Wave Machines - Day One

This is the first time in a while we've done a Liverpool show and it's about this time of the evening (8.30pm) that you get to appreciate the various perks associated with gigging in your home town. I'm only a ten minute walk from the venue so I can relax in the flat, drink a drink and write some pre-gig blog whilst gently humming along to a vocal warm-up CD. This makes a pleasant change from struggling into a sweaty shirt in the back of a van, parked on a high street in full view of the pigeons.

It's all made extra nice by the fact that we're headlining the downstairs room tonight so we get to set up in relative calm and leave most of our excessively bulky equipment on stage. Compared to most gigs this is pure luxury. Lifting amps into confined spaces and plugging in leads at high speed is the norm - gifts of space and time are accepted with thankful, open arms.

On the way to the O2 Academy I walk through Lime Street station. The video wall is rotating brightly coloured Sky News headlines, in particular: "Lily Allen not quitting music." It's terrifying to think about what else won't be happening in the world while we're playing tonight, yet comforting to know Sky are on hand to keep us informed.

The gig goes well. We got a good hearty shout for an encore which always makes us feel extra special.

With the show over the proximity of home fosters a lack of urgency to get anywhere. The presence of boozy mates turns the load-out into an excessively long and wobbly affair.You either go with it or resist the chaos. We are off on tour on Tuesday for a couple of weeks and there's loads of coughs and sneezes floating about so I'm playing it safe and going home early. We have a tour to do and I can't get ill.

Everybody else goes to the pub. I am guessing they all had a tremendous amount of fun.