This is a very special gig and this was the second time we have played it. Held in the lovely Oasthouse Theatre in Rainham www.oasthousetheatre.co.uk, the evening is run by Luke Bailey as totally acoustic for a listening audience every 2 months or so – www.facebook.com/acousticsessionsoasthousetheatre
The drive is about 2 hours for us (going by train isn’t an option) and we aim to arrive with time to get settled before the doors open for an 8pm start, so set off by 5pm. It was tipping it down with rain when we arrived so we pulled up as close as we could to the doors to unload then parked in the nearby car dealership with which they have an arrangement. Luke was their to greet us and a lot of the audience were already in the bar, including LunaBarge, the other act on the bill. They were really nice people and we had a brief chat before going to the dressing rooms to unpack the instruments, get changed and sort out the merch basket. We took this upstairs to the foyer area then settled into the seats at the side ready to enjoy the first half.
Usually there will be 3 acts as well as Luke performing but one had to pull out so we and LunaBarge had a longer set each and would share the takings 2 ways instead of 3. Luke starts each half with 2 or 3 songs, thoughtful, amusing and sometimes epic and gets the audience warmed up. When LunaBarge came on they were a force of nature – both using stomp boxes and playing with energy and lots of humour. They had their kids with them and you could tell that they have a wonderful life together touring. After a drinks interval and raffle, then another couple of numbers by Luke, we were up and felt we might have seemed a little subdued compared to the previous act. But we both played well and the audience were receptive and appreciative, joining in with some of the choruses. It’s a proper stage with curtains, lights and tiered seating so a great experience. The evenings are ticketed and this one was well attended, the audience chatting to performers in the interval and at the end – we had some more suggestions of stories and interest in the Your Stories In Song project.
1 CD sold, 1 mailing list sign up, 2 forms taken. Swapped CDs with Luna Barge. There’s no food there or nearby so we took sandwiches to eat in the car on the way there. Quicker journey home and the rain had stopped.
We had been asked to do the Fat Tuesday Acoustic Saturday that day, after this gig was in the diary, but had to decline as there just wouldn’t have been time to get from the final venue to Rainham. And we would have been knackered!
Last time we played here, a photographer called Neil Thorne sent an amazing selection photographs of us performing, and was happy for us to use them as we liked.
