last gig for a while

Friday 13th March 2020
The Quarterhouse, Folkestone

We were just on the edge of "is this OK?" here in the UK back then (seems like an aeon ago). I had my doubts about the wisdom of going out, but it was Sarah's birthday, and it looks like we (me, Sarah, Megan and Dan) all got away with this excursion. A pretty thin audience, due to Coronavirus fears. Support from harpist India Blue, a Sussex-based enchantress in pixie ears and flowing clothes, in the same kind of world as Jennifer Bennett. Vula Viel were wonderful, I enjoyed dancing, unseen, like a fool at the top of the mostly-empty auditorium. Eventually Sarah and some more engaged audience members got up and danced at the front (Sarah got a surprise when joined by her lovely mum, a wonderful moment). Very impressed by Ruth Golla's militant bass playing!

I DJ'd a party at Olivia's party the night before. Last party for a while. Jimmy, a DJ I know, was there, keen to hear some disco, so I did my best, got the front room jumping for quite a while:

Since lockdown, I've been practicing my mixing skills at home, mixing a live one-hour dance party every evening ("Professor Appleblossom's Social Distancing Dance Mixes") and then assembling a more contemplative hour's mix of sounds for people who aren't in a dancing mood (this was Kim's suggestion, thanks Kim!). I'm calling the latter "The Cambry Prayer", a reference to Riddley Walker and an uncanny experience of being in the Crypt of the Cathedral just before lockdown, completely alone. I'm up to sixteen Dance Mixes and eleven Prayers, all streamable from Mixcloud here.