Three weeks, three very different gigs, three very different audiences.
One Tuesday morning in late November I finally delivered on a promise to bring my guitar down to the crèche that Robert and Declan attend, the Little Green House in Gland, to join in song-time. I had an enthusiastic audience, none more so than Robert, who took his place right next to me.
The set list was improvised on the spot, but included such classics as Old MacDonald Had A Farm, The Wheels On The Bus and Incy Wincy Spider (in both English and French). I tried to push things a bit with The Rattlin’ Bog, but it was probably a bit beyond them. Nothing a bit of Baa Baa Black Sheep couldn’t rescue.
On Friday 27 November I was thrilled to have a chance to perform some of my own songs in Le Box, a really nice venue in Carouge, just outside central Geneva. I was part of an acoustic showcase evening with a duo called Zepless at the top of the bill. I was one of two support acts.
It was such a pleasure to play to an audience that was there to listen to the music. There were 40-50 people in the room, candles on small tables and a small stage. The atmosphere was intimate and warm.
I did a 45 minute set, which was recorded by the sound engineer, Alan Fosman-Starkman. I think I sang pretty well on the night, even if my voice wasn’t in great shape. The guitar playing isn’t too bad, although I’m not anywhere near as fluid as I have been in the past when I was playing more often. I’ve made seven of the ten songs available on SoundCloud. I particularly like My Silver Son, with the audience singing along…that feels really amazing when it’s with a song you wrote yourself!
(Thanks to George Leitenberger for taking a few photos on the night, by the way, including those used above.)
And finally, it was back to the familiar surroundings of Mulligan’s of Geneva on Saturday 5 December, where David Graham joined me for our now (almost) traditional pre-Christmas Mulled gig. There was a great crowd in – even busier than in the above photo at times – and a really fun atmosphere all night.
We “only” played A Perfect Christmas three times on the night, with a smattering of other Christmas songs, along with a variety of acoustic covers: from Toto and the Bangles to Weezer and Wham, with lots more along the way.
The true star of the night was probably David’s new Christmas jumper. Having left his Rudolph jumper behind in Ireland I had to go out and get him a “flashy” new one. He’s never had so many people eager to feel – and hit – his body.