Gig report: Eureka Stockade @ The Portland Arms, Cambridge

Band: Eureka Stockade
Venue: The Portland Arms, Cambridge
Date: 02/03/13
Audience: Busy, enthusiastic
Set: Violence, Been There Before, Without You, Caught In A Fire, This Vow, If, Through Every Darkness, All Alone
Notes: Slightly on the tired side from the recording with Fred's House but slightly on the manic side because of the amount of Red Bull consumed, I came into this gig optimistic (because, having had a bit of a break, it's great to be back with Eureka - we seem fresh and excited about it again) but sad to be missing the British IBM gig in Derby, I guess with my current schedule these things are bound to happen every now and then. I'm starting to warm to the new Portland gig room, at first it looked too bright and clean, but now - playing there for the second time this year, I feel more comfortable with it. The sound was excellent (Will is a brilliant soundman) and aided by a big audience - including about 20 of Rob's mates who made the gig as part of their stag-do, it felt like we hit good form after a couple songs. Haven't played 'This Vow' with Claudia before - we've both rehearsed with the band at different times (she's as busy as I am!) but we got away with it, and 'If' sounded great for the second gig running. I enjoyed that gig, and I think our on-stage enthusiasm matched the audience's warm response. The rest of the evening was cracking too, it had been a stupidly long couple of days but I stayed till the end regardless because there was a nice vibe in the venue. Next stop for Eureka is the '100 Songs In Five Hours' gig I'm putting on in a couple weeks time which is starting to look more than a bit frenatic.