A Great Day out in Leytonstone and Walthamstow
It looks like we are going to have two gigs in one day in May 2012, so this outing was good practice for playing and moving on to a second venue! Paul and Trish from the Lost Horizons Folk Club had asked if we would be willing to play at a festival in Leytonstone on the 18th September. It turned out this was exactly the date that we had decided to go and visit the nearby Walthamstow Folk Club.
So, straight after Sunday Lunch, it was up and out on the M25 to Leytonstone for their Car Free Day Festival . When we got there, the town was buzzing - with a fun fair, a craft and hot food market and a rock band on at an inflatable marquee. Being car free, there was of course nowhere for us travellers from St Albans to..erm..park. So, we sneaked in the back of the Tesco’s car park and humped the kit through the crowds to the Luna Lounge where, downstairs, there was a cosy, dark, venue with some excellent music being played.
We got settled and got us some mineral waters (we are always abstemious before playing), and enjoyed a couple of singer-songwriter acts. Then a very familiar figure came through the door – Robb Johnson, whom we had supported at Lost Horizons last time we were there and who was top of the bill at Walthamstow that evening. Robb has huge support in the area and was doing the same as us, giving Trish and Paul some support, before moving on to the evening set at Walthamstow.
Naturally, since Robb needed to get away, he went on before us and gave a truly rousing half hour of his most boisterous numbers, and the place was jumping. He very kindly stayed on afterwards for a drink while Rob and I went on. The p.a. was excellent and the intimacy of the venue meant we really got into it. It was an ideal place for us to get some new footage for You Tube. Sadly, my little video recorder just couldn’t cope with the volume and, when I got to look at it, it was distorted beyond usability.
We waved to Robb on his way out and promised to see him shortly. We finished up after a good set, had a few words with Paul, Trish and the wonderful local songwriter Steve O’Donoghue who, it turned out, was also off to Walthamstow that evening. Half an hour later we were in Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub and bumping into Robb, Steve and others we had just said cheerio to.
This was our first trip to Walthamstow and a place we were excited to see. It was every bit as good and talented as we hoped. In an excellent upstairs theatre facility above a cavernous, lively, and well provisioned pub with a beer festival going on, there was a well manned p.a. system, a great house band including Russ who had managed the sound for us when last at Lost Horizons and who had also been at the Luna Lounge, and some really talented floor singers. Such was the demand for floor spots, most only got the chance to perform one song. Steve O’Donoghue did a wonderful new song of his. We were privileged, having travelled so far, to be given chance to do a couple in the second set.
Robb had attracted a full house and he performed a blistering set of his political songs. The crowd lapped them up and cheered Robb to the rafters. What a fun night! I even won the raffle – and took as my prize a copy of the new Coope Boyes and Simpson album – which I have just listened to and is fantastic. A few pints of real ale, with poor old Rob doing the driving, some excellent music, then winning the raffle – my lucky night really! Sadly, getting up for work at 6.00am the next morning wasn’t quite so much fun!