King Of Cards

Yeah, baby!!! Tom McRae TWICE in the space of 2 weeks! First up was Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth, as Tom took to the stage with only a pianist and cellist (Ollie and Olly) backing him up. This stripped down arrangement of the songs was absolutely mind-blowing, with Tom singing his heart out. I even managed to hoodwink the 2 Ollies into signing my album after the show, as well as purchasing a swanky new t-shirt.

Next, a little over a week later, London here we come for the final date on the tour. The same 3-piece set-up, a slightly bigger venue but we were closer this time. However, by now Tom had almost lost his voice and was struggling for the first few songs, before ascending into awesome form with ease. At one point, and this was the highlight of my entire gig life, he asked the sound engineers to turn all mics/amps/pick-ups off and belted out an incredible version of 'Bloodless' like he was busking. Mr McRae, I salute you!

Special mention should also go to his support act, Steve Reynolds, who is probably one of the best musicians/songwriters you've probably never heard of. He was there on both dates, but in London he played having just broken his collarbone. You could tell the guy was in immense pain but delivered a set to be reckoned with... especially after Miche kept drunkenly shouting at him and he decided to sing the rest of his set to her!

And yes, I'm excited about the new Harry Potter film!