I Haven't Stopped For Breath

Saturday's gig at the Con Club was almost cancelled because of the rail strike (which I support BTW), and hats off to Shelley Guild for going ahead. How lovely to see Basso, aka Baronet Bassam of Brighton, one-time conscience of the Brighton punk subculture! There are so many great 'asides' to being out there gigging, and one of them is being reunited with friends from years ago.

Thank heavens for a listening audience! I love it when people catch the little bits of humour in my lyrics and laugh out loud! I played a mixture of older (including Let's Make Up at the request of Shelley) and brand new songs. 

David Lance Callaghan is an admirable guitarsmith, and was joined by a drummer, Daren, for the second half of his set. They played loud and punchy songs, David's guild guitar style being pushed and pulled by the drums. Excellent. The headliner was Gerry Colvin, once half of Terry and Gerry who were also John Peel favourites. Gerry was accompanied by Trish on accordion and was a perfect showman, conducting singalongs with the audience who knew all the words to his skiffle-based songs. He is as much a comedian as a musician, and his set was perfect for a potentially dismal Saturday night. Everyone left with a smile on their face!

Last night's gig was at the Ivy House, a cosy little theatre-type venue in Nunhead, London. I listened to Darren Hayman and Jack Hayter do their soundcheck, and really enjoyed the pedal steel and guitar combo: there is a lot of space in the songs and I have resolved to properly investigate the Hefner back-catalogue. Props to the audience for turning up early to see McCookerybook and Rotifer play- there was  really decent crowd there right from the start and I think we did a good set for them- it felt wonderful! 

I left early because unfortunately I am a bit under the weather. How did I know? My guitar felt really heavy to carry, and I had no 'bounce' in my walk. I am working on illustrations today and hope to recuperate a bit. The adrenaline of playing can always get you through it though, and it was a wonderful evening despite that, and big thanks to Darren for including us.

Photo by Amelia Fletcher.