It’s been a busy old summer for us, we’ve been out and about a fair bit and to my shame the blogging has suffered, a lot. So I’m going to whip through some of these gigs at quite a pace.

Cambridge, the Bun Shop. Now we like it here despite there being no actual buns available on the night. Sue Marchant asked us to drop by for an acoustic session on her acclaimed BBC Radio Cambridge show (7-10 weeknights). And we were very happy to do so. Then off to the venue to hear some really wonderful acoustic tunes from the local acts before we went on. I do remember being blown away by a group of Hawkwind fans who’d missed us at Hawkfest and had made the effort to dash from Devon to Cambridge and catch the show. There was a beautiful atmosphere as always with this club and John and Howard and the rest of the crew made the whole evening a truly musical experience. 16th October saw us returning to Cambridge to play The Living Room at CB2. It was our first time at this venue and in front of this crowd and I have to say the reception was utterly beautiful. I think it’s really important that a venue is comfortable, you know somewhere you’d choose to be even if live music wasn’t happening and I really think the Living Room had that. So with that in mind the question was how right could this night be? And it was as right as we could have hoped for. Not sold out and not a big venue, when Jim and I started to play the room just filled up I’m not sure where they came from but we were mightily grateful for their attention and the amazing complements we got after the show helped to make the trip more than worth our while, thank you Kevin and thank you Mrs Kevin.

Inspiral Lounge and The OoTO Festival These two gigs were linked by more than the festival connection. Walking down Camden high St is a little like a game of no-rules rugby with shopping bags but on arriving at the Inspiral Lounge the atmosphere was palpably different, folk smiling, folk accommodating each other… here have this seat… would you like me to move over… it was hard to make the jump. But this atmosphere of kindness and humanity filled the festival site too. We were playing the Out of the Ordinary Festival with a considerably fresh line up that night, it was James’ first time guesting on bass with us and it was our first time playing with Mark Taylor on keys. Everybody just excelled, we had had plenty of opportunity to rehearse with James and he pulled off a blinder on bass. But we’d had little chance to rehearse with Mark so despite our utter confidence in him there was an element of the unknown. What can I say, from the opening chords of “Alright” I was lifted a little, a sublime floating sensation which just got greater. A feeling of effortless momentum and support and an amazing unity with the smiley faced audience. I want to thank James for all that he did, including snapping me back into the right key on “Little Victories”. And I want to thank Mark for the faithful and beautiful parts and textures he brought to the show. Though I didn’t need it I was reminded again why a player like him works with the likes of Lulu, Simple Minds and Will Young. Thank you all.

Gramaphone, London. I’m jumping to this our most recent gig because a high percentage of the audience had come along after catching us at the Out of the Ordinary Festival, nice to see you again Jan and Andy! Yes yes, this was not a large crowd, well not in numbers anyway and no they weren’t particularly tall or round either, their greatness came from the incredible open heartedness with which they greeted us. We were the first band on opening for the David Sinclair Trio and Larry Miller, blues with pop sensibilities and deep electric blues respectively. Though we had only a few friends in the audience the whole room lit up for us, every where I looked people were cutting loose, dancing and hanging on every song like it was a favorite. If you can make it to The Spice of Life on the 22nd November you’ll be in a room full of like minded people, Come On!

The Wickham Arms, Brockley. This is our local music pub, a proper boozer properly devoted to the local music scene. This is where our friends play regularly and drink even more regularly. The 20th September saw Jim and I playing a rare electric two piece gig. This was only our second time in this format and I knew we’d get an honest response to the night’s music. We played for 1 and a half hours, I played with all my heart, I fluffed and blundered my way through the first set but Jim and I seemed to be the only one’s who heard that. In the break I took myself away and had gave myself a bit of a talking to, then came back to the stage with a sense of determination. My word we reaped the benefits, it was like Thunderdome, you know … wild, no rules … for a place I knew so well I didn’t know what had hit me, one encore, two encore’s then when I had no idea what we had left to play there was a shout of “Silver Machine” from Titch, Van, Si and Sophie and we tore the place apart once more. I smiled so much in that gig I think I aged 5 years but I don’t care, the people there and the atmosphere, the utter support. I got asked more than once what are you doing in a place like this and let me tell you, I was having the time of my life, making the music I love best for people who actually care about it. Thank you Mark, thank you everybody!

