Post by markthomson on Sept 1, 2013 10:54:18 GMT
Well, had a great night last night!
The day itself was a bit rushed for me due to various unrelated factors, which meant that after a good mornings practice session at home with some strong coffee, I had a number of other things to attend to in the afternoon, finally having time get ready and head off with friend Drew to my pal Hugh's in Moniaive around 4:45. We arrived just before Tony did just before 6pm, who had been doing a workshop in Glasgow in the afternoon, and we all enjoyed a communal meal of homemade Chilli, very tasty!
After the meal it was a mad dash to the venue in Sanquhar, about 20 minutes away, arriving at 7:20, 10 minutes before the gig was to start . Surprisingly, considering the headline act, it wasn't a sell out, but still a decent crowd.
Just enough time to set up and check the guitars were in tune, but no time to warm up, and it was straight into my set. I had brought both Dave's Samhain and Fangorn (Baritone Harp Guitar), my set list was pretty much evenly split between originals and arrangements;
Hugh Taylor's
Taking Flight
Leaving Stoer / There and back Again
Vatersay Bay (Baritone)
Sleeper Service (Baritone)
The Ringing Tune (Baritone)
The Dark Island
A Mans A Man / Calliope House
On the whole it went very well, I had a false start right at the beginning of Hugh Taylor's which was a nice ice breaker ..... I put it down to not having a warm up, regardless, everything else went very well.
The Baritone Harp Guitar always creates a stir, I was lucky enough to have a slot at a record label launch last weekend (Lost Wasp Records), which gave me a chance to play it in public for the first time, playing Ringing Tune and Sleeper Service, and got a fantastic reception from a large and lively audience, which gave me a degree of confidence for last nights gig.
Vatersay Bay and Ringing Tune sounded amazing, but my delivery on Sleeper Service was not great, and it was the most disappointing aspect of my performance, at least from my perspective, all the notes were there, but it didn't have the "oomph" that it normally does, even more annoying considering how well I had played it the week before, but hey ho, taken in context the whole performance was one I was very pleased with, and was well recieved.
Tony was in great form, and played 2 fantastic sets, mixing old favourites, a few songs, and some choice pieces from his new CD, he is such a stunning musician, and it was a pleasure and an honour to be on the same bill as him.
Not much time to blether after the gig, Tony was heading back to Glasgow, as his flight back to Canada is today, and we had to travel back home too.
I was tentatively approached to play at the venue in Novemeber as part of thier St Andrews night gig, which was nice, we'll see where that goes....
No recordings unfortunately, but there were some pictures taken, which I will post when I get them. I was recorded last week at the Lost Wasp Records gig, and hopefully will feature on a Sampler CD they are pulling together from the performances on the night. Will keep you posted on that.
It looks like I might have a chance to record an album on the label at some point, but we still have to discuss the ins and outs, it is a new, very small label, more a collective than a label in the usual sense, regardless it will be nice to have an outlet for my musical meanderings, and it means I have access to some other musicians to add some texture to my music.
The day itself was a bit rushed for me due to various unrelated factors, which meant that after a good mornings practice session at home with some strong coffee, I had a number of other things to attend to in the afternoon, finally having time get ready and head off with friend Drew to my pal Hugh's in Moniaive around 4:45. We arrived just before Tony did just before 6pm, who had been doing a workshop in Glasgow in the afternoon, and we all enjoyed a communal meal of homemade Chilli, very tasty!
After the meal it was a mad dash to the venue in Sanquhar, about 20 minutes away, arriving at 7:20, 10 minutes before the gig was to start . Surprisingly, considering the headline act, it wasn't a sell out, but still a decent crowd.
Just enough time to set up and check the guitars were in tune, but no time to warm up, and it was straight into my set. I had brought both Dave's Samhain and Fangorn (Baritone Harp Guitar), my set list was pretty much evenly split between originals and arrangements;
Hugh Taylor's
Taking Flight
Leaving Stoer / There and back Again
Vatersay Bay (Baritone)
Sleeper Service (Baritone)
The Ringing Tune (Baritone)
The Dark Island
A Mans A Man / Calliope House
On the whole it went very well, I had a false start right at the beginning of Hugh Taylor's which was a nice ice breaker ..... I put it down to not having a warm up, regardless, everything else went very well.
The Baritone Harp Guitar always creates a stir, I was lucky enough to have a slot at a record label launch last weekend (Lost Wasp Records), which gave me a chance to play it in public for the first time, playing Ringing Tune and Sleeper Service, and got a fantastic reception from a large and lively audience, which gave me a degree of confidence for last nights gig.
Vatersay Bay and Ringing Tune sounded amazing, but my delivery on Sleeper Service was not great, and it was the most disappointing aspect of my performance, at least from my perspective, all the notes were there, but it didn't have the "oomph" that it normally does, even more annoying considering how well I had played it the week before, but hey ho, taken in context the whole performance was one I was very pleased with, and was well recieved.
Tony was in great form, and played 2 fantastic sets, mixing old favourites, a few songs, and some choice pieces from his new CD, he is such a stunning musician, and it was a pleasure and an honour to be on the same bill as him.
Not much time to blether after the gig, Tony was heading back to Glasgow, as his flight back to Canada is today, and we had to travel back home too.
I was tentatively approached to play at the venue in Novemeber as part of thier St Andrews night gig, which was nice, we'll see where that goes....
No recordings unfortunately, but there were some pictures taken, which I will post when I get them. I was recorded last week at the Lost Wasp Records gig, and hopefully will feature on a Sampler CD they are pulling together from the performances on the night. Will keep you posted on that.
It looks like I might have a chance to record an album on the label at some point, but we still have to discuss the ins and outs, it is a new, very small label, more a collective than a label in the usual sense, regardless it will be nice to have an outlet for my musical meanderings, and it means I have access to some other musicians to add some texture to my music.