Gig report: the British IBM @ Wetmore Whistle, Burton-on-Trent

Band: the British IBM
Venue: Wetmore Whistle, Burton-on-Trent
Date: 28/06/13
Audience: Half full, cheerful
Set: Cannibal, 3 Years, Animal, Sugar Water, Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Bob Noyce, Feeling, The British IBM
Notes: After the mess of the St John's College gig, we (the British IBM) need a proper full gig like this to get us back on track. Traffic was a nightmare and our soundcheck was more of a last-minute line-check, but the setup at the Wetmore Whistle is an impressive thing; great soundman and perhaps even more important - top class promoter. It's a great little venue, there was a real sense that the guy who booked us actually cared - it sounds daft but very few promoters actually promote, but he did and we felt very welcome indeed. Audiences perhaps drifted a bit, but onstage that's the best we've played in a long time - the kind of show you wish you recorded because that's what we are capable of - very tight, punchy. Few beers afterwards to enjoy the other bands, nice fry-up this morning at the hotel then found a local branch of 'That's Entertainment' and managed to pick up a wonderful Duke Special album for £1.99 followed by a stress-free trip home - lovely stuff.

Gig report: The Dowsing Sound Collective @ Fen Edge Festival, Cottenham

Band: The Dowsing Sound Collective
Venue: Fen Edge Festival, Cottenham
Date: 23/06/13
Audience: Rammed, joyful
Set: Higher Ground, Under African Skies, Ho Hey, Terrible Love, Marry You, White Sky, Radioactive
Notes: Ahead of the huge gig at Ely Cathedral next month, this was an opportunity for the 'new' Dowsing singers to get a bit of stage time - so just a choir of 50 or so yesterday (for the Ely gig both choirs combine and there will be a hundred of them). A stripped back performance at a family day out, with the band being just Andrea, Nicky and myself, we played to an absolutely packed tent - the new singers all sang with gusto and confidence beyond their experience, the voices combined sounded beautiful - especially on Terrible Love, which is a magical, magical song. Resounding and a joy to be a part of, the audience seemingly loved every second of it. I dashed straight from there to a session with Canadian singer-songwriter Damian Cox, and then dinner with the stunning Cat - all in all, a top way to spend a Sunday.

Gig report: Flaming June @ Folk On The Water Festival, Rugby

Band: Flaming June
Venue: Folk On The Water Festival, Rugby
Date: 22/06/13
Audience: Packed, fantastic
Set: Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, Dopamine Oxytocin, All This Precious Time, The Boy I Knew Before I Met You, The Thrill Has Gone, Little Love In A Cruel World, The Devil's Daughter, Psycho, Wednesday's & Weekends.
Notes: The third Flaming June gig of the week (and my fourth consecutive show) and a trip to Rugby to play at the Folk On The Water festival. It's basically a festival next to a river, where people are encouraged to get the boat in and watch the live music. The actual gig room was tiny, but absolutely packed - we were treated ever so well this evening by the lovely promoters who genuinely appreciated us being there. Played this as a duo (Louise and myself) but made up for it by playing harder, and louder, and although it may have taken a couple songs to win them over we certainly did so, by the end we were flying, the room so busy people had to look in through the doorway. A hot and sweaty gig, the kind of gig that you enjoy so much you feel a little drained afterwards, but it was a cracker.

Gig report: Flaming June @ The Bull, Newmarket

Band: Flaming June
Venue: The Bull, Newmarket
Date: 21/06/13
Audience: Busy enough, in conversations
Set: Lots of tunes, lots and lots
Notes: A set that lasted nearly three hours, I continually say how much energy Louise has on stage but surely she couldn't sustain it for that long? Well, she did - it was a fast, hard working show, playing everything we know from the 3 EP's (two of which I play percussion on), some old stuff and some new material. In the courtyard/smoking area of the town centre pub, we were backing music to the audience members' conversations but it was friendly enough and a decent workout.

