Terry Reid Tour 2014 - The Cellars at Eastney - Portsmouth

Hi all!

So Its my pleasure to be on tour again with Terry Reid, this time in Portsmouth, Wolverhampton, Newcastle, London and....Sweden! Yes the land of Moomins! I've been to a few dates I wasn't playing on such as Brighton Komedia, and the Jazz Cafe where I had a great chat with Michael Kiwanuka about his second record (he had come to see Terry as "no one does it like him") and Terry is in good spirits for the tour.
So we start with the Cellars in Portsmouth...

This time he has brought some cosmic Americans with him from over the pond and cosmic they most definitely are! They are his backing band for most the dates on the tour and also playing a musically bonkers Bluegrass set to open the night. They are called "The Cosmic American Derelicts" and the name is very apt as its though they have been beamed straight from planet Woodstock. They are the most gentle and incredibly musical people I have ever met, they can deal with any genre chucked at them and with George the bass player, there's a Keith Richards alter-ego inside him hiding just below the surface! Lovely fellas though all of them and they compensate Terry perfectly.

My set is now peppered with some new songs from my up coming album due in the summer "Science & Magic". The songs have been going down well and the older songs that are on the album have now bedded in to a point I can deliver them right. Because of the intimate nature of the crowd there is room for explanations of songs and anecdotes and they engage with the whole evening perfectly. You really can't ask for more :-)

Terry is in good form tonight after a rather meloncollie start for him (he does like to shake things up), the version of "Brave Awakening" was spellbinding and the evening takes on a kind of "living room" gig kind of vibe. 

Next stop Wolverhampton on Wednesday 21st May

Tickets for my Worthing show in July can be bought from this link

CLICK HERE

Stay safe

Andy xx

mostly listening to

Beck - Morning Phase

Gig Diary 3 - The Troubadour & Tamesis Dock

So before I headed off to Earls Court to play at the Troubadour I stopped off at London Borough Market. Gorgeous smells waft around the archways and indoor market showing off foods from around the world. Parma Hams, fine wines, cheeses, breads, veg and meats surround you with a bustling London crowd sheltering from the rain outside. I bet it's even better round Christmas time, definitely gonna go there in December. Truffles are £79 ...... Just saying.....quite expensive.

The Troubadour is a 1950s old tavern complete with huge wooden door and shield street sign. Adorned inside with a beautiful decor, bohemian vibes, and very flamboyant bar staff who are all passion, nonchalance and precision. The artists were given red wine and lasagne after soundcheck and believe me that never happens in any venue! The troubadour is steeped in rock and roll history with Dylan and Hendrx amongst others passing through its doors. I fell in love with it instantly and if I lived in the area I would spend all my time in there. The gig was packed out and the crowd were definitely enjoying their alcohol...

Of course I could pass through Earls Court without seeing one of the only remaining police box's. Being a massive Dr Who fan....this is the most exciting box since the rubix cube......

Taking the tardis to gigs is something I should do more, negotiating London with equipment this last week has caused some aches....I should have done this ages ago....

On Thursday before my gig I went to the Imperial War Museum. If anyone has been they will understand that the museum is an exceptional showcase of the Second World War, including the MI5, MI6, espionage, and by far the most intense museum installation I've ever had, The Holocaust. I urge anyone to go and experience it even if it is a little difficult, it really makes you feel small and humble. The first floor about the blitz also makes you proud to be British. 

Halloween is coming....my favourite yearly celebration. 

Tamesis Dock is a psychedelic boat mored on the Thames next to the Houses of Parliament. It's an amalgamation of bric a brac, cultures, styles, and influences with a fantastic musical taste. Overlooking the river with its pillars of English culture all around its a fantastic place to go and chill out. 

Everything about it is odd and kooky even the staff have an air of the psychedelic about them. If you ever go there definitely try the food as it's gorgeous! Watching the sun go down on a boat on the Thames reminded me of my boat trip down the Seine in Paris. 

Next stop The Regal Rooms in Hammersmith, the last stop this week....

Stay Safe

Andy xx

Gig Diary 2 - Bar Vinyl & The Alleycat Club

Ah Camden...I'll always have an emotional link to Camden as I spent a lot of time up there when I lived in London. I've played the Jazz Cafe a few times, met Noël Gallagher there, watched the Bluetones and other indie favourites in a place that was once the home of Britpop. I've walked the lock on summer nights, gone round the bustling markets under the low lights and cobblestone streets. I've bought clothes, food, art, taken in the vast range of culture madness and general oddness that is that square mile...but one thing still and always has intrigues me. How have the police not caught the drug dealers!? I mean it's so easy and there so stupid with it as well, Camden lock bridge is still the hotspot and they couldn't be more pathetic in there attempts to be inconspicuous if they tried! If someone would like to enlighten me as to why it seems so blatant there please let me know....because I guarantee if I went undercover i'd suss them out in 30 mins....without question!

The place still excites me even though I can understand why it would irritate a lot of people. There's more tourists now taking pictures of the big Converse attached to the shop wall than there is actual alternative purists, although you can still find them. It's the bizarreness that I adore, the fact you get people walking down the road in full cyberpunk getup or one sleeve missing and a monocle, or a guy dressed as Albert Einstein....and no one cares....it's great...I love that! The extravagance, the weird and wonderful, and the fantastic stalls will always be inviting to me.

So the gig was in Bar Vinyl which is a small bar down the street with Britpop legend 'The Good Mixer' at the end of it. It has a nice interior and was a lovely place to go and have a few drinks and some nice food to get out of the Mighty Boosh outside. I think it needs a little more work to really make it a serious live venue though, it's essentially set up for small cocktail bar type background music or a small club environment, not really live music I would say. The gig wasn't greatly attended and so the vibe was small and not noteworthy which gives me very little to engage with. So unfortunately not great....the few people that witnessed it liked it, and I played quite well, so no harm done! So with some time to kill I went and sat on London Bridge and watched things.....I like watching things you see...

During the next day on Monday I took the opportunity to see the London Observatory. Being a space nut it was something I absolutely adored and I think anyone with even the slightest interest in space exploration, the structure and need of 'time' socially and it's importance in nature, or just want to have a nice walk in a park....should go to Greenwich and experience the mueseums. I was lucky enough to see the space photography exhibition there as well, and the planetarium is something else! I'm not going to bore you with it because I could talk all day about it...just go!

Yuri Gagarin ....an that...

The Alleycat club in Denmark Street had all the credentials of a fantastic evening. The venue was in London's guitar haven for a start! It's 50s rock and roll decor and basement entrance make you feel like you are entering into history and the haphazard wallpaper of old rock and roll magazines and NME's only add to that. It was complete with smooching couple in the back of the venue, I had to look twice as I thought it could have been Danny Zuko and Sandy. After soundcheck I realised that this night may suffer from a poor attendance as there wasn't much foot traffic coming in and the bar had been open a while. When I played there was a few more in and people enjoyed what I did but I found it hard to engage and really only getting in my stride at the end. 

I approached it more jokey and less professional maybe than usual as it just seemed a little patronising to be waffling on a sales pitch in a vibe-less room! Fantastic venue though and it was just an unlucky night of poor attendance. Thanks to the people who were there though, and your comments are appreciated hope you enjoy the CD. 

Next stop The Troubadour...I've heard a lot about this venue, let's try it out!

Stay Safe

Andy xx

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