The Old Neptune, Whitstable
The Old Neptune, Whitstable, 11th January 2003:
On Saturday morning I surfaced with a severely throbbing brain after a particularly strange and drunken work do, but fortunately by the evening equilibrium was restored and I was ready to rock with I.J. and Friends! I.J. is the evil genius behind the John Doe Band, and the friends in question were various combinations of the John Doe Band and, er, me. Thus we had two sets from Ian and singer Laverne, and a solo set from The Drummer (erm… names…). No, not a Ginger Baker-esque half hour percussion frenzy, but SONGS rendered via the acoustical guitar, and fine stuff too. I also joined the John Doe Band on bass and guitar for a few songs before Ian (aka I.J.) brought the evening to a throbbing, thunderous orgasm with the show-stopping “Ultra Violently In Love With You” (all together now - “ultra violently in love with you, I’m gonna fill your every orifice with super glue”!).
As for my set, well I thrashed seven bells out of a black Telecaster (somehow, somewhere, I hope Joe Strummer was watching), ran through my usual nervous tics for an appreciative audience, and managed to avoid breaking any strings until the last chord of the last song — if only it was always thus!
- Making Plans For Nigel (XTC)
- Cocoon (Williams)
- Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash)
- The Medway Crab Fisherman (Williams)
- ES-40 (Williams)
- A Million Platitudes (Williams)
- Force Of Nature (Williams)
- The Look Of Love (ABC)
- Barking Up The Wrong Tree (Williams)