Gig report: The Prisoner Of Mars @ The George Tavern, London

Band: The Prisoner Of Mars
Venue: The George Tavern, London
Date: 20/06/13
Audience: Busy enough, into it
Set: Way Back In School, My Old Shoe, Super Duper, You Can Stand In A Hole, Now They've All Gone Away, Union Blues, How Do You, So Long
Notes: I was late for the train but luckily the train was also late too so I made the soundcheck in good time and even managed to (somewhat luckily) find two friends in the same carriage - Jack and Andy, who were also coming to the show ...and this kind of sums up the evening really, one of those nights were things just work out really well. The Prisoner Of Mars is the performance name for singer-songwriter Bryan Shore, a good friend of mine of several years and outstanding musician. Despite being justifiably highly regarded on the live circuit as a guitarist, and having released various albums under the Prisoner Of Mars name, this was the first time Bryan had fronted a band, and the debut POM performance found us in East London last night at the George Tavern - which is a 'proper' pub. The band were booked by the promoter after hearing Bryan's electronica album - and as a result we were on a bill with two electronica acts. The live POM stuff isn't electronica - it's rock and roll, but we didn't feel too out of place, the vibe in the venue felt warm and spirited throughout, the on-stage sound fantastic. The line-up of Bryan, myself and bassist Cliff started working together a couple months back for the recording of the latest POM record, Stage Directions (which is sounding amazing - it should be released soon), an album recorded virtually live upstairs in a big warehouse in Huntingdon. Two rehearsals later and we hit the stage - the songs Bryan writes are so nice to play, they're fluid, it's technically basic rock 'n' roll with clever bits, and lots of room for improvisation. Like live theatre perhaps, there's a sense it could all fall apart at any moment, it teeters on the edge and yet somehow is always triumphant, the show last night was a joy to play. Not sure who's idea it was to stay out drinking and catch the last train home, but the post-gig shenanigans were most enjoyable and the five of us (Bryan, Kate (Bryan's wife), Andy, Jack, me) ended up having a great night out; good friends, good times.  

Gig report: Flaming June @ CB2, Cambridge

Band: Flaming June
Venue: CB2, Cambridge
Date: 19/06/13
Audience: Half full, appreciative
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, Those Were The Days, Song For The Broken Hearted, Little Love In A Cruel World, The Devil's Daughter, Pyscho, Wednesdays & Weekends
Notes: "This next song is a bit depressing...in fact, they're all quite depressing really, aren't they?" was how Louise introduced, 'Song For The Broken Hearted.' The joy of these songs is the brutal honesty of them - yep, lyrically they are as dark as you can possibly imagine, but the passion in the performance hides it all so well. I arrived feeling flustered; I'd come straight from a very difficult and restricting Dowsing rehearsal, and before that I had the photo shoot for the 'Things Could Be Marvellous' show. Dianne very kindly got me water and beer, I decided to play congas sat down for this one - but then, 4 bars in, I felt awake again. The freedom and energy of Flaming June is a joyous thing - we played to a modest but appreciative crowd in the tiny basement of CB2 but it buzzed, in a hot and sweaty kind of way - I really enjoyed this show a lot, I needed a gig like this to let off steam.

Gig report: the British IBM @ St Johns College, Cambridge

Band: the British IBM
Venue: St John's College, Cambridge
Date: 16/06/13
Audience: Empty
Set: Cannibal, 3 Years, Animal
Notes: Headlining a college ball. Unload and soundcheck at 5pm, told our stage time is 11.20pm which for this kind of event is reasonable, go home and sleep for a bit. Get back to venue at 10.30pm to watch the support act play to virtually an empty room - quite a big empty room too. Eventually go on stage 11.50pm, told the live music has to stop at midnight. Play 3 songs and have to leave the stage. A day later, I'm still confused as to how badly this was organised - I'm a busy man, as individuals in the band we're busy people - that was seven hours of our lives wasted by absolute incompetence. Time is tight to do everything I want to do over the next few months, I really didn't need this.

