rick n' roll

last night saw the first gig of the year for the rick jensen trio as we trundled into southampton. playing outside london somehow always seems more rewarding - you certainly get to see places you're unlikely (or possibly unwilling) to see otherwise. some you may never wish to see again. however, the hobbit in southampton is one place i would like to see again. we shared the bill with four other acts, all of whom were interesting and on occasion, fab. the trio has evolved into quite an unpredictable beast; it's often been the case that we've finished playing something and all been quite surprised by it. this is a good thing. last night (thanks to electric bass, loud p.a. and a full kit) we were in power trio mode and found we were quite good at it. i'd decided to tune in fifths (with the two lowest strings a semitone apart) to shake myself up a bit, and it worked. mr paul may was in fine form, both behind the kit and at the pool table. i have no pictorial record of the former, but here's one of the latter. i think this was the first of the tournament, which paul won 5 or maybe 6-0. rick was good on stage though....