Music is the reason I moved to the UK, and a weekend like this simply
reinforces what a great decision I made. After years of going with my
head, and concentrating on building a career, I went with my heart,
and I couldn't be happier.

First up was a Thursday night gig with Cry Wolf at local premier music
pub The Globe in Brentford. Not much to add that hasn't already been
said about these boys, except that with a special guest for two
numbers, we had four Farmers on stage instead of the usual three!
Ricky was great, particularly with his vocals on Under The Bridge,
spine-tinglingly close to the original. All in all, it was a fun night
surrounded by a bunch of great people, and a unique trip home for
me...(;-p)!

And then there was Friday night. It was my first trip to Shepherds
Bush Empire, and I have to admit, though I got myself right down the
front pretty much as soon as I arrived, I spent a lot of the support
act's set gazing up at the architecture of the place - three tiers of
pretty, curved balconies above our heads, the high vaulted ceiling -
gorgeous. I had seen Otis Taylor supporting Gary before, but this time
he played solo. Not really my kind of music, being acoustic Delta
Blues style meanderings, but there's no doubting the guy's ability.

As the place got more and more crowded, any hopes for keeping a place
for Sue and Miranda, then in transit somewhere on the motorway towards
London, were dashed, but to my delight, I got a text message that they
were in at last, seconds before the lights dimmed and on came Gary!

Though still essentially the same set I saw in Reading, to my mind it
was a heavier, rockier rendition of the songs, and though still
steeped in the blues, the guitar solos are timeless - they could be
Gary in any era, from the prog rock-fusion of Colosseum II, to his 80s
rock god incarnation and on into the blues and the later cross-genre
material - no matter what, Gary Moore is Gary Moore, and that guitar
is an extension of his body, and it sings sweetly and eloquently indeed.

He brought tears to my eyes once again, as that music is soul-stirring
in the very purest sense - it's impossible not to be moved.

After I waded through the crush to get out afterwards, I finally
caught up with Sue and Miranda and had a belated, tasty dinner while
we nattered, before heading off home.

Then, last night, fanfare!, I drove to Carshalton for Raw Glory, whom
I had not seen for a while, though they'd played in Bracknell the
previous night and had gone down very well. And last night was a
stormer! The Windsor Castle has got to be my particular favourite on
the circuit - the locals are welcoming and friendly and absolutely
love their music. New entry to the set, "It's A Man's World," was
perfect for Johnny's voice, he was in fantastic form, Mick's solo was
possibly one of the best yet I've seen and heard, and Cosmo was
steaming on the Les Paul.

And, sacrilege though it might be, I have to say that their rendition
of the Thin Lizzy version of "Don't Believe A Word" was better than
Gary Moore's the previous night. Twice now that I've seen, Gary and
the band have rushed it, and the subtlety of the rhythm is lost at
high speed, when it starts to veer towards thrash metal, but Raw Glory
were spot on.

Oh, and an honorable mention for the bass drum head - it really did
look great!

A top evening, capping off another superb gigging weekend. In the
meantime, the 2008 calendar continues to fill, and I now have a
Megadeth date for February. :-)

Love,

Carol