British IBM promo video, then a week later it's the Ickworth 'Relay For Life' day (I'm playing in three bands that day, and also walking the relay dressed as Santa Claus...it's a long story), then it's only a few weeks before the fringe shows open for previews - looking more and more like we'll be opening in Bristol on the 7th July now - there's a lot of work to be done ahead of that, a lot. After that I'll be on tour with The British IBM, then it's the Edinburgh Fringe, then Lodestar. Somewhere in the middle of all that I think I'm recording percussion for the new Flaming June EP, and my novel should be out as well by then. But at the moment things feel slightly frustrating because of all the rehearsals leading up to all of these big events find me in small (or with Dowsing, big) rehearsal rooms, learning stuff. Learning is good, but really can't wait to actually be set free and start performing properly. Patience has never been a strong point of mine.

Currently reading: Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace (I'm not a slow reader, I just haven't had time to read, honest...)
Currently watching: Father Ted - DVD box set
Currently listening to: One Day I'm Going To Soar by Dexys (beautiful, uplifting release from a troubled genius, I'll be obsessed with this record for weeks I think)

Gig report: Jon Orchard @ Buckden Village Club, Buckden

Band: Jon Orchard (duo set)
Venue: Buckden Village Club, Buckden
Date: 04/06/12
Audience: Merry, friendly
Set: Not sure - lots and lots of songs
Notes: A quick, rare, covers gig with my old mate Jon. Nice venue, and I felt instantly welcome (you always know it's going to be a friendly evening when a complete stranger starts helping you carry your equipment in). Jubilee weekend so everyone was jolly, and this was Jon's fifth gig in four days, which is impressive (and perhaps secretly I was a little jealous as I'm always gig-hungry). Very much a show of two halves, the first set was pleasant, well received but perhaps a little subdued at times - although I still prefer playing Jon's original material as this deserves a wider audience. The second half, perhaps as the audience were a little more 'merry', was absolutely storming. Uptempo set, all pretty much crowd pleasers, we really went for it - to a lively, enthusiastic response. Such was the enjoyment in the room, I really hurt my hands playing that gig - I just got a bit too into it. They still hurt now, a day later. It's not like I've got some big gigs coming up in the coming weeks though...oh wait, oh bugger.