Robert Rotifer and Drew Morrison and the Darkwood at The Spice of Life

A chilly wind blew but it couldn't blow away my good spirits. We'd had a good rehearsal on Wednesday, a combo of Robert's songs and my own (I have a gig on Saturday at The Water Rats, with Railcard, supporting The Would-be-goods).

It's much less stressful being a guest musician than it is being the principal one. Ruth was there already, Ian turned up and then Robert. Sound check didn't take long: the Green Goddess was sounding it's usual best, and enjoyed being out and about in a guitar-friendly environment.

This was the first night of Drew's new club, and we were seated in the best seats in the house. We could see and hear how well his (new) songs are arranged. The two guitars sounded fantastic, and there was some fabulous chordsmithery and very skilful playing going on. You could see how much the guitarist enjoyed playing- he was almost dancing as he played, and quite clearly is one of those people who lives his musicality. Lots of people enjoy playing, obviously, because otherwise they wouldn't do it- but not everyone is so clearly transported by the music of the band they're in. Great set Drew, and the way the songs are developing is really interesting.

Robert started with Man in Sandwich Board, one of my favourite Robert songs. The core band is Ruth on bass and Ian on drums, but I joined in this one and later, That Was The Time. Robert was in his element, powering through the set despite his guitar trying to disrupt things by repeatedly going out of tune (note to self: ask him to stretch the strings before the gig on Saturday!). He took to the piano for one of his songs, and I joined the band onstage again for Balloon. There was a storming version of Aberdeen Marine Lab, and for encore he played a solo song before the band joined him for Frankfurt Kitchen. Apparently, Ian wrote to V&A East to ask if they could play the song there (they have a full Frankfurt Kitchen on display), but didn't hear back. Typical.

Well, it was a damn good night out. Nice to see Caryne and friends, and other chums!