Still a little Jaded

I have to admit that I am still feeling very tired for the weekends exploits and the events of the week. On 3 occasions I promised myself a relaxing bath followed by a good nights sleep, but each time I was distracted by other things and so now I am really suffering.

A collegue of mine said that after you hit 35, recovery time doubles! It certainly feels like it at the minute

Louise has her final Wedding Dress fitting tomorrow, everything is getting so close now. Still a lot of things to organise but I think we have the bare bones all sorted out. Becasue we are both British Citizens, livingin Belgium and getting married in France, the paperwork is mounting up and up! Belgium is a burocratic country to start with ... we seem to be adding to our woes wanting to do this in France.

Nick Worrall has posted the photos today so by Wednesday we should have some photo to check out. A relaxing weekend ahead followed by 2 days working in London. Only 3 gigs in April which to be honest I am pleased about especially as we will be in France for 6 days for the final Wedding preparations. However, I think a couple of other gigs will come out of the woodwork.

This will give me some time to work on some new songs ..... I hate repeating myself all the time and try and do at least 5 new songs per month. This months suggestions are "Pina Colada Song" an ABBA Cover, a Fleetwood Mac cover Losing My Religion (Izz normally sings this but I reckon I could also add it to the set) "Just the 2 of us" and I was thinking of Gerry Rafferty "If you get I wrong you get it right next time" .... good one for the wedding!

Have a good weekend you all.

Oh Yes .... It is that Good

Oh Yes .... It is that Good

I have finally managed to get a copy of Morph The Cat. Nick Worrall bought an IPOD rip copy this weekend for me to "taste" but I bought the proper copy on Monday. and oh yes, it is good. As my fellow Steely Dan fan man said on his blog, good albums always take a lot of listening .... Jeff Buckley is an excellent example .... drove all the way to Brugge last night (not just to listen to the CD you understand, I was gigging there) and it indeed gets better and better. This morning I went the long way to work so that I could continue to read the lyrics while listening to it.




For those who have it ..... I am curious to know if Keith is playing on Track 4. He is not mentioned on the musicians list, but the drums playing is incredible .... surely it can't be a machine!!!! The ghosting is too good for it to be a machine .... please listen to those who are sad .....

A quick Hi to the lovely ladies from were at the gig last night who seemed to really enjoy it who enjoyed themselves last night ..... hope they manage to put a nice entry.

Photos from the Stag nights are on their way apparently .... aren't they Nick!!!

6 out of 56

This was the final result of number of hours slept over number of hours of my Stag night.

Pictures will be following shortly

All I want to say at this point is that it was the most enjoyable Stag nights I have ever had the pleasure to witness or be part of.

I am still very, very tired!! In work today ..... just

Special thanks to James "Lizard Breeder" Ledger for organising.

Highlight was singing "With a little help from my Friends" with 15 plus people on the smallest stage in Brussels

There are probably more ...... but memory loss prevents me from remembering.

Thanks to all those who attended at the different times and places. You all know how you are

More meaningful and forthright blog will follow soon .... good Night!

A Sick Blogger

This Blogger is not a well blogger. I have Strep Throat. Not the best thing to have when you have 3 consecutive gigs coming up. Also had 2nd trip to the Dentist yesterday as well as a visit to the doctor to get throat sprays, antibiotics, throat gargling stuff etc etc etc.

One good thing though ... it means I can listen to the final days play of the India v England 3rd Test! Excellent!

For those who can ..... Le Chat Pitre on Thursday Night with "The Andrew Mavin Ensemble", Friday night at Fat Boys Sports Bar, Saturday night at Bizon. Special prize for those who attend all 3 gigs!!!!

Pure Mastery

I am of course taking about a 60 year old Grandfather playing live in Amsterdam last night. A pot belly hidden by ablack Fender strat, wisps of gray hair floating under a sea of colours, right shoulder lifting with each beautifully played bendin note, a glass like voice breaking above the beautifully voiced chords underneath, a rendition of his new album which supassed even my expectations, a second set of covers from one of the greatest (and I dont use this word lightly) rock bands of all time.