The Grosvenor, Stockwell. This was the last, the very last of our festivals this year a one day, all day festival in Stockwell’s stalwart music venue. A diverse delightful day, marred by beautiful weather and an England International game, there should have been more people there, the quality was undeniable good, Xoo, Trev and Kev and the exceptional headliners Litmus. While I was being entertained by the other bands it struck me how space rock and related genre has so much to in common with folk music. The love of melody and songs that speak of something, a common experience from an uncommon point of view. So the crowd though enthusiastic was not massive and when we got onstage I saw our friends Katy and Richard up front so I focused on them and played “Excuse Me” to them to some extent, but again I had my eyes opened by the audience, utter enthusiasm, complete warmth. This has been a year of wonderful surprises and here was another one, nobody seemed to care that there were not 200 other people telling them they were enjoying the ‘right’ thing every body was just digging it, and we rode that wave for 45 minutes with the help of Dave Cogan on sound (thank you so much Dave!) TASTY! I would have played longer if there had not been 6 bands waiting to play after us.

The Running Horse, Nottingham. We spend a fair bit of time in Nottingham, what with having mates up there and all that but it’s been an age since we’ve played a gig there, when I say an age I mean before even Bob Kelly started playing bass with us and that’s been a while! So I was really excited when our friends and local contemporary music group Rarescale invited us to play a night with them at this well known and well established Nottingham venue. To be honest I’ve always had my eye on Rock City for Bruise and I didn’t think I’d be happy until we made it there but once inside the Running Horse I knew there was a way to be happy in Nottingham before we start playing 2000 seater venues. An absolute gem of a venue, every thing a well thought out small venue should be, with the landlady to match. Rarescale are PROPER dot reading musicians playing compositions by some of the UK’s brightest lights in the contemporary music scene, their line up consists of a bass clarinet, a quarter tone alto flute and ambient noise and samples from a computer. Incredible musician ship from all involved and as I attempted to get my head around the avant guard I grasped for comparisons and was handed two perfect one’s Steve Hillage meets Frank Zappa minus the rhythm section. We followed them with an electric two piece set, just guitar and drums and I knew we had something to live up to. Both the idea of following such an accomplished admirable set from Rarescale and living up to the storming three piece sets that our crowd had heard from us over the summer. All nerves on edge we piled into “Little Victories” “Mr Rat” “Don’t Make Me Wait” “ Morning Morgantown” “Wanting” the lights were down, all I could see were silhouettes but those bodies were moving with the music, dancing with me as we played. Guitar change and “I Don’t Like You” “Silvertown” and “The Northern Line” we were done, but not really because every one was shouting for more, so we gave them “Turn Me Over” and finally “Coldburn”. I was absolutely moved, when the people in the audience make it so clear that we had bettered our best and that for one chap the trip from Bristol for the gig had been worth every moment I could feel nothing other than incredible lucky, incredibly thank full. A perfect end to the evening Fiona Landlady got behind the mic and paid us an amazing tribute “the best drummer” and “the best front woman” who had ever graced their stage, happy? Before that night I hardly knew what it meant! Isobel X

TRF & BPS!

The Rhythm Festival. Tinwood Arena



We were very excited about going to the Rhythm Fest, for three reasons. One, it's a great big festival with a good profile (so, a top place to play). Two, some great acts (besides Bruise) were on the bill. Three, we had the time to stay the whole weekend. We took our chance to see those great acts and immerse ourselves wholeheartedly in the festival lifestyle.

On arrival, Bruise made camp in the artist enclosure and immediately ran into loads of musicians we know. And the bonhomie continued. Wandering among the stalls, waiting at the bar or running between stages we were always hailing, or being hailed by, people we know. Brilliant! Tinwood is the airstrip from which Glenn Miller took off on his flight into oblivion and many of the wartime buildings remain so the place has a real atmosphere.

So, all good…then we played a blinder. Two o'clock, Saturday afternoon on the Marquee Club Stage and it reminded me of our first time at Glastonbury. The tent was pretty empty as we kicked off but the crowd grew and grew as the music drew people in. It's totally affirming when you can see people who were just passing, stopping, turning their heads, then coming closer and staying to see the band. Afterwards, Bob and I loaded the gear out into the blazing sunshine as Isobel chatted with new fans, signed CDs and got her picture took as befits a star.

