The Libertine gig

So after the debacle that was the Guildford gig, once again there is hope, in the form of the Libertine pub in Borough. What a nice little pub venue it is. Run by a friendly bunch of people in their late-20s/early 30s, who made sure the bands were fed and watered, with pizza and beer. It has a small stage at the front of the venue with tables and chairs. And couches at the back end. The bar runs down the left hand side of the oblong pub. If you got 30-50 people in there, at least at one end of the pub, it would seem busy. A hundred in the whole pub, and it would be rammed.

The stage is tight with five up there. Very. Four is okay, but still a bit tight. They have a vocal PA, which you could put an acoustic or keyboard through too. You have to keep the guitar volumes down or I think you'd lose the vocals in the mix; that's what it felt like on stage anyway. There's no fold-backs either. It's a basic set-up, but I kinda like that. In some respects I prefer control of the sound, as opposed to handing it over to a sound-man, who doesn't know your band. Having said that, I know how to turn down - some don't have that ability. (is this a dig? Ed.)

The result was that when my band Pocket Rocket played, I left most of the guitar duties to Lex, my left-hand man, to ensure the songs had space to breathe, and vocals we're clear. This meant the rhythm section was more prominent than usual, but this accentuated our 'danciness' and an aspect of our music which often gets lost during more raucous performances. We were on roll anyway, helped by a rapturous reception, and a small group of gyrating friends of our drummer, Nigel.

Dove Jones' band kicked things off and warmed up the audience with a series of classic rock covers including Hendrix and the Stones. He is an enthusiastic, charismatic performer, and always a pleasure to watch. He and his band went on at 8:15 and my lot took the stage about 9:15. We both played for 45 minutes. If it has a downside it's the 10pm curfew for live music. 10:30pm would be better, though the neighbours obviously don't agree. I think a 3 band bill would be pushing it, too. You wouldn't want to start live performance any earlier than 8:15 - not on the weekend anyway.

The venue has a licence til 1:30am every night and DJ decks (vinyl). It filled up even more about 10:30 when the 30-somethings arrived in larger numbers. And Jim, DJ and friend of Pocket Rocket, played a great mix of 80s/90s/00s edgy-guitar music, and synth-pop.