We have a date 21st June for normality we hope and the end of socially distancing at a gig. I have my first gig pencilled in for 7th June a seated affair at the Jazz Café to hopefully set up the rest of the year. I have still have about half a dozen gigs that will either be cancelled or postponed some for the third time. So cautious optimism is the watch word here. Given that the summer months are usually a little quieter the autumn could be crazy for gigs if things get back to normal. So with everything crossed let’s hope there is real light at the end of this horribly long tunnel.
When I first started this little exercise we were a month into lockdown on the 24th April. Like most of you I expected this to last a month or two. The reality now is clear and sadly it will be a full twelve months and probably a lot more between my last gig and the next one. We go again and hopefully this brings back memories for my gig going chums who have joined me on this great musical journey down the years.
Just a couple today for my look back down memory lane.
2011, Ellie Goulding, Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas, US and A
As is usual on any trip I have a look and see if there are any gigs we can go to. So in the craziness of Vegas I spotted that Ellie Goulding was playing in the recently opened Cosmopolitan Hotel. This was not in any room as such but a side bar on the hotel floor.
Assuming we were in the right place we sat down at the bar with a couple of drinks only to spot Ellie and the band sat at a table a few feet away. So at the appointed hour they just got up hopped onto the slightly raised area to the side of the bar and played away most of her debut album recently released the year before.
It’s a stripped down set without the awful auto tuning and electronic gimmicks I can only assume her record company have decided is the best way to commercial success. Supper stuff for a freebie and nice that her and the band hang around and chatted to the twenty of so souls that enjoyed the set.
2009, Pete Molinari, the Borderline, London
Sixties Dylan throwback Molinari is more than a tribute act. Yes he sounds like him but it’s certainly jauntier than a lot of the Bobster’s output. It’s a solid enough show without being spectacular for what I guess is a tour supporting his debut album released the year before. Other than that nothing specific to recall.
That’s it for today so don’t forget, support your small local venues and smaller artists in these difficult times, stay safe and keep on rockin y’all.