Job done, pressure off, we threw ourselves into everyone else's music – Michelle Shocked, Stackridge, Neville Staples, Shedload of Love, Big Star and, above all, Richie Havens. He has been an inspiration to Isobel as a songwriter and a guitarist for years and that night he really was truly STUNNING. The sun went down, the storm clouds gathered and as his final chord faded a fork of lightning tore across the sky above the stage. Honestly. That really happened.


Brighton Poetry Soc. Hove


Our good friend Sean Creed coordinates regular poetry nights for BPS in the cellar of the Sanctuary Café in Hove. Isobel and I have attended before, as punters, but Sean invited us to play as a kind of musical interlude. They get a fine mix of styles and experience down there. It's a completely unregulated open mic with people just getting up and doing their thing when the mood takes them and, magically, never overstaying their welcome. We played an acoustic half hour at half time and we fit right in. We made some new friends, got booked for a new venue and everyone had a lovely time – sickening isn't it!


Jim x

Hawkfest

It's been a long time since Hawkfest but it sits strong in my my memory as an absolute highlight of the summer. The festival itself was July 25th to 27th and we were booked for to play on the Sunday, the last day of festivities. The night before Jim and I had been playing down in Whitstable on the Kent coast so we were covering many miles that weekend. We hit the hay at 3am and had to rise at 8 to get to Devon on time, I have to say I was not in a good mood. I'm not at my best on less than 6 hours sleep plus I can not handle hot weather and this was a SCORCHER. The sky was flawlessly blue, the sun was beating down relentlessly and I was threatening physical violence to any vehicle that got in our way.



We arrived on sight and it had obviously been an amazing weekend for every one, the place was buzzing with the pleasure and excitement of the weekend's music. The Hawkwind team had packed the main stage for their Q&A and listening to it from the periphery was a heart warming thing. I started to lift myself out of my heat induced coma.


Our stage time had been shifted to a bit later than planned and those few hours were just enough for me to start forming complete sentences again and get prepared to make some noise. One of our favorite humans Dave Cogan volunteered to do sound and we were onstage… my gawd what a wild hazy afternoon that became for me, a big top tent serving cool calming pints, full of people at their psychedelic best. We rocked, the crowd rocked. We opened with Excuse Me and the pulsating delay of the intro drew people in then they just kept coming. I loved it, I loved every moment, I loved looking at a tent full of tanned happy people swaying, dancing or smiling at us. I loved the on stage sound. I love Jim and Bob for being so with me and behind me. And again I loved that crowd of people. It's a blur and it was brilliant. I remember a chap who was so smashed he was propping himself up at the bar but his arms were waving about it the free-est freaky dancing way. I remember a beautiful long haired family sat on the ground and from where I stood they were emanating appreciation. I remember a friend of a friend disguised to the hilt in wig and tie dye swaying in his seat so hard I though he would fall. Then the guy who was falling down, time after time. I remember as far as I could see there were faces, then torso, then legs then feet all getting off, on and into the music. I remember dancing like I was free in the last song. Then I remember selling and signing every album we'd brought with us.


Long live Hawkwind, long live their Fans, long live Hawkfest.


Ps Any one got any pictures?

Schizophrenic Saturday

So, last Saturday we did a 1 day mini tour of the M1, with Bomfest in Barnsley, Sonic World Festival in Derby then home to our beds (London). When people are describing our music comparisons are often made between Joni Mitchell and Patty Smith and this day I did feel a little schizophrenic. The acoustic set in Barnsley was a gentle pleasure, we had been especially asked to play the folky side of our repertoire and we were happy to oblige. Songs like “Alright” “Girls Best Friend” and “Silvertown” all got people swaying dreamily on this beautiful afternoon. The beer tent was experiencing some major problems so a hearfelt thanks to Pop who furnished us with beer when the rest of the festival was dry. Sonic World Festival was an onslaught of friendly faces from the start, we arrived on sight minutes before going onstage but with some superb co-operation we were on time and on form. I loved this set, diametrically opposed to the afternoon gig we got our rock rocks off in 45 minutes of smoke and lights and a spectacular crowd. Sonic World Festivals first year, but it felt very familiar may there be many more. We finally hit home at 3am, mighty grateful for a brilliant day and a soft pillow. Thanks to Ammo, Sue, Alan and Kevin.

New Tyres Please

We’d been burning up and down the endless grey ribbon to the point of nearly losing it – so we parked up, slept in a lay-by on the A303 and made a triumphant entry to the city at sunrise, breakfasting like kings on yesterday’s taters n rice…but I’m jumping ahead here.