Yes, I enjoyed it .... I loved it .... it was masterful .... a lesson to ANY musician of how to play to a spellbound audience. No egos ... no pre recording .... no click tracks ... just pure enjoyment by both the musicians and the fans. The clarity of the sound was unbeliveable. I have only been to one concert there before (The Heineken Hall), and that was the Symphonic Yes tour. that was good but last night you heard every fret buzz, string buzz, plectrum placement and every word. My only complaint was the usual one of not hearing the cymbals enough ..... (I know I know) and Dave (as he allows me to call him) was sometimes a little too prodominant in the mix. .... oh and one other thing .... Rick Wright was Shite ..... Dave's Guitar strap broke mid way through a song .... but the band covered it superbly, he made a joke of it as well which was just so cooly done.



He played the whole of his new CD with an order change which I think helped, then Second set was Shine on (with a lovely acoutis section in the middle) a couple of old songs including Syds Domino (Nick, please remind me the second song again), Wearing the inside out (that was rubesh), Breathe / Time / Breathe Reprise, High Hopes (Beautiful), Echoes. This was absolutely the highlight of the show, I had forgotten what a great song this was. Encore were the standard Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb .... sheer bliss.

What a night!

Can't say anything else really except make sure you get the DVD when it comes out ....... and you know what? the gig cost £35 ...... Sting costs about twice this as does U2 Madonna etc etc ..... even "The Boss" was around £90 ..... no way could they even come close to the standard of performance last night.

I was very brave

I was indeed very brave last night as I paid my once every 5 year visit to the dentist. I hate the dentist .... almost as much as flying ... in fact my worst nightmare is having dental treatment on a plane while listening to Country and Western music.

Anyway, he was very nice, he didnt hurt me nor did he patronise me. I have on missing crown (Nutalls chewing nuts got rid of that one) one cracked Molar (that was a black olive pip), a large cavity in right number 4 (don't know how that one happened) and a repair is needed to my front crown. So it is gonna be a streeful month to get all that fixed.

I am not in any pain (touch wood) so we'll see how it goes. He has fish in surgery .... ironic really as they dont have any teeth .... but I did worry when first arriving as there was sounds of a large dog barking as I took my seat. That really didn't help to calm the situation.

I am really,, really, really looking forward to the weekend as I will be going to Amsterdam to see David Gilmour play live. Having seen the set list he is doing I am now erven more excited. I am going with a friend of mine who is an absolute Floyd Freak. He was out bid for a Live8 ticket on £1000. He loves them, despite only scoring 8 / 16 in the Mastermind Specialist subject round (I got 12).

Still no MORPH THE CAT .... I am hating the fact that Jason T (not Jason C) is probably listening to it now ...... AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

This Weekend

I had to be in London for work on Thursday and Friday so I decided to take the opportunity to go and visit friends I haven't seen for (we worked out) about 4 years. They now have a lovely young girl called Isobel who is now 18 months old and obviously I have not met her before .... nor she me! It was great to see them again after such a long time especially in their beautiful house. (currently for sale if anyone out there is interested). They also have a dog called Bob, who is mad but fun. These are not his real eyes by the way ..... they make him wear contacts to scare the neighbours.




It is a shame they won't be at the Wedding but I think Iz would be such a handful to take with them, they have made the right decision. They have promised though to come over to Brussels soon ... and I cant wait.

Other than that it was a quiet weekend which involved a lovely drive through Fen country and a visit to the Souths answer to the Norths Metro Centre. It is called "Blue Water" or Blue Warta" as they say daan Souf. Huge but would fit 4 times into Metro Centre. did have a John Lewis though where Lou pretty much spend most of the day! Almost crashed the car while thumping the steering wheel while travelling at 85mph down the M20 listening to the incompetance of England Rugby Team. I was pleased to have missed it by all accounts. I am still too angry to comment effectively about this match.

