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