It’s been a while since a Bruise blog got itself writ and posted so let’s get you up to speed. The acoustic duo took a stroll up to the British Oak (our local) with PA and guitars on our backs. We got a gentle real ale buzz on and played a gorgeous, intimate gig to a room full (and I do mean full) of lovely, appreciative people. We had a happily similar experience last week when we played The Sanctuary Café in Hove for Deuce Promotions. An atmospheric cellar this time, with a great sound and all those happy nodding heads. You know you’re cooking when even the gentle tunes are given such a rapturous reception. There was Scandinavian singing along! There was transatlantic chair dancing!!

Make chronology history, I say. I’ll have no truck with it. In no particular order, therefore: The Catapult Club at the White Hart, New Cross. I’ve realized that I sense a slight whiff of danger in this bar. Maybe it’s because the first time we played there it was as an electric two piece (never seen outside rehearsals) taking loads of chances with new material, and this time the unrehearsed Jevon (seat of the pants) Beaumont stood in on bass for the unavailable Bob (Birmingham bound) Kelly, so we had to be well sharp. Or maybe it’s because there’s a gangland connection behind the bar who likes bands to “play a good gig, yeah?”

Green Futures stage at Glasto 2008. Acoustic this year - we’ve only just hosed the mud out of the drums after last year – and perfect for a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon. A flying visit (off the back of my older sister’s ordination party), we were on site for precisely three and a half hours. Not really long enough to catch much atmos perhaps, but we did catch Leonard Cohen and he was superb (spelt SOOOPEEEEERB!!!).

And finally (but without reference to time): The Railway (Ipswich) and The Bull & Gate (Kentish Town). We played support to Gunslinger - turbo charged British rock music fronted by our good friend Alan Davey. This was proper, gritty, road behaviour. We were playing for dyed-in-the-wool, festival hardened space rock fans who like it hard and fast. We were totally up for it and they were up for us being up for it. Everyone was UP! The spirit of these gigs followed us down the motorway and had us making illegal U-turns and overtaking on the left like we just didn’t care. Last thing I remember, Isobel was throwing Bob from the moving vehicle as we passed through Kingston.

New tyres please!
Jim X

Scotch Egg!

High Barn is a very special venue. It’s on the edge of a picture perfect Essex village called Great Bardfield (yes, there’s also a Little Bardfield) and it is a 400yr old timber barn, beautifully restored and fitted out with the best sound system I’ve ever heard reproduce acoustic Bruise. The atmosphere of the place is amazing and the audience responds accordingly. We were there to play the Unplugged night for the second time and, like last time, the place was sold out. The lights, the sound, the bar full of my old mates – we totally rose to the occasion and played a blinder. Back down the M11 and, believe me, there’s nothing as tasty as a well deserved scotch egg at the wheel of one o’ they ford vans. Jim x

Hope Festival

Once a year the hippest happninest inhabitants of south east London get in their cars and decamp to east Sussex, near Bodiam Castle for Hope festival. We’ve played there for 8 years in a row now and it is a very special weekend for all concerned. This year Bruise were asked to open the festival in the Piano Bar and frankly we felt like we were back in Glastonbury with the mud and the mayhem. It was a total luxury, Maxine had given us the stage for the whole evening, we played for 3 hours, the Ukelele made it’s first festival appearance, Jim warmed the place up with his piano tuning skills. We were surrounded by friendly faces, glasses were raised, I didn’t pay for a drink the whole evening, those people know how to make you feel at home alright. Unfortunately we had to head straight back to London so there was no jolly camping for us but with talent like The Cosmic Sausages and Glen Tilbrook lined up for the rest of the festival you could bet your last £30 that that weekend was a BLAST!

BBC Radio Cambridge

Strictly speaking this wasn’t a gig but I do want to give shout out to BBC Radio Cambridge and their evening show DJ Sue Marchant. Sue had chanced upon us playing the Bun Shop in April and generously extended an invitation for us to appear on her show. Of course we were keen and Tuesday 27th of May was the day. We piled into the studio at 8 and talked about life the universe and Bruise for a full 45 minutes, Sue played “Silvertown” from the second album and Jim and I did live versions of “Don’t Make Me Wait” “Alright” and “Nobody Else”. We had a super time, she was a wonderful host and if you’re ever in Cambridgeshire, Essex or Hertfordshire between 7 and 10 on a weeknight tune in, you’ll be in for a treat!

