Paul Carerra writes for Nightshift and is a Little Fish squid. He has arranged this accoustic gig to support pump aid. It takes £250 to build an elephant pump and provide water to a village. He has gathered some fine artists who are friends of his, including Juju from Little Fish and Reverse E who are also friends of mine, Joe Allen who I've seen a couple of times and Brooks from Pennsylvania who is playing his first gig in England. It's a fine evening. Juju is leaving on holiday in the morning and is a little distracted. Her Patti Smith song which gets its first performance doesn't come out quite right. I suppose you might call it an off night, but even so she still blows away most bands.
Reverse E are going through something of a transition; tonight they are stripped back. It is a slightly odd as I am so familiar with their normal show, which features virtually a live performance of their cd. It is difficult to put myself in the shoes of someone seeing them for the first time. Overall I think their show more visual and makes their musicianship more visable. Playing computers (as they essentially do in their normal show) doesn't neccessarily require any ability to play all the instruments you hear. Seeing instruments played is more satisfying (especially for photographers).
The crowd is good and largely watch the bands from first to last with appreciative applause for each. £240 is collected from the door and somewhere another £10 is donated so that the evening pays for a pump for a village in Africa. An excellent evening all round. James on the sounddesk also deserves a mention for donating his time.

It may not be the best venue; it's in Hoxton so doesn't need to spend any money on basic things like lighting. The main  lighting comes from an emergency exit sign, there is additional lighting provided by the London Borough of Hackney, through the large uncurtained windows. As I have been here before I wasn't expecting to take serious photographs. Joana and the wolf seem to have played in a darker place each time I have seen them. It can't get much darker than the black hole of Hoxton.
It is a welcome relief to find two of my favourite bands playing together, in this case it's entirely random (as far as I know).
The sound is a bit loud and brash in what is essentially a room above a pub (although the pub seems to have been converted into something else). Always nice to hear some good bands, even if you can't see them.

Apparently China Whites is a club where WAGs go. Someone else told me that they don't go there anymore. I didn't recognise anyone anyway. I have discussed previously my inability to recognise celebrities so maybe there were some. Its a strange sort of gig. Four bands, starting around 9.30. The bands have a £5 guestlist (from what I can gather the normal price is £10.)
The man on the door wasn't bothered by my camera but said I couldn't use it downstairs (celebrities have to be protected). As I wasn't using flash no-one noticed anyway. The other bands were rather odd; Reverse E were the only normal band. The others were definitely for specialist tastes. The Reverse E gig went well and they got much more applause than those of on their £5 list could supply. I think they sold some cds too. A minute bottle (actually an aliuminium tin in the shape of a bottle) of beer costs £5 so no-one has much to drink.
A strange night, but the lights were good and the band played well with good sound.

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.

Some promoters actually make an effort to advertise a gig, most at least take the trouble to post details in some obscure corner of the internet. The promoter at this venue seems to hope that the bands he books will bring enough people. It may also have something to do with his lack of advance decision on the order the bands will play. Having arrived around 8 as I could find no mention of this gig anywhere in cyberspace (apart from Reverse E's myspace) I, like Reverse E (who turned up at 6.30 for a soundcheck) have to sit through an intermiable dirge of acoustic acts. Some of them are ok in isolation, but as a bill it is surely only for close friends and famillies of the artists. If the promoter had told Reverse E that he wasn't going to let them play until 11pm, I doubt they would have accepted the gig and wasted their evening. The lights were quite good, but I don't think I will be attending any more gigs promoted by 'Under the Westway', life is too short.

Reverse E are also nominated for the Indy awards, so if your tastes tend more to Electronica, then give them your vote. Its strange because they are in a different category (Electronica) they are not directly up against Little Fish (Rock), but you can only vote for one of them (approximately)

This gig seems a bit disorganised; I was hoping to pop up to the Dublin Castle to see the Hyenas after seeing Reverse E here. But it's too late by Reverse E finish and its nice to chat with Reverse E and their friends (it's nice to see the Hyenas too, but they seem to play much more frequently than Reverse E). The bands before and after ReverseE seem to be party bands. It makes for a very strange bill. I end up having several pints of Guiness and catching the last tube.

The lights are very odd, I think they are connected to a box that responds to sound; but they flicker I think the box must be broken or has been adjusted by someone who didn't read the instructions. I just keep pressing the shutter and hope for the best (same as normal really). I get about 10 pitch black photos followed by 1 good one and 1 almost ok one. Paradoxically the photos make it look like the lights were good! The sound seems good; Reverse E have so many leeds connecting up all their stuff that it's fairly common for them to have problems at gigs with dodgey leads, but here everything is fine. A very enjoyable gig and Reverse E's friends make good drinking companions.

Half an hour on the M40 and we are back at the Drawing Room in time to see Reverse E's show. At this point I remember that I haven't eaten since breakfast. I had the foresight to fill a baguette with ham and cheese sometime this morning. The perfect host, Richard from the drawing room offers me food but I've got my camera out now so too late to sit down - bagettes work well while photographing

Some dodgey lead or leads cause a bit of a delay but its a pleasant evening so no-one rushes off. Usual beautiful melodies and voices from Reverse E are well received.

The Oh Bar used to be a dire music venue with no stage, no lights and not really anywhere for an audience. What a relief to find it has been transformed. Its not a massive venue, and the lights could be brighter (not sure what the heavy gels are supposed to achieve), but overall its not a bad little place now.

Reverse E have also transformed (a little) with a more visual set. Keyboards never give as much opportunity for charging around the stage as that available to guitarists, but standing up to play seems more powerful. Elisa also strides around the stage when she is just doing vocals. I think the overall effect is to make their show more confident and compelling (as their music is already).

Last time I visited the Lark in the Park I had a memorable journey home, and the lights were awful. As I'm still feeling the effects of Sunday's night bus escapade, I am drawn to making the trip in the car. On a more altruistic note I did think the band might welcome a lift back as my journey takes me close to their base.

The weather is damp and many of the crowd seem to be dressed for winter; in fact some look as if they've just returned from Glastonbury (its a long walk from Glastonbury to islington).

On my previous visit the lights were very disappointing, since then it seems that either new bulbs have been bought or they have found someone who can operate the lights. Either way the Lark in the Park just shot up my venue league table.

Reverse E (who have changed their name from Reverse Engineering) are well recieved.

We speed off relatively early and I catch up on a little sleep, making the evening even more pleasant.

Not been here before. Nice venue. Lights a bit red. Reverse E play well. Their early slot means a rather disappointing crowd.

A few more people arrive for the experimental band following. They are notable for a drummer who plays keyboards and several other things. His pared down drum-kit consists of a bass drum with keyboard on top and single snare and tom tom either side. They also wear masks and wigs. Quite entertaining, but my comments about the experimental band in Oxford last night also apply here.

The headlining band seem rather less unusual. There is an influx of young women in summer dresses, drinking cocktails for this less-demanding act. Although they seem enthusiastic there is suprisingly little applause - it is difficult to clap whilst holding a cocktail.