Tour Diary Day 5 The Half Moon Putney

The half moon in putney holds fond memories for me. It's where I launched my second LP "The Garden" a few years ago. Support that night was Chris Helm and we played together onstage playing his song "Hello". That was a great moment for me as the Seahorses defined the summer of 97. For those who don't know, the Seahorses were the band John Squire formed after the Stone Roses, and were a kind of more accessible Led Zeppelin. I've also played here a few times with Terry and a particularly special gig with Rumer when she joined him onstage for Brave Awakening. So I approached it in hope of the night being the same vibe as those fantastic gigs before.

It's a great room full of heritage and spit and sawdust rock & roll, and it always feels welcoming to me. The place nowadays though has a more classy feel with its Beatles furnished chairs, bare wood bar/chairs and rugs outside in the garden for people to snug into. I do love the place, great vibe and a fantastic place to put shows on.

For me the gig was a little frustrating as the potential of people I could have played to decided to boycott the support act and stay in the bar! It is because I've been spoilt on this tour though and I still played to a half full room. They were sweet and engaged in my set, Memory Maze hit home the most with the Garden raising a few eyebrows! The silence in the room showed real music fans in the place but I did find it harder to connect tonight. Sea Of Thought is getting better with each play and im getting confident with the set now. People ask me what the hell are the crazy psychedelic sitar pad sounds and how am I doing it....I tell them I have the spirit of the 60s in me..... it was definitely a good purchase. The Half Moon must be commended for their excellent command of sound and professional attitude. They have Puressence there next week if anyone is in London reading this they really should get along to that gig, they are one of my favourite bands of all time and are exceptional. 

There was something restrained in Terry's set tonight. The advent of a bass player and BJ Cole kept Terry rhythmically in line when he normally likes to play with it. That's fine of course but its nice to hear him in this way as the songs took on a different feel. Much like a lost soundtrack to an old graceful western, beautiful Americana that really hit on an emotional level. Terry had a bit of a sore throat before he went on but it made him all the more sweeter at first. When he's on form there isn't a voice more bursting at the seems with life weathered experience, it's really quite special. BJ in particular was so understated and atmospheric tonight. Terry really was battling his voice about mid way though, and the power he has was some-what newted, but he still held it together with grace and the crowd were on his side for something he couldn't help. Nice touch that he dedicated Night Of The Raging Storm to the victims of the Oklahoma tornado that swept through on Monday causing so much devastation. 

Me and Jim... Terry's trusty Driver and friend

Tonight was BJ Coles night on the pedal steel, he was transcendual .......

Next week I have the second leg of the tour which takes us to Brighton, Norwich, and the double night London Borderline gigs on Thursday and Friday. The Friday see him take on his seminal album Seed Of Memory with full band, I'm looking forward to being part of that. Want to try and get to the Bowie exhibition as well.

Honey JD.....gorgeous isn't it!! Try it with ginger.

Stay Safe

Andy xx

Personal Legend 

New track from up coming album "Science & Magic"

Mastered by Pete Maher (U2, Beady Eye)