Bruise Deliver!

Straight back from Liverpool we motored down to New Cross for our first gig at The White Heart. Hosted by the fabulous Tich Turner and The Catapult Club I was blown away by this secretive, vibey stage they’ve got tucked away. You walk into this grand old pub and round the corner and down the stairs there’s a groovy little stage, lined with mirrors and doing a very good impersonation of a tiny amphitheatre. There were three bands on, the first were our good friends Dune Lake (Sophie and Dave) blowing us away with some soulful guitar and vocals and masterful keyboard work, what a lovely start to the evening. Then we were treated to some ska from The Scaredy Cats and Bruise finished up the night. Now this wasn’t our usual line up because Bob Kelly was still up in Liverpool guesting with Rinaldi sings, so Jim and I were going out as an electric duo. I was trembling at the thought but we dived in with gusto, the set went…

Miss Bigfish
Silvermachine
Alright – something really lovely started to happen at this stage, there were a troop of locals in the front of the pub watching the big screen boxing, and from this point onwards those lovely people started to come through to catch us play, we had topped the pay per view entertainment that Sky were laying on – ALRIGHT!
Blueline
Little Victories – Jim and I had been routeening this all week, rearranging it for the electric line up and this was it’s first time out in this format. It felt fantastic and we got a rip-roaring reception.
Mr Rat – more locals pile in to catch the show.
Don’t Make Me Wait
Stranger in You – another new song which sent a sinister chill down my spine and we seemed to have the crowd hypnotized.
The Northern Line
I Don’t Like You – it was our last song on the list and folks were up and dancing, Sophie from Dune Lake and Lucy (happy birthday toooo yoooo!) and more bopped about the perfectly proportioned dance floor and put a smile on my face I couldn’t wipe off.

We got an encore and played Silvertown, this was a true welcome back to our home territory, a thank you to all who were there. I must repeat what Tich had been using as promo for this event, he said…
“The finest 3-piece you’ll ever see BRUISE deliver powerful haunting vocals over a richly woven fabric of wicked rhythms and masterful lyrics, completely superb.” Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Isobelx

International Pop Overthrow

May saw Bruise back in Liverpool for the 6th annual International Pop Overthrow, Hurrah! The IPO takes over every venue in Mathew Street for a ten day Power Pop extravaganza. It’s always a total blast ‘cos the three of us me, Isobel and Bob Kelly, are also Kelly’s Heels (showcasing Bob’s songs and vocals with Isobel on Bass, me on Drums). So that’s four gigs in two days – two each at the Cavern Pub and two each at the Cavern Club. The Cavern Pub is a fab little basement venue. A low stage, vocal PA (exciting, in ya face sound), loads of great rock detritus all over the place and the crowd is always totally up for it. Initially not sure what we were all about (it’s a Power Pop Fest remember), a couple of tunes in and folks were loving it. We gave ‘em a feisty 20 mins (The Game, Coldburn, Silvertown, The Northern Line, I don’t like you) then chatted with the locals and drank the bar out of Staropramen ‘til it was time change our trousers for Kelly’s Heels. We played the big stage at the back of the Cavern Club the next evening and, although it’s quite not as vibey as the recreation of the old Cavern at the front of the venue, the gig was still a belter. It’s always wonderful when people sing along with a track they’ve never heard before. The Northern Line is becoming a real live show favourite. Better get it on the next album, eh?

Jimx

Liver for Sale!

What a trip! And I’ve got 4 gigs to write about so I’m going to dive right in….Maxine’s in Girdwood. Mother Nature had pulled out all the stops for us as we drove down to Girdwood in a massive snow storm, 24” in 24 hours. Alaska looking as pretty as a picture and Jim and I craning our necks to see it. The unseasonable weather did have an impact on the audience numbers, though I’d like to thank every one who risked life and limb to get there, because you welcomed us beautifully!

The next gig was up north in Talkeetna, a tiny town-let in the shadow of America’s biggest mountain, Mount McKinley. Things could not have been more Northern Exposure. The Fairview, our venue for the evening, is one of the oldest structures in town built in the 1920’s and claiming to have killed off a president in the 1930’s it’s got a colorful atmosphere. We’d hardly stepped out of the car and the inhabitants were shouting “BRUUISE!” out of the door, I didn’t know how they’d identified us so easily but as we walked around a bit it became more apparent. Jim was in a hat and tie and I was wearing drain pipes and pointy boots, hmmmm, though the folks there had style it was very different from ours. We played for 3 1/2 hours and were much loved up by the waves of punters, a couple told us they’d traveled 200 miles to get there for the gig – WOW! Some folks made a real point of making their appreciation felt and by the end of the evening, in a beery blur I felt almost as at home there as I do down in Deptford, Thank you Talkeetna.

