Thursday 8 March 2012

The Wayfarers Weds 7th

I enjoyed this gig. We played well and the small but friendly audience enjoyed themselves, clapping after every song and even singing along.

There's a lot of acoustic music being performed in Kettering and the local area at the moment. Steve Jones hosts a number of these events across the county, and one we've played at a number of times took place at the Rowell Charter in Rothwell, just outside the town. It seems the featured act last night was more of a draw than we were as many of the people we'd expect to see in the audience made the short trip along the A14 to the Charter.

Still, it means the standard of the performers will and must improve and things will only get better.

Note to self- I lost the first note of a particular song for the second gig in a row. Must practice!

Lastly I love the poster advertising the band. Spot the spelling mistake.
But- "some nice tunes" What? Only some?

Monday 5 March 2012

The Old Market Inn

I'd been looking forward to playing this pub as it's the nearest to a local I have here in Kettering. Chris' band Scoria Sky have played there a few times and I've gone along to watch and film them, so I've got to know a lot of the regulars.
Last Autumn we decided we were about ready to play the pub circuit and arranged a booking for last Friday. We'd played Watercress Harry's a couple of weeks earlier and I felt we needed to add a couple of songs to our repertoire. We had a brief rehearsal in the days leading up to the Market show and had four songs ready to play, but then we heard that Davy Jones of the Monkees had died, so we added a couple more songs to the set. Normally we try the new songs out at an open mike night, but we had no time so our set contained six songs we hadn't played live before!

Those songs went well. I wish I could say the same for all the songs but I confess I had a senior moment when I couldn't remember the opening note, and consequentially the melody for one of the songs we've played for months. Doh!

However, the audience loved us. We kept the crowd entertained all night long and the bar did a roaring trade. Our secret?

According to everyone I spoke to- and I speak to anyone and everyone- they told me it was a pleasure to sit and listen to a band without being deafened. It was a joy to be able to listen to some great songs and chat to your friends without having to shout. Etc etc.

I really enjoyed the show. I kept my cough under control (just) and my voice was strong. I'm wiped out for days after one of these shows so couldn't play more than once a week, but I'm loving it. More please!