GIGS
Monday 31st October 2011
The Jolly Anglers, Reading RG1 3EA
open-mic hosted by Tony Brown
"You Can Dance"
An enjoyable open-mic run by Tony Brown last night. I think it's about the fourth time I've been to The Jolly Anglers and possibly on all of those occasions there's been a very tall guy present whom I guess is around about 60. He's always very welcoming and amiable but I assumed perhaps that was due to how much alcohol he'd consumed. I've always felt I've recognised him from somewhere but just assumed he was part of the social fabric of these events. Last night when I said hello to him he was his usual friendly self and I realised his friendliness is his natural demeanor and not alcohol induced (maybe encouraged?)
As we got a few acts into the evening Pete got up to dance with Suzi and I realised where I recognised him from, indeed both of them. They were the couple that were dancing when I was playing at The Big Picnic in June and have the dubious honour of being "the very first couple to dance to my playing"! I mentioned this at the beginning of my set last night which caused some amusement and indeed, it seems, was taken as encouragement to dance again throughout my sets (we all played twice).
I certainly enjoyed playing last night (perhaps it was the best evening so far) no doubt helped by the audience interaction and the dancing. I even got an unexpected "gratuity" as I left the pub when one of the smokers said "I enjoyed your stuff tonight mate", which kind of made my day.
Finally I just want to mention Luke Paulo whom I've got to know over the past few weeks. Perhaps it's because I'm becoming more familiar with his music but I feel that every time I see him play there's a geological shift in what he's trying to do and more and more his act seems to be falling into place like a jigsaw. Last night his act(s) seemed quite hypnotic and shamanistic.
My sets:
Set 1
Last Night I Saw You Standing There
Set 2
