Hello,

OH MY GOD HOW AMAZINGLY GOOD WAS SATURDAY?!? I really enjoyed it and yet again all the acts went beyond all expectation. The place was packed out for most of the evening and I think everyone had a really good time.

I did the whole 'host' thing and announced each act which was good as people knew who to ask about the bands. Everyone got interest from the crowd which was really good to see.

The impishly lovely Lizzy opened the night with her delicate and insightful tunes. Certainly a candidate for the alternative folk night I want to start somewhere.

I'd been looking forward to seeing Young Husband for a while as I'd taken an interest in the scene surrounding Emmy the Great. He's been playing guitar for her for a while and had a gig literally right before mine at the Barfly. So he had to run down the road to get to TF's and perform. He must have been a bit gigged out by the end of it.

Rebbecca Jade was as quirky and emotive as I imagined. In her bespoke golden cocktail dress she wooed the audience with her combination of whimsical and darkly influenced songs. She certainly won over the crowd and I look forward to getting her involved in a bigger event. You must check her out at some point.

Daniel Flay and the Irreperable Guilt were all I hoped. TF's is possibly not quite the venue for his soft touch songwriting but once the set was in full swing the strength of his material was easy to hear. Really enjoyed the set and I'm looking forward to seeing how his material progresses over the coming months.

King Hermit were mental. Loud, very loud and reasonably mental. But also bloody good fun to watch. They were telling me their last gig had a bit of a moshpit thing going on, I said you don't get much of that from the usual Camden glitterati but there are venues/nights around London which are good for getting something like that going. Shame the Red Eye was knocked down.

Anyhow..... KOJO WERE AMAZING AND ONE OF THE BEST LIVE ACTS I'VE SEEN IN A WHILE. They were the first band I've put on that weren't allowed to leave the stage without an encore. People walking past the venue would stop, look through the window at what was going on, then come in the venue to see the band. That was a first for me aswell. You can hear a lot of influences in there and I heard Prince being mentioned in the crowd when people were chatting about them afterward. Plus I had several punters ask me for details of when they're next playing. The band dynamic/chemistry and a fantastic frontman make Kojo one of my personal 'one's to keep an eye on' for 2008 I think.

OK, video matters. I met up with a couple of people at the venue and discussed something slightly more professional in the way of video'ing. They're an independent company who specialise in music videos (I think) and said they're willing to start filming and editing these nights. All early stages yet but some months ago discussions were held in the blogs about establishing some kind of regular podcast/video podcast. So hopefully this could be the start. As regards the first one I filmed, thanks to Fooligan I have something to stick on here. Unfortunately, my poor skills as a cameraman were highlighted and he didn't have much to work with methinkgs. But please check out the below for a flavour of what the showcase nights are like.

Hope all is well with you.

IB

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Looks like we might be set for tomorrow, just about.

Holy moly it's been difficult to get this going. Getting everyone in a slot they can play has been beyond difficult (am I sounding dramatic yet?).

Ok, I think....I'm fairly sure, though I haven't ok'd this with the venue manager THE FIRST ACT WILL BE ON AT 8PM! So get there before if you want to see This Morning Call, and you should be they're great and they're coming down from Manchester especially. So make the effort to come from what ever part of wherever you're coming from.

Beverly Williams will be joining us from Spain it seems, can you believe that!?! I'm not sure I can fit her in anywhere as there are too many acts playing and it would just get mental otherwise.

Anyway, look to the left....ooooh, colourful eh? I'll be dishing these out as best I can on the night to those that want them. Badges, things for you mobile (I think) and t-shirts galore.

All pretty good I think so far. This is the first gig I've arrange in about 5 years which is a little worrying. I'm already starting to panic as to what may happen. I've known the guy that runs the place for nearly 10 years (starting to feel old) so I don't want to let him down. Plus I feel responsible for the acts attending so I don't want them having a shite night either. Plus there's those that turn up (if any?) so there's lots of people to keep happy in this one and I'm starting to feel a little shaky under pressure. God, it's a good job I'm not a tour manager.

On top of that I've got the busiest weekend ever ahead of me. I'm taking a friend out tonight but I've got to go home first carrying all that free stuff, plus a DV camera and tripod. Good job I've been buffing up at the gym.

I have to get up at 7 tomorrow morning to go to Leyton Buzzard, yes that is a name of a town. It will take me two hours to get there. I'm going to a Juijtsu coaching thing. Trust me, there is no worse sensation in the world than being punched in the head or thrown to the ground with a hangover.

Sunday is gym and swim day, plus Sunday lunch then out again in the evening for dinner and a gig. Better than being bored I guess.

Although I'm going to be on the door, then the cameraman, I will probably get smashed in short order so if you want sensible conversation catch me early in the evening. :-)

Really looking forward to meeting some of you.

Have a super Friday night, I'm off to carry all this stuff home.

IB

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