BRIGHTON -> LONDON
Wednesday morning, and I could do with a wash. Tandy Will’s shower is el scorchio. If you so much as cough on the hot tap, a torrent of scorching hot magma comes out and destroys you. “I’M AWAKE! I’M AWAAAKE!” I squeal, like a toddler in a pub.
I’ve got a feeling this is going to be a gooood day.
Roz is awake, and is off exploring again, in search of charity deals. I get dressed, and talk to Tandy Will about chap stuff – bands, hair, bands, hairbands. We’re both fans of Nottingham based noise-merchants, SixBySeven – and Will burns me a CD of BBC Sessions. Elbow have won the Mercury Music Prize. We’re happy chaps for them. They seem like nice chaps, those chaps.
When Roz returns – without any charity deals in tow – we decide to all venture out to a cheap Caf for chap chat and breakfast. I’m getting into this breakfast thing. Plus, for £3.50 for a full plate of meat and beans and egg and toast, who can complain?
Will takes us up to the station, we say our goodbyes, and zip onto the train – all the way to Farringdon. Again, barely an hour journey. We’re playing at a venue called the Betsey Trotwood today … which is hardly 5 minutes walk from the station. MAGIC. This tour really has been organised well.
As soon as we get to the bar to drop off our stuff, Scott – one of the owners – offers us a pint. I’ve got a feeling this is going to be a gooood day. The venue is terrific. They’ve got a bar that serves a top selection of beers, a wee venue downstairs (that can take 50 people standing), and a venue upstairs that can take 50 people seated. We were going to play the upstairs venue. The advance tickets had been really good … and the guest list was bringing capacity dangerously close to 70 … gulp!
To kill some time, Roz and I decide to go for a walk around Farringdon/Clerkenwell. There’s not much to go see. There’s some shops that sell ties. There’s a few pubs. There’s a shop that sells socks AND ties. All in all, quite boring. So we head back to the venue. Razz, the other owner, is there. Another pint on the house? Oh go on, then.
We go upstairs, and set up our equipment for the show. We’ve not been able to source an amplifier for Roz – so she’s playing her electric guitar through my effects pedal. Sounds pretty damn good. I set up my keyboard again. I’ve not used it on any of the dates, thus far – but i’ve set it up each night just incase I decide to. I’ve only really got one song that I can play on it … and it’s reasonably new. It’s called ‘You Cover The Earth With Your Thumb’ – and I only play it if a gig is going spectacularly well … Would tonight be the night?
Dominic (a different Dom) has helped me put on this night – and he’s arrived to do a bit of soundchecking. Everything sounds pretty good – so we sit down and have a bite to eat. I go for the fish cakes – and they are yum. The menu at this place gets the thumbs up. It’s the best meal I’ve had in about a week, maybe longer. Tim from Viva Stereo is in town, and has bought me a drink.
Rozi’s onstage now, performing to a wide-eyed, beaming audience. Her voice is something else.
A few more pints downstairs, then. I’ve not paid for anything since my £3.50 breakfast … what a day! I’m chuffed. Barbarossa (another Fence act) turns up, along with a few pals from our messageboard (the beefboard), and some other London pals. Kenners is here too – he was back in Fife for a day, after the all night drive home from Bestival … and now he’s back down south again! The man is a powerhouse – and is guzzling the red wine ‘n’ coca-colas alongside his hungover pal, Laurence.
Rozi’s onstage now, performing to a wide-eyed, beaming audience. Her voice is something else. My favourite song changes every day. Today, my favourite is ‘360’.
A good half-hour changeover, and now I’m on. I’m pissed again, and start off my set with some banter about lesbians. It goes down well. Phew. Thank god I didn’t do this material in Brighton. It’s a dark room – but I can hear Kenners laughter on one side of the room, and my pal Adem’s laughter on the other side. It’s reassuring to hear them there … but also quite odd … particularly since I didn’t see Adem come in. And I can’t see him now. But he’s there.
The set is going great – and I get Kenny up with me to do keyboard on ‘Winter Home Disco’, and ‘Into The Smoke’. Everyone sings along – even Ade Brown, who’d been at the instore yesterday, and had been reluctant. So, ‘You Cover The Earth With Your Thumb’ makes its debut on the tour. The lights go out half way through, and Scott whacks on a disco light. I’ve got the audience doing a collective beat-box, with added handclaps, and I’m gyrating over my keyboard. Perfect.
Albums are selling like popular fish-cakes, and Razz & Scott are plying me with Zambukka. I’ve had 3 shots now… or maybe 4. And there’s a few new pints in me. People are hugging me. Rozi’s off to stay at a pal’s place. An Irish guy who wasn’t at the gig is talking to me. It’s 2am. I’m chatting with my pal Roddy about music, and collaborating with him next year. Another shot of Zambukka. It’s 3am. I’m talking to Ade about Camper Van Beethoven. I’m about to pass out from booze. I’m kissing Dominic. Razz & Scott show me to the upstairs flat’s kitchen, which is where my bed is. We watch a bit of a film (Vanishing Point?), have a cuppa – and then it’s bed time. 4.30am? Later? Not sure.
Jeeves? Wooster? FAHGEDDABOUTIT. Voomph.
