Pauline Murray at the Betsey Trotwood

The commuters were swarming home from Farringdon station; swimming against the tide has always been hard, but the Betsey Trotwood is a welcoming watering-hole for people who don't tread the beaten path of normality.
Pauline arrived for the sound check with her daughter, and her own chair: they had had adventures on the way down from Newcastle, having to get off one train and on to another after missing a connection, and being told that they couldn't take furniture on the train. Thankfully the Guard was compassionate and everyone arrived safely in London. Pauline describes this chair as her pet: it travels with her everywhere that she plays, and makes the venue her own.
The Betsey Trotwood has a tiny stage, but there was enough room for everything we needed.
There's a great sound in that tiny room, and Joao the sound engineer got both of us a really good mix. People started arriving very early: this gig sold out in three days, and because the official capacity is only 40 people, I knew it was going to be crammed, and it was. There was a massive Geordie contingent; one guy described stopping his car in the middle of Dartmoor to order tickets: people had travelled up from Devon, from Liverpool and of course travelled down from Newcastle, plus apparently all the London expats too. The place was bristling with Geordie accents, all the more so because the manager Richard is from Gateshead (big thanks for all your help, Richard). At the door with Offsprog Two who was helping out, I heard a lot of hilarious anecdotes and there was a fair bit of trading of awful stories from the old days in Newcastle going on, which is always good value for money.

There is no dressing room at The Betsey, and Pauline had to sit on the stairs to tune her guitar with her iPad because the room was so noisy. When she took to the stage there was a huge roar of appreciation which was completely heartwarming. The atmosphere was a bit like a giant house concert, and you could hear a pin drop at the start of the set. She sang the song When We Are Young that really struck a chord with me (quite literally- it has lovely chords) but as soon she she got to Just Drifting from the latest Penetration album she had a chorus of Geordies singing along in big-bloke voices, huge smiles on their faces and huge pints in their hands (well, normal pints: but they are huge). They were tuneful though, with a nod in the direction of football chants; it was the affection in their voices and the protective looks on their faces that was so touching. Pauline was nervous, but it brought out the best in her; her voice has that echo of the 1960s girl singers and must be a dream to record. After All was a song originally written in two parts, and was another really memorable solo song. By the time we got to the acoustic version of Don't Dictate, however, the choir was back in full flow. The heat generated by the crowd overloaded the air conditioning, which started raining just before Pauline played her well-deserved encore.
I have seen Penetration live and been gobsmacked at Pauline's power and energy in the band, but solo she is something else altogether. She brings that authenticity and life experience into her singing and her songs that is really rare, and boy can she belt it out when she needs to. In common with Robert Rotifer (night before), the way she feels about what she is singing brings a passion to her live performance that makes you realise just how special live shows are, and makes you bloody glad to be there. This tiny audience was very lucky to see this gig: last night Penetration played at the Royal Albert Hall with Buzzcocks, but something in me felt that the Betsey Trotwood was just a great place to be on Thursday evening. Bonus of the night was Pauline's daughter Grace meeting one of her heroines: Debsey from The Dollymixture. I'm not sure which of them was more delighted, but it was more cause for celebration, and near the front of the room also sat Gina Birch, Lucy O'Brien and Gaye Black lending a bit more punk power from the female perspective.
There was a great atmosphere: this was Geordies at their very best on a Thursday night in Farringdon, with a smattering of Makkems in the audience too. Three cheers for live music, three cheers for The Betsey Trotwood, but most of all, three cheers for Pauline!