Solo

This year's Edinburgh Fringe is going to be really amazing. I know it's the most exciting arts festival in the world anyway, but on a personal level things are going up a gear this time around. Last year we took two shows to the fringe and reflecting on the way home we came to the conclusion that it was too much for a small team - both 'There's Absolutely Nothing Wrong With Oscar Pike' and 'Probably The Greatest Goal Ever Scored' were strong shows, I felt, but we didn't have the resources, time or energy to promote them the way they should have been promoted. Anyway, this year we're taking three shows up there.

Sounds daft? It is, but I think we'll be okay. See, the model of the shows this year is different; we've gone back to a free venue which is the key - 40% of the fringe was free last year, I imagine it'll be even more than that this year. If you've not appeared on television or have an industry buzz around you (or if you can't afford a really expensive PR team), charging £7 for a show is considered a risk from an audience point of view - why pay money to see a complete unknown when there are hundreds of other shows that you could enjoy more for the cost of a tiny donation in a bucket afterwards? The fact we're back on the free circuit doesn't guarantee us an audience of course, but it gives us a fighting chance.

Not that it's all about the audience, of course - artistic integrity must surely be a factor too. I've grown a lot as an 'artist' since the last run - shortly after the Edinburgh run last year I hit the road with a solo-ish show with Claudia - a real eye opening experience that was fun but didn't always work, but then I went back, edited the show again to play to my newly discovered strengths (and weaknesses, of course) and things started to fall into shape with the second tour this year. It was a scary step being on stage for virtually an hour pretty much by myself and if you said to me a year ago all of those 'solo-ish' shows happened I would have dismissed the idea instantly.

I've just confirmed a completely solo show for the fringe.

Why? Because I like the challenge, of course - I'm loving being out of my comfort zone. The offer was reasonably last minute, but it's a great venue and a great time slot. 'Things Could Be Marvellous' will open on 4th August at the fringe, without any previews whatsoever. It's a blank canvas of a show, just myself and an audience - terrifying? No, exciting. Literally anything could happen - there's no safety barrier, not even a tech - I'm completely alone for this one, I'm not even sure if I'll have a director for it. Very exciting - nobody telling me what to do, this was an opportunity too good to turn down. When you're in the shower, or driving, and dreaming of doing 'that' show, this could be it. Or it could fall apart at any second.

It'll be a happy show, a hopelessly optimistic show. A story, set in a field, with a keyboard. It's about love, and imperfections, and scarecrows, and Britpop music. I want to come off stage feeling exhausted after this show; I want the audience to feel exhausted watching it. In a good way.

Obviously we still have two other shows at the fringe - 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' which I'll be doing with Hind - it's the tour show, I feel so relaxed doing this show now I'm really looking forward to it, and 'Redundancy Club' - alongside Izzy, which I still think is probably the finest thing I've written, Sarah is directing and Alan is doing the sound for this, rehearsals start next week and it opens in 9 weeks time at CB2 in Cambridge.

Next week I'm drumming for The Prisoner Of Mars, The Dowsing Sound Collective, Flaming June and Damian Cox in between writing my backside off (not literally) and all of the many bits of admin that doing three fringe shows requires. I'm listening to some brilliant new releases by Camera Obscura, I Am Kloot and Duke Special. I'm inspired by lots of things, I'm bored by many others - it's probably a good balance to have. Things aren't too bad right now, but they are going to be very exciting over the next few months...things really could be marvellous.

Gig report: The British IBM @ De Montfort University, Leicester

Band: the British IBM
Venue: De Montfort University, Leicester
Date: 13/06/13
Audience: Scattered, polite
Set: Not sure, lots of tracks - pretty much everything from the album but plus a couple new ones and a few from the original Aidy set
Notes: Playing acoustically as a duo (acoustic because of the nature of the event, as a duo because Dave our bassist was in Stockholm), Aidy and myself played at De Montfort University on Thursday evening as part of their computer event. Obviously given our band name we were a very suitable choice, and it worked well - we were very much background music as the retro games were being played and techy stuff discussed, but it was all very friendly. Played for quite a while, got treated very well, enjoyed beers in a local bar till late afterwards, good fun that was.

