Virtually Acoustic @ Tinder Box

2001-11-26

The Tinderbox Coffee Shop
Upper Street
Islington

David had called this morning to ask if I'd fill in for Davide Sanna, who was supposed to be playing this evening, but had to remain in sardinia, and so I, of course, jumped at the opportunity.

It was really nice and relaxed, and I did another mammoth stint (about 18 songs altogether, most of which were recorded on Minidisk for me to torture myself with later). This time, old/disinterred songs include Circle/Line and It. According to the Minidisk, my pitching was drifting way off, but I think this was to do with lack of diaphragm support under the notes, laxness in the breathing. That is to say, not a natural incompetence, but one I can address. I can hear on notes that I pay especial attention to, how pitch-crapness tends not to happen (even quite difficult ones), so there's a whole area of meditation there on attention and the use of attention and all that. As always.

The more I play here, the more I enjoy it. It's just quite fun pulling odd songs out of the ether, and it seems less pressured in that way than a "proper" gig. hence the fact that I can resurrect all those old songs and play brand new ones, running ongs into each other without worrying about whether the audience are going to clap or not (they're too busy drinking coffee). Tinderbox provides a mixed economy - coffee, merchandise, internet terminals and occasional music, and although the bright lighting may not seem instantly tune-friendly, but does work quite well at the end of the day.

I forgot to bring my camera with me, hence not snaps. Sorry.