Three gigs last week, and it was a case of two up one down really. The bad one came first on Wednesday but I'll start with the good ones.

Both were with the band, 3-piece version this week, starting on Thursday at Zephyr Bar in Huddersfield. This was the scene of the band's debut gig and has always been a special place to play, indeed at times it's been the only circuit venue that's been any good. Basically it's a younger crowd who come for a good time. And even the older end aren't predjudiced by what the band does, and we get to play more original material. We had a bit of a falling out over terms last year, but this was definetly a return to form. And whilst there may have been a downturn in trade for them lately it was still a good deal busier than some of our venues!! We had a great night, really rocking out towards the end. Audience-dependent songs like 'Lola' went down a storm and I would say this was clearly an '8'. And there ain't too many of those.

On Saturday we were at The Royal Oak at Paddock which seems to have picked up from a few years ago when I last played there. It was pretty busy and overall we had another good night with plenty of interest and they seemed to like our songs. This one gets a 7.

The bad one was, you guessed it, an Ossett Brewery solo gig. Previous blogs will bare out the details on this-I think I've done over 10 gigs in their pubs and they all have one thing in common. They're shit.

Another bottom of the pile gig this time at the Silver King in Ossett itself. Can I plead with Ossett Brewery to re-think their entertainment policy. Take it from me, no-one wants a music night, no-one. And that's not just sour grapes, they're saying this before I've played a note.

So, after another night of no applause, no audience, nothingness, I did the unthinkable and asked to be paid off. After a bit of 'negotiation' I was paid full money for one set and managed to squeeze into my local pub for last orders. I hated doing this but I'm sick and tired of playing somewhere I'm not wanted. I doubt I'll be doing any more there, thank God. Scores 2.

It's not all doom and gloom on the solo front, I'm doing the Primrose this Thursday and the Bell&Crown 'Strange Reality' night at Snaith on Sunday-both will be original material gigs so that should be fun.