Tonight is an important evening. Little Fish the duo are joined by a bass/keyboards player. My initial reaction on hearing this news is fairly agnostic. I don't think they lack anything as a duo, but what would I know; Linda Perry is hugely successful which suggests she does know. On the night I think the addition of a third person makes the band less distinctive. Some people are quite critical. My friend Spanna has only seen them once before and thinks them better than last time at the Hope & Anchor. His girlfreind who hasn't seen them before was expecting something 'more edgey'. In terms of world domination for Little Fish, Spanna may be a better judge, as he is off to Wembley on Saturday to see Elbow, whereas most of us doubters (to varying degrees)  would never dream of buying a ticket to see a band at Wembley (just to make it clear that I am prepared to go to Wembley if Little Fish invite me one day !).
Anyway when a band change it is easy just to compare today's set/sound with what one has been used to for 18 months (although it has obviously evolved during that time and new songs have been introduced). I think it is more sensible to take the 'new' Little Fish and judge them as a new band you'd just come across. I have a video of the gig so I shall listen to it and form a better judgement.
To me the real disappointment of the evening was that Juju hardly spoke. Her chatter has always been a vital part of a Little Fish gig and I hope that this was just for the evening as they tried to fit as much as possible into their timeslot. Also slightly odd was Nez keeping his jacket on all evening.
Afterwards Paul Weller arrives to see the headline band and he seems happy to pose with anyone who wants photos. I end up chatting to Paulie the manager of Rubella who I shall see tomorrow (I'm not sure he is really called Paulie, but Rubella call him that, and it makes it easier to distinguish him from the aforementioned Paul Weller). I think Paulie has come to see the same band as Paul Weller, but as we chat throughout that band I'm not really sure. Anyway we both forget to twitter the presence of Paul Weller.