Gone Midnight

A couple years ago I wrote a short film, 'Gone Midnight', based on my stage play of the same name. It was shot by Kate Maddison, produced by Michelle Golder and was directed by Robert Jezek - who also starred in the film alongside Clare Kerrison. Alan Morgan did the sound and Vorno Hancock was also on hand to help, and we all had a lovely time. Due to the manic schedules of all involved the project was brushed aside for a while, but now - thanks to Michelle's persistence and the introduction of Paul Gilbert to edit (and sound design), we now have a finished product...have to admit, I'm rather proud of it. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DlaxfuDrX8&feature=youtu.be

Gig report: Flaming June @ The Solstice, Peterborough

Band: Flaming June
Venue: The Solstice, Peterborough
Date: 11/06/13
Audience: A scattering, but they appreciated it
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestilstkin, Nerves Of Steel, Those Were The Days, Little Love In A Cruel World, Pyscho, Wednesdays & Weekends
Notes: A fiery Flaming June performance - I know they always are anyway, but tonight more fiery than ever...the line-up of Louise, Diane and myself works nicely, opening slot at The Solstice (a nice venue in a murky city) as an awareness gig for the forthcoming Willow Festival. Opening slot, hardly anyone there, but played really well tonight I think - good sound on and off stage, a set we know inside out (apart from, in my case, 'Those Were The Days' - which is a great but exhausting song), happy enough.

Getting Lost In My Home Town

I really like, 'Getting Lost In My Home Town' as a title, I fully intend to use it for a show at some point. Possibly for the next solo-ish show? No, I've got a title for that already, so maybe for a third show, which will inevitably tour mid-next year once I'm bored of 'Short Plays For Lanky People', which tours in November and that's a show I've not actually written yet? No, I'm getting ahead of myself. Calm down, Richards. But with, 'Getting Lost In My Home Town' there is a certain relevance to my current feelings which makes me feel like I should be writing this one now instead - the uncertainty of a lot of things; the need to actually find a home rather than a base, to feel comfortable and stop for just a second rather than having to constantly readjust: we're half way through a year where my employment history has been, well, complicated to say the least. I was bored anyway, change is important, but it's exhausting sometimes, isn't it? And the last week has proved that things are never simple, I think I just attract complications. On a literal level, I did kind of get lost in my home town last night - Royston is 7 minutes from the flat I live in, it took me 40 minutes to find the venue due to the somewhat confusing one-way system. But also, I'm getting bored of Cambridgeshire - and I get the sense it's getting bored of me, too. It's an age-old rant about the constant battle of trying to win over a genuine following rather than having to rely on friends all the time for local events, but the problem with that is that my friends are just so wonderful so I get lazy when it comes down to promotion.

Tonight we had our second fringe fundraiser of the week, it's a big ask - two events in one week (not that anyone made it to the first one anyway), and it was just a reminder that we're doing too much in Cambridge. We put a lot of work into the 'alternative games' night tonight, making up games isn't easy. Two people turned up (I'm so very grateful to both of them - Cat, who is from Dowsing but whom I'd never actually met before, and her housemate Luke), and Claudia played some cracking solo tunes afterwards. It was fun - even with just myself, Izzy, Claudia, Cat and Luke - 'Broken Relationship Bingo' would probably work better with more people (it involved a new short story I wrote this afternoon called, 'Cheap Love' and 60 names and bingo cards), and other nice moments include, 'What's Paul Cooking' - a new game Izzy devised, and my 5 questions about cheese seemed to go down well. We could really do this evening again, somewhere else...remember that buzz I got taking the show to various different bits of the UK a couple months ago? The thrill of new audiences looking suspicious at me but eventually being won over? Sometimes 'eventually' can feel like quite a long time, but we always get there, somehow. I know tonight was only the smallest of fundraisers and was a games/quiz night, not a show as such - but it was still a show. The two actual audience members (ie; non-performers) enjoyed it, we stayed for drinks after and it was lovely, in a strange kind of way it was a cracking evening. But it is just a reminder that I do too much around here - I'm in bands that barely play in Cambridge anymore even though we're from here and it makes perfect sense to me, and I need to take on this mentality with my theatre work too before nights like tonight become the norm.

