A night at the annual Somerset House outdoor courtyard series really needs a warm dry evening to stimulate that feeling of relaxed revelry that allows you to make believe you’re somewhere on the Continent only a short scooter ride from home (although to be fair, that would limit the drinking). The majority of punters working in the centre don’t want to cart around protective clothing all day, and there isn’t long enough for a ‘to hell with it’ attitude to develop as might happen at a festival proper. Slightly dampened spirits all round then that struggled to get shaken off on Friday night. A couple of years ago I’d caught Elbow on form on a balmy evening in this attractive Georgian amphitheatre, and I had an interest in seeing how six months fame and touring had changed the young Welsh girl I’d met with a few tens of others at a Rough Trade East in-store event in December. Was this to be a gathering point for Welsh ex-pats like myself? Who knows, but as my work colleagues had been reminding me all day, Duffy’s appearance may or may not have had any correlation with the arrest of a man for ’sheep worrying’ in the outskirts of London. The late addition of personal favourite Duke Special as Duffy’s support act was a big bonus. Continue Reading

On walking through the doors of lovely old Bush Hall, there was immediately a decision to be made. For there in the middle of the audience space, barely raised a couple of feet above the floor, were a grand piano and three microphones. On the real stage were a battered old upright piano and a few other mics. In this cosy venue there was barely fifteen metres between the two set-ups, so I opted for a corner of the main stage, which could also be used as a handy seat for a good view backwards when necessary. Others choose to sit around the grand piano, as if waiting for a camp fire sing-a-long. Little did I know that would be exactly the feel of one part of what would happen this memorable evening. Continue Reading