The Robin and Cox's Yard

Two lovely gigs this week; The Robin at Bilston, near Wolverhampton, and Cox's Yard in Stratford upon Avon. The Robin is a proper sticky floor venue, so sticky in fact that June walked right out of her slip-on shoes, much to the amusement of the sound man. Martin has left his Yiari guitar at home and is travelling with a little vintage acoustic and a Gibson 335. This is bringing out different songs: he played "I Can See" which is one of my absolute favourites. We layed some songs from our new album "The Cafe of Tiny Kindnesses" as well. The venue has great sound: what a luxury to be crystal clear! Yesterday's gig was at Cox's Yard in Stratford upon Avon, which is a Posen arty bar down by the river, surrounded by meadows and barges. For the first time, we net a sound guy with iPad software that allowed him to change the equalisation remotely and iron out feedback problems as he wandered around the room. It was another lovely gig and Martin played "Nairn Beach" which is another of my all time faves. Travelling is great: it's the people you meet. In Bilston, the breakfast chef came out to chat, and we learned about leather making in the Black Country, and gigantic piebald rats that meant that her mum had to make th close the back door at all times in case the rats paid an unwanted visit! I'm off to the London College of Fashion to present a paper at the Eupop Conference (an early start to catch the cheap train!) then up to Edinburgh to look after McMum before heading back to Sheffield for the gig on Saturday. Eliza P will be supporting Martin until then, and also finishing her album. Phew! iPhone posting is a slow process, but I have to say that the iPhone satnav is a boon for getting around town: it found the music shop yesterday and it found the station this morning. I wish it could deliver the conference paper too!