13. The Kings Head Holmbury

Maybe there's a law or mathematical ratio which states that the least willing you feel about going out on a particular evening the better a time you're going to have.
If there were such a law, this night at The Kings Head in Holmbury would have gone some way in supporting it's validity.
About an hour and a half drive from West London and somewhere on a lattitude between Dorking and Guildford, The Kings Head is, as Mike the Landlord aptly puts it
"In the middle of nowhere and take a left"
Mike and his wife Jane are lovely. They bring to mind Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in 'The African Queen'.  Jane makes a great stew!
On arrival Mike shows me around.  There is no PA.  It is is a shock.  I had not been briefed.
I instantly see what I have to do, which is to engage the whole pub in listening to the music instead of talking and, when the moment comes, this is  what happens.
I start singing at nine, in the usual stage area.  I talk a lot about the songs, and anything else that comes to mind, in between the songs and keep asking if they can hear it, to keep their attention.  Being in the stage area though, creates too much separation between us, so after a break, around ten, I decide to simply sit at the bar.
At no time do I ask for quiet and there is talking in between songs but as I start another introduction on the guitar, the talking dies down and they are attentive again.  This creates a pleasant and relaxed rhythm to the evening.  I start to loosen up and the jokes start flying.
Performing unamplified is about as raw as it gets.  I perceive a special quality in the atmosphere.  I can feel everything very close.
Lots of these songs were written in emotional states, sometimes tears, and some of them, when fresh, I couldn't get through without breaking up.  After a time, though, the songs become set and I perform them with little emotion.   Here though in this atmosphere the emotion appears again but I have control.  There is something like a tap and, in this moment, I can add as much or as little as required.  It is an extraordinary experience.  During the songs I enjoy experimenting in this way.  I am also aware that all this is getting through to the audience.
After on particular song I say  "Singing without a microphone is like having sex without a condom".
They laugh so I say next "I feel okay about saying that to you because you know it"
Suddenly I realize I have come to the end of all the songs written on the sheet of paper.  This is somewhere I rarely get to.  It's also nearly midnight.  I get up to take my leave but they call for more.  After a quick smoke outside I come back and do 'Summerbreeze'.
It's been a wonderful night and everybody there comes and says so.
Definitely one of my favourite gigs and a good one to end the tour on.



Ps. there was to be another show, it is, however, rescheduled and I also happened strangely to have a streaming cold that night.

A Note of thanks to Rob Mc Gee who put this tour together and has been overseeing it every step of the way.
Interestingly,  Rob and I have never met in person or spoken on the phone, everything being communicated via email, fb message or text.
I must confess I do quite like the 'Charlie's Angels' vibe, though we will be meeting soon to discuss the next tour.



MA.