JuJu is playing an acoustic set tonight amongst 5 or 6 acts. My new policy of hassling artists to tell me what time they are really playing means I miss the first act, but still see some good performances. JuJu is amazing. (this is a specific comment about this gig, but may be true generally.) She does some new songs, some old songs and a couple of new songs which I have heard before. The crowd, like me are enthralled. I have never been to a gig before where the promoter comes on at the end with "no time for encores, 2 more bands to fit in" line, and the audience just refuse to accept it. They continued to demand an encore until they got one.For an encore JuJu offers a choice of 'Lets Party' or 'Hope I die before I get Old'. There are only 2 of us in the audience who have seen the latter performed before, so I have to shout out to insist it is played. Of her many outstanding songs, I think this one is particularly special; I would put it at the same level as Perfect Stranger. The crowd appreciate it. Another wonderful performance.

The 100 Club was the first venue where I saw a band in London, many years ago. I saw Siouxsie and the Banshees here, I think in early 1978. I don't know who the support act was because they hand finished by the queue reached the door. I didn't take photos in those days. Unlike many venues, the 100 Club is still esentially the same layout with the stage in the middle. The main band tonight are The Men They Couldn't Hang and its £15 to get in, so pretty much the only Little Fish fans here are those who will fit on their guest list. Non the less they go down well and sell all their cds. The lights are excellent (as they should be for £15 admission) and the photos are good.

Richard, who owns and runs the Drawing Room, saw Little Fish for the first time at the same gig as me. He was also taken with Reverse E who were also playing that night.
He has organised tonight to showcase his nominations for the Indy Awards (you have voted haven't you). His case/resturant is rather old and only has small rooms. In the summer he puts on bands outside. Tonight he just has a small corner, so there's no room for Reverse E, and only room for JuJu from Little Fish to do an acoustic set. He also has Tinlin who he has nominated. They too played that night at the Enterprise last May. Richard had gone to see them.

It is the most intimate of settings and a very appreciative audience. JuJu includes a couple of new songs, at least one with only a working title. She is such a performer, that even in this confined space and just an acoustic guitar she mesmirises rthe audience. It is almost a religious experience. And for a change from all the pictures of JuJu jumping, here is a picture of the audience in adoration.

It's no coincidence that two of my favourite bands are playing on the same bill here tonight. Little Fish are headlining and have invited Reverse E to make the trip to gig in Oxford. (well strictly I think they suggested it to Quickfix, the promoter).
It seems that every band I know is playing tonight. It is not very long ago that I was available most Fridays and Saturdays. Now it seems that across the board these bands have moved up a notch and get Friday and Saturday night gigs. Whilst it is nice to get the occasional night in , it's a bit peeving when everyone plays at once. There's even another gig, at the Crosskings,  with 2 bands I know upstairs, and one down. So the Wheatsheaf in Oxford, is one of the places to be tonight.

The lights are as unimpressive as normal (well they're always exactly the same), but the bands are good (also as normal). The Black Hats are 2nd support but I can't really cope with shooting more than 2 bands in one night, especially with a lot of gigs coming up.

This is a charity di in aid of worthy things in Africa. It's a bit pricey as it's aimed at media types and well off people from Notting Hill. There's not exactly a guestlist but I negotiate a random donation at the door. It's an early start, Little Fish are on before 7 on this Sunday evening.
Little Fish get a good reaction with people dancing out by the bar (reportedly). The lights are good and the crowd well behaved so I am able to get some different pictures.  During 'Whiplash'  I loose my concentration and miss a JuJu jump in the air for the first time since.....I can't remember at all. I suppose I have quite a few, including others from tonight. I'm particularly pleased to get some pictures of Nez with JuJu in the background rather than the other way around (which is much easier).
There are other bits and pieces afterwards which are quite entertaining. The evening finishes with the drawing of the raffle. I don't have any tickets. The Fishes have peach tickets; all the prizes go to green tickets, a few to blue. A good evening though and home early enough to do the photos before bed.

Tonight it's an Oxford gig in Bristol. Its a bit of a drive, but all motorway, so I set off early to avoid the Friday traffic (seem as it is in fact a Thursday, I do quite a good job of avoiding the Friday traffic).
Little Fish are supported by Family Machine, who I have seen several times, but not recently as they have been playing at the same times as Little Fish.
My early arrival gives me time to walk around Bristol a little (mailnly looking for a toilet). There are lots of new bars around the waterfront, all apparently without character or beer (although they all seem to have Sky sports playing to empty tables). I manage to find a proper pub and try a local beer, and listen to locals having a heated agreement about their local football team (not sure whether its Rovers or City).
The Louisiana puts on quite big bands. I am told that its a venue that bands on their first UK tour play, and that the White Stripes played here. I'm a bit surprised, its really quite small upstairs and they have a plush carpet. The lights are a bit odd but reasonably effective (as long as the band stand on the right. Its only 90 minutes home .

It's March; already; I've been to 36 gigs and a huge number of bands in the first 2 months of 2008. Little Fish are still special. Tonight its the Melting Pot at the Jericho. I'm not the only one who goes to virtually all their gigs (in Oxford anyway)  and I don't really pay too much attention to the support bands who probably deserve more. Little Fish have some problems with the monitors. We, in the audience, find the sound good,but JuJu can't hear herself and Nez complains of too much vocal in his monitor (anything more than nothing is too much). In retrospect the solution may be obvious. In the face of these apparent difficulties the band continue and offer a great set, but decline to offer the encore that the very good crowd clamour for. I even got a convienient parking space :-)

This is a nice venue with a BIG room at the back of a pub. I think it's bigger than the Barfly or the Rhythm Factory; and they have lights, lights which are allowed to light the band like a real venue.
Little Fish are relaxed after the rigors and tensions of last night. The crowd have a Friday night feel about them (it is Friday night) and many seem to have a couple of drinks. They are much more responsive than last night's London crowd. Well worth the trip to Oxford.

You will be relieved that I have done all my reminiscing about the Hope & Anchor on Monday. Tonight you will just get a quick summary of events.
Little Fish have told Industry people that they are on early (slight mix-up somewhere) so they have to play first although it is apparent that they are the main band of the evening. I guess industry people can't be expected to have a drink and wait if they turn up early.
After a slight rush to get there I arrive to find the last band of the night leaving. There has been some sort of contre temps not involving Little Fish, which apparently involved a punch being thrown and the last band of the evening being asked to leave. There are now some issues with whose drums will be used and a certain amount of milling around.

Tonight several friends have finnally given in to my pressure and come down to see the phenonemon that is Little Fish, for some living 5 minutes away is a decisive factor. The Hope & Anchor is pretty full, I don't think it is sold out, but a very decent crowd.

I had slight worries that this would be a dull accoustic night with only JuJu worth seeing. How wrong I was, Sneaky Pete had organised an interesting evening of variety and quality.Regular readers will be aware I'm not a big fan of people who just strum a few chords on an accoustic guitar. This is probably because I'm not a musician but a photographer, so I like to see people moving.
The upstairs room at the Port Mahon is already well populated when I arrive. People are neatly arranged around tables, but soon it becomes a real squeeze. The evening starts with a gentle performance from a woman who is joined by a man on a banjo. Its a bit close to my vision of accoustic...but after dozing through the first half (too many late nights) I warm to the sound by the end, and join the warm applause at the end.
Next up is Joe Allen who at first sight looks like a man with an accoustic guitar, accompanied by a girl on violin. Paul a fellow Little Fish Squid, has told me that they are exceptionally good, so I don't let appearences put me off. Indeed Joe does offer a strident and lively performance. Again the crowd are warm in their applause.