Next stop on the tour was The Spring Social, this little festival was the whole reason this tour occurred. Spenard was my old neighborhood when I lived out there and once a year they put on this celebration of homegrown music in Spenard’s oldest social venue, a Nissan hut once named “The Garden of Eatin” aaahhh ! 12 bands between 9pm and 1am, every one got a 20 minute bite at the apple and we L-O-V-E-D it! We played 3 songs The Game, The Northern Line and Silvertown. We were seconds into the Northern Line and the whole room was clapping along, I felt so elated to be received like that, not one person in that room had ever heard that song before and there they were clapping along. It was every thing I had hoped it would be and more. Jim pitched in as drummer for Duke Russell and I joined in with some backing vox which was a real treat, and I’d also like to mention Tom Arthur, Jacob Carpenter, Rick and Blake Kinsey and ATF who all rocked the joint in their individual ways.

Though we’d had many impromptu sessions and open mic’s in-between, our last gig was at the Taproot Café, Anchorage on the night before we left. We played from 8 – 11 to a room filled with familiar and friendly faces. I was treated to smiles and singing along all night, it is the most lovely thing when people pick up on lyrics and join in. I was totally moved by the reception. It was super to see old friends show up and support us and I was very impressed by the number of people who had taken a chance on us and were open heartedly enthusiastic about what they were hearing.

We met many, many fantastic people while we were out there but these are the ones that made it possible…Laura, Duke, Dan, Tony, Rebecca, Andrew, & Mike, THANK YOU! And we are left feeling like the luckiest band in the world, I’m itching to get up to IPO Liverpool and I’d sell my liver to get back to Anchorage … any takers? It’s been well worn in… X

What a Weekend!

Last weekend was without a doubt the best Easter weekend I’ve ever had. Was it the quantity of chocolate eggs? – No. the quality? – No (though thank you Heggy – green and blacks – yum!) Let me tell you it was the gigs, the glorious gigs, all three of them lined up in a delicious melodious row.

It all started with Bar Sonic, our most local of venues and a definite favorite of ours, just down the road, with the luxury of Ron driving, nice! We had the whole evening to ourselves so I had the opportunity to try out some new songs. It’s been a little while since I played alone with an acoustic, and it’s been quite a while since I tested out some new material so nerves on the outside I got up and proceeded to get down. Three new tracks, “Little Victories” “Lucky” and “Stranger in You”. There’s something about a new song, you can’t tell if it works until you’ve gigged it, so I was really pleased when all three got a foot stomping cheer from the crowd. And there was a crowd, the place was nicely loaded with friendly faces all giving me the big thumbs up, hurrah!

Jim and Bob joined me onstage and we whipped through the remains of the first set with joyful energy and control. The bar was filling up by the minute; known and unknown were poking their heads round the door and sidling up to the bar. All was storming until it got to “Nobody Else” when I had some nasty semi-tone anomaly and couldn’t get it together, so we finished on “Mr Rat” and I spent the break having a quick gasper and working out what the bleedin’ problem was with my tuning.

Sorted out we dived into the second set. I’d turned the amp up a bit and was feeling absolutely swept off my feet by the sound of the band, that’s an amazing feeling, the audio equivalent of riding a huge wave. The place was already full to bursting, girls were dancing, bar staff grooving and by the time we got to the last song, nobody had had enough, so we encored with “Excuse Me” and still there were cries for more so in good circular fashion I ended with “Stranger in You” on acoustic with Jim on BV’s. Sigh, loveleeee!

A special mench for Richard from Folkstone, Dave from Essex, Bob and dear Katy, Ron and Hazel and all who showed up – what a night.

