Maryport Blues Festival

It just doesn't get much better than this.

 

A top notch stage crew, treated like royalty, and a crowd that listened, responded (enthusiastically!) and supported us with merchandise sales.  We got a pleasant surprise when they told us that we had a full hour, not 50 minutes, to do the set.  We were able to add "Life's Too Short", which really shows off the horns.

The night before, at Alexander's in Chester, we ended with "Every Piece Of Me" (and then did the obligatory encore), mainly because the end of the set snuck up on me and we ran out of time.  It ended up being surprisingly powerful, and left the crowd very worked up.  I never would have thought of it normally, since it's a slow tune.  So, we did the same thing at Maryport, and it worked just as well!  Time to rethink the set order...

I had the opportunity to play through a Fender '65 re-issue twin.  I found something out.

I don't know how to work a Fender '65 re-issue twin. 

Should've stuck to the Marshall I've been using, which sounds incredible.  Not that the Fender sounded bad (how could it?), I just like the Marshall with this particular guitar a lot better - the overdrive, the sustain, it just works really well.  Oh well, now I know.

The rest of the band really sounded fantastic.  Mike played out of an SVT rig which made the bass sound like a living thing, pushing right through your chest.  The keyboards were perfect, the drums mixed exactly right, and the horns made the whole thing go way beyond the normal blues quartet.  |

We met a lot of great people, exchanged info, and then drove to Blackburn (couldn't find the 4000 holes) to stay at a pretty nice Travelodge.  Now I'm in front of the Hope Tavern in Lincolnshire, and we're getting setting up to do an outdoor gig here.  Glad we're not in NY, where the temperature is in the 90s!  It's overcast and comfortable here, and we just ate a huge meal.  They have "carveries" on Sundays, where it's a buffet of beef, lamb and pork (and vegetables).  We brought our New York appetites, and now we have to work for our supper.

After this, back to London and wind down the tour.