These are slightly unsettling times, creatively a bonus but make or break times...but one thing is for sure: I've just rediscovered an old Lightning Seeds playlist I made myself and it sounds fucking awesome. Who would have thought that a bunch of slightly dated late-90's, synth-heavy tunes would still sound so timeless?

Gig report: The British IBM @ The Green Man, Royston

Band: the British IBM
Venue: The Green Man, Royston
Date: 08/06/13
Audience: Changed frequently throughout the gig, but some 'proper' British IBM fans there
Set: Cannibal, 3 Years, Animal, Sugar Water, Down Like That, Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Bob Noyce, Not Your Day, Feeling, CGE Adventures, Guns, Just Said No, Open Your Eyes, The British IBM, Washing Machine
Notes: It's been a long day today; rehearsals with the British IBM and Dowsing, followed by a very local (for me) gig in Royston with Aidy and Dave. All of this with a hangover from Liz and Mick's wonderful wedding the day before (in which I was both a guest and performer - put together a very last minute makeshift covers band with Grace and Alister and bashed out a few tunes - our set by the way for that was Sweet Child Of Mine, Wonderful World, You've Got A Friend, Can't Buy Me Love, Take Me Out, Hero, Superstitious, Sweet Dreams, Moondance, Summer Of 69, Only Girl, Jump, Your Song and Walking On Sunshine) which ended as good weddings should; drunken and joyful. The gig with the British IBM tonight was a longer set than normal, so several of the 'older' Aidy set made an appearance, alongside all the up-tempo stuff from the album and new tracks - Bob Noyce, CGE Adventures and Just Said No. The Green Man is literally only a 7 minute drive from me but I've never been there before - but it's lovely, a nice raised area for the stage, very helpful soundman, audiences drifting in an out but friendly and some genuine fans of the band who had made the trip over. A nice evening, it's the first gig in ages that we've ended with Washing Machine (we used to end every gig with it but got tired of this concept), that confused the locals a tad but good fun all the same.

Gig report: Strawberry Fair 2013, Cambridge

Bands: Flaming June, Eureka Stockade
Venue: The Strawberry Fair Festival, Cambridge
Date: 01/06/13
Audience: Busy, it's a packed festival
Sets: Flaming June - not sure, Eureka Stockade - Speed Of Sound, If, This Vow, All Alone, Drinking Song, Violence, Through Every Darkness
Notes: I've played this festival many times over the years, with many bands - it's one of those dates that automatically goes in the diary at the start of the year and many say it's the start of summer in Cambridge. It always feels like a bit of a struggle though from a performers point of view; parking and general access is hard work, you find yourself lugging a lot of equipment through a field from the nearest multi-story car park - luckily this year I had kind help carrying stuff from Mike, Alistair and Izzy. Got very flustered finding the stage for the Flaming June set and not one of the stewards could help direct me, I was late but luckily the stage was running late too so by the time I found it we still had a little time to spare. I can't deny I didn't enjoy this one at all because of the struggles for sound - we were on a small stage surrounded by louder stages and were just drowned out - there was nothing anybody could have done but it was tough, we couldn't hear each other and often drifted out of time. Louise still sang with all the passion she normally does, but we knew on stage that we were fighting a losing battle and actually cut the set short by a song just to get out of there. Shame, but these things do happen. I then dashed over to the acoustic stage to play with Eureka Stockade. Being undercover the situation was much more comfortable - the stage was being run by comedians (including the mighty Rob Coleman) and there was a cracking vibe in our tent. The Eureka set was a goodun, mostly new/unrecorded material but it's material that now, a few gigs in, are starting to settle, we played well, went down well, a decent show.