After forgetting our guitars down at the venue and getting Ron to whiz me back there to pick them up, and a long and lovely wind down in good company Jim and I faced the next day feeling a little the worse for wear. Still when the nasty bright sun dipped below the horizon we ventured out for a gentle nights acoustic music at Oliviers in Greenwich. I really liked this, after being so high and rowdy it was sweet contrast to play some of the gentlest songs in our repertoire.
Don’t make Me Wait
Someone Else’s Garden
Alright
Morning Morgantown
Nobody Else

Monday night we were down in Brick Lane for the Scary Gotcha Club at the Vibe Bar. This was an acoustic gig so no Bob, but Jim and I were stoked to be back there. The more we’ve played that venue the more we like it, it was full of boisterous boozers but once we got playing there were enough people dancing and rowdy applause to know that we were making an impact. We played the traditional 40 mins but after we got offstage pretty much everybody was saying “Why did you stop?” even Jim actually. Then a posse from Stansted arrived, followed by friends from Bow and their friends from Brazil. They had missed us so we HAD to play some more. The PA had been packed up so we all sat outside and Jim and I played unamplified until our fingers froze. There are a couple of clips on Youtube

Try these links, the sound could be better but you’ll get the idea…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Y0L4WQWUM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilp2yL_br5Q&feature=related


Thanks everyone who played a part.

Love and luck

Isobelx

St Annes Castle

So we had the car written off, the night of the Mother 333 gig, did I tell you about that? Just hours before sound check a big grey van rear-ended us, we had to cancel the gig as we were strapped to back boards and head braces in Lewisham Hospital. It’s not important, the point is we played out in Essex on the 13th March and our friend Ron lent us his car, without which this remarkable evening would not have been possible.

Just a bit south of Chelmsford, in classic old Essex country St Annes Castle is a very old pub and a very friendly pub. The combination of a pre-tudor building with an indie edge was totally compelling. Have you ever walked into a place and just felt euphoric? It felt like each person who’d had a good time there had left just a trace of that pleasure with the building, and as the building is HUNDREDS of years old it is overflowing with good times.

We played an acoustic night normally hosted by Lizzie B, for this one night Lyz LeFay was hosting. We stepped up to the bar and made our orders, 2 pints of various bitters, the barman was sharp as an arrow, sample this bitter, try that bitter, I love it when that happens – I’m a bitter fan and I do appreciate an appreciator. Before Jim had had chance to get his wallet out our host Lyz was there with Dave buying our drinks, as they did ALL night. There’s a lot of detail here which I’m not going to go into, but believe me that night we experienced open hearted generosity all evening, and those locals blew us away.

The gig then… Andy McKay opened the night with some solid songwriting and impressive, experimental vocals. And then came us, a short set of 25 mins

Excuse Me
Emilie
Don’t Make Me Wait - At about this stage one of the chaps at the bar, took his hat off and started getting people to empty their wallets into it. This was totally unprompted, we hadn’t been introduced to this man, he’d just decided this was the right thing to do! This was a free night as far as we were concerned; we were doing it for music’s sake and for the kind invitation and here was a stranger making sure we went home financially better off (thank you Clive)
Nobody Else
Alright
And Silvertown - Dave Le Fay made a request for this, and my heart melted to see the two of them hugging each other throughout the song, Dave leaning on Lyz, Lyz leaning on Dave, arms so tightly wrapped you just know there’s something very right there.

And we were done, aaaahhhh.

Jim had to catch a flight out early the next day (a drum session in San Fransisco (you curious minds) so we had to go, though we couldn’t help but stay for half a pint and half of Strider’s Led Zep set. We did not want to leave, we were singing along. Lyz was due to play next and that is always beautiful, but we did have to bale. I got the chance to shake hands with Dave the landlord and driving force behind St Annes. And now I’d like to thank, Lyz & Dave, Andy on sound and anyone who’s ever had a good time at St Annes Castle X

22FINE!

Bruise broke the musical ice this January with a gig at newly kitted out 229, and let me tell you it was FINE! New PA, student union style prices at the bar, a tasty turn out from Bruise/ Heels fans, the very lovely and talented Fiona Bevin opening the show, that sort of thing – to be sought out, not avoided.

We loved the Heels set, the sheer joy of it, the dancing yoot and from my personal point of view the knee trembly bass sound. I can put this down to only one thing, the presence of Dave Cogan, probably the best sound man in the… no I don’t want to sound like an advert. Dave had come down from Cambridge and his regular duties as Hawkwind’s onstage sound king to twiddle our knobs, and very grateful we were too.

When it got to the Bruise set I really felt like I was floating on a sea of sound, Jim and Bob were a huge meaty presence in the monitors but somehow my guitar sat on top of it and better than that my voice cut through it all. It was the perfect balance, it’s not always like that…. Sometimes there’s so much ‘noize’ you can’t distinguish a single thing.