Morph The Cat HAS NOT YET ARRIVED so I am also very upset about that especially as my "Dan Man" has had his since Saturday. ..... BOO HOO!!!!

I did however manage to get lots of nice Floyd Live downloads from Jeremy while in London. Yeah!!!

Last Night

Just a couple of photos from the gig last night. Great place to play, nice audience except for some annoying young girl who request I turned down because she had a headache and couldn't talk to here friend .... GET A LIFE GIRL .... or go to a bar where there is no music. She stayed to the end though so ... good on her!

Isabelle did a small set which went down well and the guest guitarist is Steve 'The Bull' Bullock, who is from a small town called South Shields in England.

Forgot ......

A visitor to the Bizon last night ask for my gigs in Brussels this month ..... So here you ALL go!

1-Mar café Grand Prix
4-Mar The Level Bar
6-Mar Bizon
9-Mar La Porte Noire
23-Mar Le Chat Pitre
24-Mar Fat Boys
25-Mar Bizon
28-Mar Celtic Ireland, Brugge

It Has Begun

It’s the beginning of a very busy period I have been looking forward to and also dreading! My new role at work means that I will be travelling a lot more as well as generally being a lot busier than I have been in the past. This is combined with a lot of Gigs this month in Brussels, Brugge and London. Also, my 48 hour Stag Weekend happens at the end of the month. Secretly, I am sure I am going to love it, but at my age, I like my sleep! It will also be hard on Lou because a lot of nights I won’t be getting in until past bedtime.

Attended a 1930’s theme/birthday party of a friend of mine. It was a good night, Played with Bai and Thierry in a little Jazzy trio. Mainly played a lot of his music a swing sort of style. I was accompanied by 3 beautifully dressed young and lovely ladies (pic enclosed). As you can gather, I really enjoyed it!

Last night was the Bizon Jam night www.cafebizon.com It was a really good night with some great playing from all the guests. I hope some of them might make a comment or three!

Still no photos from Wednesday night. So for those waiting anxiously to see them ….; will have to anxiously wait some more!

Photos .....

... not arrived yet sorry!

Today is Friday ... which can only mean one thing ..... Thai for Lunch! There is an abundance of bistros, restaurants etc all around work and all of which compete for lunchtime business. This means good food and very reasonable prices. We have multiple Italian, Chinese, Thai, Greek, Mediterranean buffet, French, Belgium places to eat, but Friday is Thaiday! A superb 2 course meal for €8 with 4 different choices on each course. (stop drooling Andy!)

But also Fridays are usually busy here at Work so must dash. As soon as the photos are here I will post accordingly. Bai, myself and his bass player are playing at a 30th birthday party for my good friend Nico. I will be playing drums ..... hmmmm .... long time since some of you have heard that! Other than that a good friend of Louises is over this weekend, rehearsals for next week with Izzy and of course one eye on the test match.

Short ... but temporary

Short post, mainly due to some photos from last night arriving in my INBOX soon! Went well, deceided against instrumentals due to the fact I totally forgot the retuning I had to do .... rather embarrasing moment when you announce a song, then do something completely different. Ah well.

The Fountain

After reading Rebecca's Blog about doodling, I confessed to not doodling while on the phone. I watch the men renovating the Fountain outside my work. For 4 months we (my team) have watched them work and now it is almost close to completion. It is amazing to watch 'physical work' rather than the work I have been used to in my life (teaching, playing and IT). They dug up a huge hole in the ground (8M by 8M ... we know this cos we measured it one lunchtime) built an underground control room for the pump, filter pipework etc). Filled in and re-landscaped the ground, and now they are almost ready to finish the work. Puts what I usually do to shame really .... I generally tell people at work what to do, and they do it! Odd really. It's not an amaryllis but .... I'll post updates accordingly! The silver balls are next!

Decided what to do tonight! Add 2 instrumental numbers!