It’s likely to have been a good while since the last what with work and the lead-up to Christmas, the merriments of seeing friends and family, and the post-New Year recovery and return to routine. For my first gig last year I flew up to Troon to partake in my one and only Glasvegas’ tour of Scotland. The night was a palaver to say the least. I missed my original fight, paid £60 for another and had to take my suitcase to the gig. James Allan and co were well worth the trip however as I enjoyed my first listen of the new songs and drummer Jonna Lofgren, finally seeing the boys in their home country.

My last gig was five weeks ago which comes as an unfathomable length of time in my world. I’m honestly not sure of the last time I went so long without hopping on a train to London, getting the tube to desired venue and filling my life with loud joy and hot bodies for three hours. I’ve missed this.

The first stop was to be a freebie in Rough Trade. When in Rome and all that. Pulled Apart by Horses, the only band to have played both Rough Trade and Bishops Stortford (I think) tore apart the record store and I mean that almost literally. The free gigs put on there are mostly stripped down, if not acoustic and it never occurred to me you might want to mosh there. The under-age had gathered in mass at the front and the crowd was the largest I’d seen. How I expected otherwise I do not know; the photographers gathered must certainly have attained some great shots as the singer sung the last few in the crowd with much help from the eager and awaiting fans. I left the Photography to the professionals but stood very jealous imagining the great shots they were getting. It was a fun gig and the band played for thirty-five minutes, a long time here, and while they might not be to everyone’s cup of tea you can’t deny they’re exciting.

XOYO’s a great little venue and definitely deserves the grand accolade of my favourite. Besides the added extra of being a short walk from Liverpool Street and therefore the cheapest option for me (no travelcards needed as a simple return on the main line train will suffice), it’s small size, low ceiling and lack of pit between you and the band means you’re right on top of the action. You get a fair view wherever you stand and the gig always feels intimate whether it’s one man and his guitar or straight-up rock. It doesn’t help I’ve got great attachments to this place after taking my best pictures to date of Kassidy in April last year and one of my favourite live bands A Place to Bury Strangers have played here. When bands low down on the festival bill or support acts I’ve liked announce dates I always hope it’s here and I bought tickets for last year’s festival faves Dry the River as soon as they went were released.

I noted the band times on a poster as I waited for Josh outside the venue and was very pleased to see young Rae Morris was first on. We missed a couple of her songs but she was playing my favourite as we walked in, ‘Oldest of the New’ the best from her set supporting Guillemots last November when I’d first heard her. When thinking of young and sweet solo females with a nice vocal your first thought, or mine at least, is sadly one soon to be snapped by Simon Cowell and the like to be moulded and produced into more of the same but young Rae Morris possesses the talent of (shock, horror) the ability to write songs and a charm some front men and women who’ve performed for decades should be jealous of. Working with the brilliant folk label Communion she’s sure have a bright future ahead and I hope when the record comes out they’re able to capture the magic of her voice and live performance.

The lack of gigs in recent weeks meant I hadn’t seen my gig buddy Josh in ages and tonight meant smiles all round as we gushed about Coachella and discussed excitement and plans in person for the first time. There’s still plenty to do but knowing we’ll be booking our flights in less than a week means I’m finding it hard to contain myself. The gap between bands was short tonight and next up were Clock Opera, a name I’ve seen around but hadn’t heard before. I guess they were an eclectic mix of Foals, Everything Everything and Arcade Fire with even more extra sounds thrown in, from keyboarded buttons to teapots. The random noises felt a little much at times but they were more not to my taste than not working. These guys weren’t bad and I wouldn’t mind seeing them again.

I was willing to draw a line under this gig having seen Dry the River a gazillion times already, but once you get hold of a band in their youth it’s hard to let go! Their September show at Scala is still the best I’ve seen from them but the finale of ‘Lion’s Den’ was at its best tonight - I say with no exaggeration it gets better every time. They build and build the tumultuous ending to their most ‘rock’ song adding extra layers each time. I don’t know my technical terms but they did something with the guitar this time that elevated the best part of their set to an even higher level, past the folk-rock and into a sound quintessentially ‘Dry the River’. Good luck to them, carry on like this and they’ll be making music really special.