Saturday night saw the Six String Theory Tour role into the sleepy village of Cranfield. Scott is the only act on the tour never to have graced The Carpenters Arms with his presence, whereas the rest of us knew what to expect.
Or, we thought we did...
In reality, the night went better than expected, with the pub looking its fullest I've ever seen it (after attending numerous music nights that local band The Fruitflies organise), the atmosphere was as good as it'll ever get on a Saturday night at The Carps.
So, it was down to new boy Scott to open the night with his pop balladry. I have to agree with Rick, it really is nice to be hearing Seeking Salvation Through Love on a more regular basis than we;ve been used to - being limited to once a month at the Slug. 'Crush' is certainly becoming a firm fan favourite, and old classics like 'Letter' and 'Destined to Fail' are proof that the Brit Writers Nomination was no fluke.
2nd up was the pre-billed 'Rick Sky' complete with full band for a special set of originals. The more time the three of us get on stage, the more the songs grow into themselves. Potentially because the more time I play the songs, the more time I have to discover funky new bass lines... but growth nonetheless. it seems like Phil is aiming on finding 101 ways to finish a set. wednesdays watershed appearance saw the punk-rock "get loads of noise and feedback from the guitar then leave it on stage whilst walking off" routine. Saturday saw the one-the-knees, frantic-rapid-strumming approach, merged with the falling-over style which ended up with Phil on his back on the pub floor. Enigmatic and energetic - but we've come to expect nothing less.
After 2 sets of original material, it was time for local favourites Vodka Boy to lay on some familiar covers alongside their unique style of original material. Personally, Bright Eyes' 'First Day of My Life' is a rare cover song that always captures my attention no matter what, and landlord James would have thrown us all out if Miss Gaga wasn't played en masse. At the end of the set, as they hadn't played my all time favourite Vodka Boy track, I called for an ENCORE! And thus, Drunk Poet Blues was kicked out the speakers, paying homage to local landmarks and venues. Without a doubt my all time Vodka Boy Fave!
I guess you could call the Carps my local gig. Being slap-bang in the middle of Newport and Cranfield, the opening 2 nights have worked in my favour as far as travel time goes. I've played the Carps numerous times in my musical career, and it genuinely is a pleasure to see the difference in crowds since I started playing a few years ago. I won't tell you the story about the time I played to an entirely empty bar, but you get the idea...
I'm really liking the Frank Turner-double to open up with. 'Eulogy' gives a nice gentle opening melody to alert the crowd that the set has begun, then after 2 short verses, rolling into 'I Still Believe' sums up the idea behind the tour. The line 'Who'd have thought, after all, something as simple as rock n roll could save us all' is a perfect way of describing music's impact on all our lives. After numerous calls for various covers, I stood my ground and stuck to my game plan of getting my original music out to the masses, however old favourites like Johnny B Goode, and Cannonball made their way onto the set list.
The next 2 dates see's the 6 String Theory Tour role into Madcap for a festive party on Friday, then onto Bedford on Saturday for another venture into the unknown...
Safe to say, I can't wait!
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