Steve Berry saves the day

We always forget on tour how much we really rely on our drivers.

Steve Berry our lead Stage Truck driver is one of those amazing drivers who no matter what, will get our gear there as soon as he can. He and a second driver had to drive all the way from Brittany to Norwich this last gig. They only just made it at 5.30 p.m. The audience was already in, so we set up very very fast, but if Steve had not driven in the way he did then there would have been no show. The problem was that it was too far to do a back to back show, but we just thought we would do it anyway. It was close but, I think that almost made the show better!!

It was a great show, could have been the best so far. We started with two great support acts, one group from Cambodia called Master Kong Nay and Savy and then The Zawose Family from Tanzania.

Master Kong Nay and Savy play these huge guitars and sing Cambodian folk music. They are on tour now before and after WOMAD and very worth a closer look - and that's not just because its my project to bring them here. The Zawose Family brought the chilled out energy of the Cambodian's to a head as they danced and sang and played their big thumb pianos and drums.

Then we had our usual energy boost from Charlie Winston. Then we got to PG .. so if it had not rained it would have been a perfect gig. Loads of cool supports and then a great energy driven PG show.

We didn't really eat until after the show, it was just non stop all night. PG sang even louder and the band had lost the cobwebs of the last show and were suddenly back to our warm up standard.

Tony Levin say's that this is the best PG ever .. after listening to a lot of past shows over the years I would agree with him. Everybody gets along well and plays great. Rich and David work very well together now. Angie and Mel the same thing and they blend perfectly vocal wise .. OOOps I forgot how much we missed Mel this show. She had a family matter to sot out, but will be back in Monaco.

Angie's playing is fantastic and makes the band work so well. Tony and Ged are right on the money and PG is on fire right now. It seems like we have done exactly the right amount of shows to make WOMAD the best PG ever!

We are going to have some crazy guests and hope to bring the house down at WOMAD, so get there, or you'll miss an unforgettable show, Ii would say . I'm not being paid to say this, its my honest opinion.

Check http://www.cambodianlivingarts.co.uk/ for the Cambodian act I am helping, please try to come and see them.

http://www.zawose.com for a great night out next week at Cargo with some friends - Massive Attack's Daddy G, Zero 7's Sam and Henry and Ross Allen from Radio 1. A great DJ line up. Come and help us keep our Cambodian and Tanzanian acts on the road.

Next Monaco ...