A warning to us all don't you know….
Elephant Shelf back at the Music Palace supporting Chris Farlowe
It’s been an interesting week for both the Shelf & the Deltas.
Elephant Shelf was supporting Chris Farlowe & the Norman Beaker Band, on Sunday the 5th. the evening also featured a short set by Jack Shay & Midnight 36 at the Music Palace 159a Tottenham Lane Crouch End London N8 9BT.
On the Friday we did a Delta Ladies guest appearance at Brooks Blues Bar with the Spike Drivers plus a cast of 1000’s of acoustic roots & blues people. Its the last night of the Brooks Blues at its present venue as its moving house to a new in Fulham for 2012.
Just got home through the snow from Reim
Just been for a few days away in Reim in France  with Vicky Martin & Terry McInerny from Elephant Shelf and Clive Rawlings from Blues Matters and his wife Barbara (who also worked tirelessly to translate for us and smooth our passage) to meet and also to do a guest spot with top French Blues Band Awek at a blues festival. We are bringing them to the UK in 2011 for a tour in late spring or early summer. Very enjoyable, though our journey home was rather difficult as we got hung up in the snow in the UK, but we made it in the end. We also called in at one of our favorite hostelry’s the Cats Back in Putney where you will be able to see the Delta Ladies this New Years Eve.
It's just another day
I had a really good night out listening to Albert Lee & Hogans Heroes at the Castle in NW11. It was a mind bending gig. I have of course seen Albert Lee on TV and youtube, so I knew it was going to be good and it was. Â It takes a lot to get me going but this gig was really great. Fantastic guitar playing, and a few surprises in the set list too, like ‘The world is waiting for the sunrise’, it couldn’t have been more varied and entertaining. Also the live sound is one of the best I have heard in any venue.
I was privileged to play there a week or so back with Elephant Shelf to a small but perfectly formed audience and prior to that I saw Georgie Fame, which was also a great gig. So thats the good stuff and it doesn’t get any better than that. Unfortunately the venue like many others is under pressure and is struggling to continue which is a great shame as its one of the really great places to listen to or play live music. Â If you do see a gig advertised there its well worth the trip. They also offered me a job behind the bar 🙂 LOL. I don’t think I would be terribly good at it to be honest, (though there are a few people I know who’s personal fantasy is exactly that, bet lynch eat your heart out) and I might be tempted to drink the profits. They do Real Ales and good food to so that would have been OK.
Today has been mostly involved in working on some web stuff (which I find incredibly tedious these days to be honest) and  running through some stuff on the piano and violin and a bit of tidying up. I am also getting used to using a video camera after a gap of a few years as I intend to start including video as part of this blog too. The camera is a bit flaky at the moment but its starting to behave  so I might be able to start using it properly in a week or too with luck.
Winter draws on
Any Les Dawson fans out there? Well there’s a lot going on right now, and most of it is fairly positive for a change.
On a personal level things are a little bit more stable now, though there is still a lot to be done. I am amazed at the number of people that actually visit this blog and I wish I had some stunning insights that I could share with you all but unfortunately I don’t. It’s been fairly hectic on the gigs front with the Elephants Shelf & the Delta Ladies mostly out London which is good but I am suffering from a little bit of motorway fatigue as I have seen quite a bit of the M4 and the M25 in the last couple of months (mostly at about 03:00 in the morning).
It’s refreshing to find so many really good venues providing live music with really enthusiastic audiences, and we seem to have found quite a few lately.
Rupert Herries and Elephant Shelf at the Fisher Theatre Bungay OCT 3rd
 Rupert Herries and Elephant Shelf at the Fisher Theatre Bungay OCT 3rd::
  http://www.fishertheatre.org/programme/October.htm
‘Swinging Blues’ meets’ Gypsy Violin’ meets ‘English Eccentric’
 Two extraordinary acts meet for the first time in double bill at the Fisher Theatre for one night only.
Elephant Shelf performing songs from their new album ‘In trouble Again’ and Rupert Herries performing songs from his Show ‘Tales of Horror Mystery & Suspense’ which was recently performed in Halesworth & Woodbridge.