We’d written a set of old faves, opening with “Excuse Me” in a giant festival style soundscape and closing with “The Game” so with just a couple of exceptions we referenced the first album “B”. Though I couldn’t see much in the glare of the lights I did see a forest of wild flailing hair in the harder tunes, and when cooled it down for “Don’t Make Me Wait” I didn’t have to SEE anything I could FEEL the appreciation. Thanks so much to all you who said you were moved by that song. And while I’m thanking people, thank you Ian and Alison and posse, and thank you Mother Kelly for having so many musical children who habitually cut loose at Heels/Bruise do’s. Shaun, Tasha and Ed, it was an absolute pleasure X

World of Bohemia

Hey All, happy new year, I’ve come out the other side of it with not one single hang over, smug me …. No snow daaan saaf :(

For those of you who’ve been with us for a while, today (7th Jan) is the one year anniversary of Jim’s massive back opp. Yep this time last year Londons swingingest drum dandy was up to his eyeballs in morphine with half his spine in a peetry dish beside him. And if you’ve caught a gig in the last 12 months I think you’ll agree, the chap’s done great!

Niceties over with, I’ve been lax and lazy, 5 gig’s and not a single blog… so I’m going to do them all now, in one shot, fasten your seatbelts.

The British Oak (17th Nov) is basically our local, there are closer pubs to Bruise HQ but none cooler, last time I raised a glass in there Joolz Holland’s brother was rocking the house, Nice! We played all night, adding some heavy folk ballads to the repertoire specially for the land lord, and the locals loved it. Jim on electric and me playing his acoustic (thank you Mr Tealeaf! Grrrr – see Vibe Bar 15th Oct) and breaking out the Ukulele for the first time ever. Thanks to the Mish Mash lot who took many busses to get to this venue, and it was great to see Fiona and Chella grinning and grooving on table 2.

The Vibe Bar (3rd Dec) was a smash. Monday nights are not dull down there, apart from the bookish Brick lane loungers and the shouty shandy drinkers singing and dancing along I got offered £50 for the dress I was wearing. No deal.

11th December we were at The Railway in Stratford. I was really on edge for this one, last year on the 12th Dec at this very venue Jim started loosing the use of his legs and here we were, same place, almost the same day and I was waiting for the same thing. But NO, it did’nt happen. A tasty line up including Lizzy B (DJ and songwriter) thanks for the airplay Lizzie, Paul Steven Wood (Legion Seven) thanks for the request. Only 6 songs but received with massive warmth by all, particularly the Olympic Newt protection league, nice to meet you gents!

Back to Bar Sonic (15th Dec). I’m telling you this lower east side London hang is electric, Deptford houses some venues with personality plus and this is not the least among them. Bob the Bass had the flu, and YES the actual flu, the can’t get out of bed, mushroom soup’s too much work to swallow type affliction so there was no way he was playing. Jim and I did it White Stripes style, featuring my new amp, grrrowly, georgous valve assisted Laney, 12 inch speaker, made in Birmingham dontcha ya know. With that behind me and Jim spanking the skins we shook the foundations for an hour and a half of knee trembly, hip swinerly Pop. Punters and staff dancing, drinks all round sort of thing, and though it was’nt filled to the gills you lot were making enough noise to have me thinking we were down the road at the O2. Thank you.

And the last gig before Christmas was down the road at the Deptford Arms. I was blown away by this venue and this crowd, its a shabby sofa world of bohemia. Sophie and Dave opened the night with some sublime acoustic janglings, then we were up. Bob was better so we were a 3 piece again, and I bloody loved it. The new amp, the mended bass player, the voice of God (or was that Simon?) ordering a t-shirt. I’ve had a look for the set list but I can’t find it, however I’m almost certain it went like this…

The Game
Coldburn
Girls Best Friend
Turn me Over
The Northern Line
I don’t Like You
Masses and masses of cheering and shouts of encore, so Jim and I did an accapella version of “Little Town of Bethlehem” tee hee, and the sooty eyed hedonists turned their backs in…. no they didn’t. Jim was suitably adored by some ladies and Sophie and Lucy started a fan club for my trousers. Result!

There’s a gig on the 25th of Jan, new venue middle of London sort of thing (See listings bruisemusic.com or myspace.com/bruiseuk), it’s going to be blisteringly brilliant, make sure you’re there. Come On! X