Weekend Gigs

Two lovely gigs this weekend: Friday's was the Eyre Chapel just outside Chesterfield. In spite of one channel of the PA not working (and I thought I'd got it fixed), I managed OK and Martin did most of his set unplugged. The nice thing about the Eyre Chapel is that it's so tiny that you feel that you are at one with the audience- you can chat to them really easily and it feels informal as well as magical (David always hires lights that light up the old stone and altar in an unusual way which really adds to the atmosphere. The whole audience sang along to Wholly Humble Heart which Martin played from the back of the chapel. (photograph: outside the Eyre Chapel, by Martin Stephenson)
At the end after we left, Mike and June flagged us down with a pizza box, but we had to keep going, pizza-less, as a tailgater was behind us.
Saturday night was the pie and pea gig organised by Andy and Tina; it's a much bigger, busier gig but still really fun to play. Gary Stewart kicked the night off with his folky and melodic set; Steph Stephenson had her partner on mandolin and guitar which really added to her sound. The other Martin (Plock) played a set, and then I played. I felt guilty for going on with a Telecaster but no-one seemed to mind. And Martin had everyone in stitches in between his songs. He played a lot of ragtime, which went down very well, as well as some old favourites.
The Keys is also a very friendly gig: it's so nice to play to a room full of smiles. We finished off with The Airship Song and I hope we'll be back at both places next year! Thank you to DAvid, Andy and Tina for being such welcoming hosts.