Happy New Year and Vox Gig! :-)

How do.

So, have you broken your new year's resolutions yet? I only made on specific one which I hope to stick to, the others are a bit more conceptual (be nicer, healthier, strongerfitterfasterbetter....etc)

For me, NY's has always been an astoundingly underwhelming anti-climax. For example, last year I booked a posh suite in the centre of Manchester, tickets for the Comedy Store and a nice restaurant, then got food poisioning and welcomed the new year with my girlfriend of the time nursing me and watching Lethal Weapon 4 in our hotel room. That's pretty much been par for the course for the past few years.

However, that was not the case this year. It did help that I didn't have the scrambled eggs from the hippie cafe again but it also was because the gig on the Saturday was superduper and the NY party I went to was the best I've been to.

I was really really worried about the gig. Ultimately because it wasn't xmas, wasn't new year, just sort of in that grey area where most people are in recovery or preparation for festivity. I also had pretty much everyone pull out on me and all the acts bar one were playing with very sort notice. 24 hours notice in some cases.

The night opened with Ollie from Worldview which worked really well. I took my guitar down so people could get involved if they wanted and Ollie had a good strum. All good stuff. Be sure to visit his blog and say hello.

We were also joined by Alexi, better know as the frontman from The Picture Show. I think it's a true test of a material's strength to cut it down to the bare basics and it was plain to see some strong songwriting there. The material came across really well and Alexi seems at ease in performing alone.

Finishing off the acoustic section of the evening was JB Newman, I was gutted that I couldn't catch all of his set but was really pleased with what I got to see. For a young chap he has a very mature voice and nature to his music and comes across as a seasoned veteran with his performance.

Enki was the wildcard band for me. I'd listened to their stuff a few times on their Vox but wasn't sure how they would be live. If I'm being honest I was a little concerned as I like to get to know an act reasonably well before booking them and these chaps were very last minute. However, I was very glad I did. Like the first End of Camden gig, my expectations were more than exceeded and I feel their recorded tracks aren't reflective of what they can achieve live. I must admit I was getting a little tipsy by this point but I think I would have still be bopping about had I been sober as a judge. Well worth seeing live if you have the chance to experience their huge sound on stage. A band very much punching above it's weight.

Headlining were Shortwave Fade, recent winners of the Slicethepie competition which has given them some nice investment for recording an album. On speaking to the fellas originally they told me they had a stage projector for some visuals which they like to stick on whilst playing. Great stuff I thought. Then I remembered that all the walls around the place are matte black, which doesn't make for much of a cinema. Anyhoo, a high energy, anthemic set ensued which has a real depth of sound and sense of atmosphere about it. Be sure to keep an ear out for what results their recent investment will produce. This will be a good example of what a complete DIY project can result in I think.

One person who should really get a mention is Ellis, the sound engineer. It's not often that engineers get praised but good god can he handle some tricky stage set ups. Nearly every band I've booked recently has had a combination of acoustic instruments, electric, drum samplers, sequencers, multiple vocals etc etc. Not only is feedback non-existent (bar once which wasn't his fault) but he delivers a wonderfully balanced mix. Unlike many venues I go to where all I hear is bass drum, some bass guitar (somewhere) and a huge swimming cesspool of over reverbarated guitar mess.

Managed to get some people to stay after including a couple of bizarre Finnish girls, they were nice enough but they scared me with their strangeness. Apart from that I got a small contingent back to mine to finish off the reminants of Stella and we ended up falling asleep watching Indiana Jones, rock n roll eh? :-/

Overall a really good night. Rather expensive as I didn't charge on the door but I wanted as many people as I could on a slow night. I'll make up the shortfall on the next one as the lineup I have planned is stunning. I wont be drinking next time as I can't handle another 24 hour hangover.

NY's eve was excellent. I recently found a friend of mine who I lived with and worked with for years but fell out of touch. Subsequently he invited me to his house party in New Cross and it was amazing. His flat's huge, on the ground floor and opens into a central courtyard. People were still turning up at 3am and I met some great characters. Got back to mine at about 9am and was good for nothing until this morning. Still got lots of chores to catch up on. :-(

So, what have you been up to? Did you wake up on new years day feeling like new people, driven to do new things and such? I think I have, but I'll start tomorrow as I'm really tired after suffering a bad case of Sundayitus (even though it was Tuesday)

Anyhoo, I have a whole lot of desk tidying to do. Come on, lets hear what you've been doing as I'd like to hear it.

IB