So, last week was to my mind at least, what I'd pictured as a nice warm up week, with the biggest tour (venue-wise and in length) approaching at the end of May and having only been out a couple of times in the past month or so.
Tuesday was a fine way to start it off, with a trip to see the affable Marc Riley on his 6Music show. Having made the trip a couple of times before, this visit completed the hat-trick of appearances. We played 'Until The Earth....', 'Thoughts On A Picture....' and 'A Promise', which Marc pointed out, means we have played most of the album in live form on his show now.
In homage to Andy's regular blogs, it's only right that I include some details of the culinary activities of the band: From Marc's recommendation we made our way to the dizzying neon lights of the famous Curry Mile and prepared to gorge ourselves. A bit of smooth talking from Kas allowed us to get 20% off & free coffee, or possibly it was 20% off Free Coffee.
On Wednesday it was Hoxton Hall in London. We'd chosen to play this venue to give the gig a bit of different atmosphere. The venue itself is quite a grand old music hall, dating from the 1870's, complete with balcony's and impressive red drapes. As gigs go this was a really nice one to play, the intimate atmosphere of the hall serving its purpose very well indeed. It was another good opportunity to give an outing to songs like 'A Warning' and 'Travelling Songs'. Time was passed on the way back to our various crash pads by Rory and myself attempting to play various 'classic songs' on the Ukulele. Rory trumped my theme tune from Top Gun with an off-the-cuff interpretation of 'Beat It'.
Following a day of interviews, photos and a flying visit to see Holy Fuck at the Scala, it was off to the seaside joys of Brighton's Great Escape festival. The festival holds some good memories following a 3 night stint down there at last year's event. This time round it was condensed into just the one show at a bigger venue, The Old Market, for a night curated by Mojo Magazine. First up though, was an extremely windy photo shoot for NME in a tunnel by the beach. It has to be said, I don't have the most practical hair-do for extreme weather of this kind so there may be some interestingly wind-swept results.
As it was the first short set we have played in a while, and we have been getting used to the luxury of having an hour to play, there was a bit of discussion over what to leave out of the setlist. Following a very democratic vote, which saw 'Thoughts on a Picture...' chosen over 'Lovers Pacts', the latter was played as the Ukulele inexplicably broke whilst sat waiting for soundcheck. Andy Keeney (who voted for 'Lovers Pacts') was unavailable for comment and his whereabouts at the time of the incident are yet to be confirmed.
The show went swimmingly, with crowd turning up with impressive accuracy at show time (as seems to be the way at The Great Escape), and the only near disaster being a collision between my robust, inexpensive Bass headstock and Rory's delicate, somewhat more expensive Violin. Happily the only result was a bizarre but brief wail of feedback from the Violin. Afterwards, the night was seen out and dawn ushered in with a well earned drink or two, or possibly more.
On Wednesday it was Hoxton Hall in London. We'd chosen to play this venue to give the gig a bit of different atmosphere. The venue itself is quite a grand old music hall, dating from the 1870's, complete with balcony's and impressive red drapes. As gigs go this was a really nice one to play, the intimate atmosphere of the hall serving its purpose very well indeed. It was another good opportunity to give an outing to songs like 'A Warning' and 'Travelling Songs'. Time was passed on the way back to our various crash pads by Rory and myself attempting to play various 'classic songs' on the Ukulele. Rory trumped my theme tune from Top Gun with an off-the-cuff interpretation of 'Beat It'.
Hoxton Hall , London
Following a day of interviews, photos and a flying visit to see Holy Fuck at the Scala, it was off to the seaside joys of Brighton's Great Escape festival. The festival holds some good memories following a 3 night stint down there at last year's event. This time round it was condensed into just the one show at a bigger venue, The Old Market, for a night curated by Mojo Magazine. First up though, was an extremely windy photo shoot for NME in a tunnel by the beach. It has to be said, I don't have the most practical hair-do for extreme weather of this kind so there may be some interestingly wind-swept results.
As it was the first short set we have played in a while, and we have been getting used to the luxury of having an hour to play, there was a bit of discussion over what to leave out of the setlist. Following a very democratic vote, which saw 'Thoughts on a Picture...' chosen over 'Lovers Pacts', the latter was played as the Ukulele inexplicably broke whilst sat waiting for soundcheck. Andy Keeney (who voted for 'Lovers Pacts') was unavailable for comment and his whereabouts at the time of the incident are yet to be confirmed.
The show went swimmingly, with crowd turning up with impressive accuracy at show time (as seems to be the way at The Great Escape), and the only near disaster being a collision between my robust, inexpensive Bass headstock and Rory's delicate, somewhat more expensive Violin. Happily the only result was a bizarre but brief wail of feedback from the Violin. Afterwards, the night was seen out and dawn ushered in with a well earned drink or two, or possibly more.
Great to see you again in London and what an amazing venue