Another night out!

You know how you can wait forever without a bus and then three come along at once? Well, my theory is that opportunities for a night out are the same.

Last Friday I was in Nottingham at a book launch then a Skinny Lister gig; on Tuesday I went over to Eastwood to a pub gig organised by Roots Acoustic Evening; on this Friday, I might head into Nottingham for another book event (Australian YA fantasy author Garth Nix); after a period of quiet nights in watching my Fargo box set it's been a hectic week!


Anyway, back to Tuesday night ...

Michael Upton

Roots Acoustic Evening is the brainchild of local music promoter Chris Barlow, and stages evenings of (yes, you've guessed) acoustic music in pubs in the Notts/Derbys area. We've already been to a couple of the venues, but this was our first time at Eastwood's Wellington Inn. 

The evening started with an open mic slot, which we didn't catch, followed by three 'booked' musicians. First of these was Michael Upton from Derby - we were later than expected arriving, had trouble parking the car (!) and missed the beginning of his set. I wish I'd caught more as I rather liked his sound, particularly his own songs (though I couldn't understand why he apologised for playing them. I, for one, would rather hear something original that yet another evening full of covers)

Isaac Walters

Next was another local guy, Isaac Walters, who was playing with a broken wrist! His set was again a mix of his own work and covers - including Britney Spears' Toxic, and Stereophonics' Dakota.

Joe McCorriston

Rounding off the evening was Joe McCorriston, heading back north to Morecambe on the last few days of his 'Halloween' tour. No covers this time, as Joe is soon to release his third album so has a fairly wide repertoire of his own to choose from. I've heard Joe play before - maybe as many as half a dozen times in the last year - so some of his songs were familiar, though as a professional musician he almost always has something new.

I had a great time, definitely more fun than sitting home watching tv, and I just think it's a slight pity that I can never persuade my friends to come out too!