by myself

Wednesday came, as did my good friend John who drove down from the Wigan area to collect and take me to The ROBIN at Bilston. He arrived bang on time and we arrived bang on time at Bilston. This set the tone for the rest of the trip and indeed we were always on time. This was partly due to top driving, a top end and last of the great Rovers that purrs like a pussy cat and a wonderful new satnav system. This thing makes short cuts on the fly and anticipates all traffic conditions. Shame it doesn’t have a guitar tuner and a metronome but there you go. I do love travelling around with no nasty organisational surprises or anything else rearing it’s head that detracts from what should be a buzz. What a joy!

The sound check was a delight and over in a few minutes. The spare guitar was tuned and the drinks bottles filled. The time rolled on and it was time for the opening act and what a surprise. Young Sam Draisey is a man to watch out for. It wouldn't surprise me if we see this youngster climb to a fairly lofty height among his singer song writer peers . Check him out. I'll say no more.

Time to play. The audience was lovely. Many people came to see what had replaced the electric roar and to touch base with this minstrel. Some were new to my music so it was especially interesting to get their feedback. It was good to see some old friends including Story John Edgar and some FDPFAFDW hosts including Steve White and Sue and the Peter Greening family.
The songs went by quickly and I was left buzzing. If the audience response was any thing to go by then I did ok. People were very complimentary afterwards and Paul Broome wrote a very kind review for Midland Rocks. http://www.midlandsrocks.co.uk/reviews/live-rock-reviews/gig-reviews/edgarbroughtonsamdraiseytherobin2bilstonwolverhampton-wednesday2ndnovember2011

I love chatting with folk afterwards and it is amazing what people remember from over the years and this is true at all my gigs. They don’t often expect me to remember the same things but some times I do. The ROBIN is always a good place to play. You always get top end sound engineers and the staff are always helpful and friendly.

The set list below is more or less what I played each night with some adjustments at times.

This England
Arabesque
All fall down
Speak down wires
Almost dancing
Cool dark room
Christmas Song
Red star
Soldiers of the light
My salvation
Green lights
There’s a hole in it
Six white horses
Arabesque 2
Evening over rooftops

at the priory - photo by dawn ogden

We drove north after the gig and next day the satnav took us faultlessly through the evening rush hour to THE PRIORY at Birkenhead in The Wirral. If you are ever in the area this is a special place to visit. The oldest part of the medieval priory was first begun in the 11th Century. It survived until the reformation when the monks were forced to leave. Over time it was pillaged and stone was removed for new buildings. Today it houses a small but delightful new space at the top of the chapel. It is a wonderfully elegant geometric structure of wood and glass that sits on top of the medieval walls. The acoustics are superb and again the audience was very warm and very enthusiastic.

The ROBIN at Bilston was the first gig and I was a little tense and wondering how it would be before we arrived there. By the time we got to The Priory I was well chilled and looking forward to every minute. I am playing four or five old songs and the rest are all new so it is pleasantly surprising to get such a good reaction from the new songs. The evening was kicked off by Garron Frith, another fellow acoustic guitarist and singer who ran through a set of songs that sounded like he lived in them. I especially liked his solo harmonica and voice blues rendition.

Last but not least a trip to the THE VERGE a small club that runs in a room on the top floor of The Cheshire Ring a pub in Hyde, Manchester. There is some thing instant and very appealing about the motley co-operative that runs this venue. With the full support of the landlord they have established a very intimate and attractive venue for local talent and artistes from all over. They present an amazingly diverse range of acts and do it with a lot of love and not much cash. They are obviously multi skilled but I can imagine they can and do call on many others who they think might help. It’s clear that they care deeply about their venue and it’s place in the local community. This is the way forward. These are the gigs that we should all support. With out them and their perseverance there would be nowhere to see the kind of acts they promote.

We had time to chat before the gig and I became even more impressed by the whole ethos of the place. Soon it was time to begin proceedings and Garron Frith opened up the show. I got to see more of him than I had on the previous gig. This was his local venue and so I imagine he would be glad to get on with it and into it. There is always a little pressure when you are playing to your home crowd. After the first song he had settled nicely into the mood and began to visibly relax into his songs. He has a good rapport with his audience and mine too. He went down very well. Nice one Garron! Looking forward to next time.

It was my turn now for the slight nervous fluttering in the belly. It is always a good sign before the show. The packed audience gave me a rousing welcome and stayed with me on the whole journey until the last song. What a lovely place and such lovely people!

I will gladly go back to do that all again. John and I had a ball. We were two big boys out to play. We were mostly professional and grown up but the rest of the time we were exchanging tall but true tales or falling about laughing.

Thank you to all who came to see my gigs and to those who pre-ordered my live album BY MYSELF. Thank you to Henry for booking the shows and special thanks to John Bradshaw who drove and looked after me so well on the road. The job’s yours mate. Special thanks to Val Bradshaw for the late suppers and late breakfasts and for all the fun filled hospitality. Here’s to the next time.

By Myself is a compilation of the best of the 2011 live shows plus bonus tracks.  To pre-order the live album email edgar.broughton1@btinternet.com  The album will be delivered to you before the end of november 2011 if you pre-order now.

For more info

peace