Tour Diary Day 6 Brighton Komedia

So .... After the couple of dates I wasn't doing on the tour, Terry's voice took a turn for the worst and he's been suffering with weak vocal chords. So I met a hush toned Terry at Brighton and we joked about the fact he was now a walking Boots the Chemist. He was changing notes in soundcheck to preserve his voice and not over exerting, I could see he was struggling I know what that's like. When you've got nothing in there it's scary as there's nothing you can do, you've just got to rest and try not to damage the voice further. He was in good spirits though, playing Dylan in soundcheck and taking the piss in a tongue in cheek way. I remember a particular gig at the Bedford in which I had laryngitis and I had to battle it onstage, it's pretty scary up there with no band when you have no power in your voice.
I played this room last year on the tour with Terry and it was a lovely gig for me, with a crowd who were receptive and eerily quiet. So I hope this year they except me again with my new set and songs.

Steve Pitt was doing his thing at soundcheck making sure everything was in check and after a battle of frequencies I was ready to go myself.

Brighton's the other place apart from Bath I've always wanted to live. It's a less abrasive London with a liberal vibe and colorful environment. Whenever I come here I can hear the dreams of hundreds of artists, musicians, dancers, film makers and it's inspiring. I always think when walking around and spot a guitar case...that they have the same dreams and aspirations as me, wanting to express themselves, for people to embrace their art and to make a difference in some way. Just walking around there's a different feel that I'm sure a lot of people from Brighton themselves will declare has disappeared from the city, but I love it all the same. I love the lanes and the crazies walking around the place everyone seems to project a story and be interesting like little novels bursting with experience. I walked into a local corner shop and "Passenger" was playing over the stereo. Its interesting as many years ago I went for an audition to be in Passenger in Brighton before he decided to go it alone, we also used to be on the same bill a lot. Nice that a local singer/songwriter has done well, but strange is that he kind of built it up from moving to Australia?!

At the beginning of my set the crowd were rather frosty and didn't interact at all. After a couple of songs and some cheeky banter though we got there and by the end they engaged with my set with warmth. I played the same set as the other dates on the tour but with the addition of "weird science" at the end. I was making nods in between the tracks of some of the references in my songs such as Bertrand Russell, Weird Science, The Alchemist, and the psychosis of being a musician. We had some laughs and some great applause for my set especially Personal Legend which was the best I've played it for many a year tonight. The amount of merchandise I sold and the feedback after the gig was fantastic considering at first i thought i was going to find it hard to make a connection.

Terry's set was understandably more subdued tonight as preservation of his voice was omnipotent but he handled his set with grace interacting with the audience in a friendly way and telling anecdotes. At first I really worried for him but he got through and did well considering what must have been hurting him quite considerably. The crowd seemed to be on his side though and a particularly lovely rendition of 'don't worry baby' and 'dont let the sun catch you crying' made the crowd fall pin-drop silent. It was kind of Camp Fire Terry Reid tonight and i thought he did fantastically well and his whispers took on a more experienced melancholic tone. For people who feel they missed out on his usual foghorn volume tones should come to The Borderline on Thursday and Friday, but it was still a special gig tonight.

Looking forward to the two final dates in London.....The Borderline/Finish Line

Heres the Ticket link for my Havant Spring Arts Centre gig on June 20th
http://www.thespring.co.uk/events/andrew-foster/

Stay Safe
Andy x

PERSONAL LEGEND
Mastered by Pete Maher
(U2, Beady Eye)