A quick review by Socialtornado
Firstly The Halfway House. I was a bit dubious about this venue when I first saw it. It's a big pub in a residential area. We were booked on the back of several appearances at The Hollywood; Mark and Joannes previous pub (and one of my locals). There was never going to be hundreds of people in, but the place seems to be getting a regular crowd in for the live music.
There must have been 30 or 40 people in on Fri night and they were all very complimentary (despite a few sound problems). I think we pitched the set just right - start off with some rock n roll, hit the indie stuff while the young uns are still in and then finish them off with the anthems. We were offered a couple of new bookings from it, so it couldn't have been that bad!
And then on to The Millstone. We've been playing this venue for 7 years or so now. Saturday night was the busiest and most appreciative I've seen in there for a long, long time. The place wasn't rammed but it was busy, with the usual suspects disappearing at half time (off to The Bridgewater, Roxys or Marigolds). The dancefloor was packed for most of the first set, which (even by our standards!) is unusual for us. Again, I think we pitched the set just right for the crowd. The second half brought a few more people in and it was a solid set, but we never reached the dizzy heights of the first. It was good to see The Millstone busy again though.
In summary, two venues. One new, one established. Two great nights.
Thanks for listening
ST