Better out than in: October's Acoustic Afternoon at The Libertine

Another fine afternoon was had by all those assembled for music, beer, roast and colouring-in, at the Libertine yesterday.

Colin Gillman opened proceedings by sitting down with a cup of tea and playing his first ever solo acoustic gig. And why not? I really enjoyed his set, which included new songs Elvis Night at Andy's and Goodbye Ophelia, as well as songs that he composed for his former band Magic Ship.

A bespectacled Patrick Begley, he of Dipsticks fame, also sedentary, performed an engaging set of songs with guitar playing that wouldn't have seemed out of place on Led Zep 3. His bold a capella rendition of a Leadbelly song, was a highlight, and silenced the room.

Tracy Picardi, upstanding, lightened the mood with a set of upbeat songs, and the sweetest voice of the afternoon. Toes started tapping and children downed colour pencils and started dancing and whooping.

Brian Caulfield (pictured above), stalwart of the RTYD scene, and his new guitarist Matthew Quinn (united by RTYD itself, I'm proud to say), were next up, performing under the alias of the Lone Groover and Wonder Boy. Brian's playfully lyrical musical commentaries on modern life and his nostalgic reminiscences kept the adults amused and the ankle-biters on the dance-floor. Between his set of self-penned songs was sandwiched a well-chosen Lone Groover-ised version of The Jam's Eton Rifles, which cleared up one or two of Weller's lyrics that the modfather himself has managed to masticate into incoherence since 1979. Thanks Brian.

Finally RTYD member and professional musician, Jay Stapley, demanded quiet and got it, by wowing the audience with his technical ability and his witty, narrative songs. Delivered with aplomb and mid-song banter, he made it all look so easy. Which, of course, it isn't.

Virtually all of the musicians playing yesterday afternoon, we're nervous about performing. I know 'cos they told me. But they we're all rising to a challenge that they had set for themselves. This challenge involves disconcerting one's self and laying one's self and one's songs bare. It's one of the hardest gigs a musician can play. Either the audience are hanging on your every note, or you need to try to impress them into doing so.

But if you don't have a band (yet), it's better to be playing and developing your songs and craft in this sort of situation, than doing fuck all with 'em. Songs need to be sung. Songs, as Michael Caines of Spirit of Play reminded me at the show yesterday, don't come alive until you perform them and you project them in a room like this. Better out than in.

If you do have a band, though, sometimes you can feel the need to break out of its mould. Of the trappings of it genre, or instrumentation. To make music that differs from that which you play regularly. This is my reason for wanting to book myself to play The Libertine. The challenge for me, is to do it next month. As it is for Graham Hunt, alias mature musician blogger Furtheron and writer of the Guitars and Life blog. Check out his blog, as he too rises to the challenge.