As mentioned before I've been following the antics of bassist Steve Lawson and enjoying his music. When I heard that he was playing at a convenient bar in central London I was eager to get to the gig. He even offered free or reduced entry to those who contacted him beforehand. Darbucka is not far from Kings Cross Station, which suits me nicely. When I arrived Steve greeted me by name, having recognised me from my on-line avatars. He was setting up, along with drummer Roy Dodds. I noticed that the drum kit included a Hang. I'd not had a close look at one before and he was nice enough to let me have a play with it.
I got myself a beer and some food then settled into an armchair to await the music. I soon got chatting with Wulf and Jane who introduced me to a few other people. It seemed that half the audience were bass players. Steve opened the evening with a new piece, but had some issues with his Looperlative cutting out. I think he may just have hit the wrong switch. Next up was ukulele player Lloyd Davis. He did some good versions of some classic old songs. He was followed by Steve and his new wife Lobelia. She's a stunning singer and Steve works magic with his bass and loops. They performed some originals and covers. Their Love is a Battlefield can be heard and seen here. The originals were great too and I bought their live CD. Finally, for me, was Miriam Jones. Another stunning voice, she sang some nice folk-tinged songs. The final set was Steve's trio, but I had to leave in order to catch a train home. A shame, but I had still enjoyed a great evening of music. I didn't get to hear the Hang in action.
There are some pictures on the last.fm event page. I'm amazed how well they turned out as it was very dimly lit in there.
There were a lot of Twitter users at the gig and they have been Tweeting madly about it. I have already connected with several of them. It means more when you have actually met the people. Unfortunately Twitter is being abused by a few people. They seem to follow thousands of people in the hope that some will follow them and see whatever spam they are posting. In some cases they just seem to be on an ego trip of collecting names. I tend to block these people as I can see no purpose in them following me.