Twas excellent, video to follow.

Hello,

Saturday night was really rather jolly good. Murray James opened the evening with a strong set. There was some new material in there that sounds really interesting. Ball and Chain was my personal highlight and I'm looking forward to getting a recorded version off his manager soon. TF's crowd is quite tough for singer songwriter types, but he came across really well and got a warm reception. Though I did end up shouting at some hecklers afterward (I shouldn't be allowed a mic between sets).

It was weird starting a gig whilst it was still daylight. I guess it's now officially summer. Evening though it's sodding raining (again) outside.

Daniel Flay & The Irreparable Guilt followed. There was only to of them, so I guess it could have been Daniel Flay and the Nearly-Irreparable guilt, the Slightly Guilty, perhaps it could have been Daniel Flay and the bit Shifty? Anyhow, enough Michael-taking. His set was great.

Millionaire is one of my favourite songs and regularly features in my iTunes, as does The Antagonist which I hum a lot. As I raved on about that night, I find a really charming vulnerability in his music but real strength in its execution. (what am I on about?!?!?) But seriously, as a character, Daniel is quiet, reserved, possibly slightly introvert which is apparent on stage but the music expresses some really strong sentiments. The almost continuous two part harmony between Dan and Ellie Walker makes for engaging melodies and songwriting that works really well. Be sure to listen to both Daniels and Ellie's stuff. They finished the set with a really great Cyndi Lauper cover (bet you can't guess which). I hope they're doing some more London dates soon, if they are check them out.

Ched followed (I approve of the name change). The six string bass implied to me that it was going to be quite jazzy, or really frickin heavy. Jesus H Christ it was loud. There is a really strong reference to Rage Against the Machine in their style which is no bad thing. Lots of manic synchronised head banging interspersed with leaning back screaming vocals. Really taken aback by the performance and I was smiling the whole way through. At one point the bassist had his foot on the window sill to the left of the stage and was performing to his own little crowd gathering outside. Christian has real presence as a front man and knows how to grab a crowd by the goolies. They haven't got any gigs booked, which needs to change I think.

Occupying that uncomfortable space that followed Ched, Capisce? followed. Luckily their tight performance and stark contrast in style didn't highlight them as a lull in the evening's line up. I've never seen a guitar with a piercing before but that's exactly what I saw on Ian's instrument. Possibly early days for the band but Time Crisis 4 really stood out as a potential hit with moments of brilliance in its performance.

So, headlining the evening was Tough Love. I'd been looking forward to this literally all month. The only reason I got them booked is I've known the manager for 10 years and lived with him for a while. Otherwise I think this lot could have been an optimistic booking on my part. Because there's a lot going on stage-wise. I sound-checked them earlier in the evening. Two drummers, FIVE vocals, guitar and bass. Crazy sound. When listening to their stuff I hear Paul Simon (during the whole Ladysmith Black Mambazo thing), Adam and the Ants, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Scissor Scisters, and a whole heap of others. Getting Over It is another iTunes highlight of mine and I recently really started to get into Alpha Male which I think could be a hit for radio depending on the mix. They're currently working with a producer I'm familiar with and I'm really looking forward to hearing their new stuff. As mentioned before, they're really involved in the whole London burlesque scene and have picked up a lot of fans as a result. Their night White Mischief is eagerly anticipated and was described as the 'Event of the year' by Timeout last time. No dancers at my gig unfortunately. Hopefully this is something I can rectify in the future. Purely for artistic purposes. Anyhow, visit their page and say hello. Be sure to check them out at some point soon.

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Apart from that, all in all a quiet weekend. I didn't get to bed until 7 on Sunday morning. I don't really get to enjoy the gigs as I'm too busy running about making sure everything is ok. Plus I'm filming n that. One day I'll just sit back and project manage, having my own 'people' for such things.

Will all this busyness I've lost track of time, and not been doing the excercise that I've meant to. Checking my diary my competition is 2 weeks away!!! :-s So I thought last night "Right, intense training, now! Nothing but training for the next two weeks" Then I looked at my diary and every night is booked up with something. As is the weekend. Hmm. Maybe I should use Condaleeza Rice as a role model (she gets up at 4am every day for the gym). Saying that, I get my bike tomorrow which Sony BMG has supplied me with. Hopefully I can take it off some sweet jumps.

Anyhow, hope all is sweet with you.

IBx