Sometimes everything comes together to make a gig a bit special.
That’s what happened last Thursday when we played the Earl Haig Hall in Crouch End.
It was by general agreement one of the best gigs we’ve played. It is hard to identify exactly why but these are some of the ingredients that helped.
It is a great venue, not just in the sense of being the kind of place that we’d enjoy coming to for a drink, but it has a proper stage with enough space for us to set up without all being on top of each other. Having a bit of space between us means that we are more likely to hear the rest of the band, and not just whoever is standing next to us.
The venue has a good sound system and someone who knows how to use it properly. This meant that not only was there good sound for the audience but on stage too. We were well-balanced and the volume was right.
The audience was enthusiastic which always encourages us to play well. This was not a dance venue (though that didn’t stop a certain amount of bopping between the tables and chairs). Sometimes that means we just become background music, but this was not the case on Thursday.
We played one long set which we think we paced well. And not having to turn up hours before we play is always a bonus too, as it tends to put us in a good mood.
So while we rarely have a bad gig, sometimes they do have an extra bit of magic. This one certainly did.
We hope we get invited back.
We didn’t have time to take pictures or any video so we have no souvenirs to share, but this is what we played.
Chinatown
Guns Of Navarone
Latin Goes Ska
Mood For Love
Tide Is High
Harder They Come
Alley Cat Ska
Man In The Street
Mambo No. 5
Dr Who
Enola Gay
Red Red Wine
Price Tag
Pata Pata
Tainted Love
My Boy Lollipop
Night Boat To Cairo
Gangsters
Baggy Trousers (unplanned extra encore!)
Update: Thanks to Jim who sent us this photo after the gig.
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