Clementine March at the Horse Hospital

I heard one of Clementine's songs on Riley and Coe's BBC6 show and it was so good I booked a ticket for Saturday's show at the Horse Hospital.

It was different crowd from the usual, which was quite refreshing. There was a lot on because it was Valentine's night, but there was still a decent audience, right from the start. First support Eva May reminded me a little of Rowen Bridler; her close-chord piano playing and intriguing melodies were very listenable, and she didn't play a wrong note. The second support was Louise Chenneviere, who started off on guitar with two Britney Spears covers; she told us that she had just written a book on her. She moved between guitar and piano, trying out new songs and singing in a combination of French and English.

In the breaks, I chatted to Rachel Horwood, who I met in Gina's Choir and who drums for Clementine, Pearl and her friend who does nursery rhymes in primary schools, and Rozi Plain, who it turns out is a friend of Jim the banjo player's daughter in Winchester. Marie was there too sitting at the front; it was a musician's night as well as a punter's night.

Clementine is a really energetic and confident guitar player, with a really varied and constantly-surprising chord cupboard. She also pays close attention to the way her guitar sounds. It's like listening to a kinetic sculpture, all in the service of distinctive songwriting. She played the song Lucie, which was the one I liked so much, but also a set of songs that reminded me of Kevin Ayers, especially the new ones. I told her that afterwards when I went to buy an album (I had to), and she was very pleased.

Rachel on drums and the bass player Ollie played sensitively and dynamically all the way through. I haven't seen so much eye contact between members of a band for a very long time.

Sometimes, 'a good night' is a social comment and sometimes it's a conclusion after a night where I've been playing. Saturday's gig was a good night because of the music. I found it inspiring and refreshing, which is a very good start to a new year of music, I think.