I'm a day late this week, due to the Bank Holiday. I'm sure you were all really worried about that....

Anyway, last Monday I did a gig in Bradford. I say 'gig', when it could better be described as 'I played to 4 people in Bradford last Monday'. The Priestley gig has been one of the best nights of it's kind since I first went there last July. It's a songwriter/acoustic night, incorrectly billed as 'open mic'. It has had it's flaws but has real character and a decent set of people in it's network.

However, like all good gigs, nothing lasts forever. I arrived on Monday to find that not only was the audience absent, but that only 3 musicians had been booked. The gig hung in the balance at this point, until we decided there was just enough need for it to go ahead. Needless to say it was a complete waste of time, and the sooner everyone decides what's best for this night the better. It doesn't help that the venue is in administration and seems to constantly have an uncertain future.

March was supposed to be the last one ever, but then I found it was advertised thru July. Apparently last time the promoter and the venue had different nights scheduled and the whole thing fell through. It really isn't that hard to run a decent night, and there's no excuse for not booking enough acts, there's plenty of those even in the absence of an audience. So for now, it's a case of 'wait and see' with The Priestley.

The Wardrobe on Wednesday was at least as per normal. I was on first, but the place did fill up reasonably as the night went on. I did 6 songs, with Words and How Do You Sleep returning to the line-up. I bumped into Mark Sayer, the photographer who captured some of the live shots you see dotted about my websites. We talked, amongst other things, about the Freaky Pest promoter (see January's blog for further details!)...and it turns out he's upset plenty more people than I thought. It's sometimes nice to have my opinion qualified.

Thursday night on this busy week was back to the Band, playing the Waggoners in Queensbury. Steve was back, and we played pretty well to a thin crowd. (numerically not weight-wise). This is another of those venues where you get the feeling that bands won't be playing in another 6 months, or that the faces behind the bar may well change. A decent venue in theory, but a bit of energy is required to sort it out.

On Saturday, and the band managed a new achievement in it's short history: 2 gigs in the same week!! Of course, the line-ups weren't the same, (bass this time!), but it was one small step and all that.... Speaking of landing on foreign alien lands, we were playing at Berry Brow Liberal Club. The most Liberal thing about it being the amounts people drink.

We had a great night really, and got a thoroughly good reception. Most of the band gigs have gone down really well in fact. I just hope it can go where I want it to go.

I value days away from music more than ever now. That's a sign of getting a bit older. It doesn't mean I don't love what I do, I'm just more knackered than I used to be by doing it. So Sunday and the Bank Holiday Monday were set aside, not that I took it particularly easy. I had a family day out on Sunday going over to Pickering, Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay. The latter is one of those places I feel at home with, a bit like the Lakes. I keep eyeing the small houses that are for rent there, and planning.

The day after was back to Stock Cars. Yes, 2 meetings in one day, starting at Sheffield at 12noon, then over the tops to Belle Vue, Manchester for the evening meeting at 5.45. As I said, nice and relaxing. The latter meeting was especially thrilling, with fires, rollovers and drivers running across the track to wrestle with flag marshalls. A typical night's entertainment really. Sorry if this is going over your head, but I do like to try and educate people onto my little planet.

This week promises to be quieter on the gigs, with just a band slot at Lindley this Saturday, and an open mic on Thursday at the Chemic in Leeds.