Duncan has just advised me of a new blues venue in Charlotte Street,London W1 - check out this link and see who’s on in the coming months - maybe one for Aynsley and Alan to check out too…........  http://tinyurl.com/kjoxzy

[edit by Rach to shorted URL]

Interesting,

worth checking out and I agree Eldo it is one ffor Aynsley and Alan to check out.

BB

I agree BB, looks like a great new venue. Maybe its worth a look for Alan and Aynsley, or should we be looking bigger now?

Paul

I’m not sure bigger venues are required yet - I think he got about 220 for the Dingwalls gig, which I think holds about 400-500 and that was with a lot of Bonamassa fans in attendence. Without a hit single or something, it’s difficult to see where the extra fans will come from. I know he got good reviews for the Skynyrd support slots, but you really need to be selling out the smaller venues before you go to the larger ones, which often hold 1000-2000 or so. It’s a big jump. Different if you’re a new band like Chickenfoot with an established fan base of Van Halen and Joe Satriani fans….....I wonder what the crowds were like in Ireland for the solo gigs????

Good point Eldo, it would be intersting to know what kind of support the Ireland gigs had.

Yes it does look a good venue, with some great artists coming up, Otis Taylor, Matt Schofield, John Mayall, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Ash Grunwald plus less known artists such as Simon McBride, Bex Marshall and Marcus Bonfanti. A pretty diverse set of blues artists too, but they are blues artists. If the money’s good then I’m all for Aynsley playing there, but we did recently discuss how we thought Aynsley might benefit from playing in non blues venues given that his music has a potential wider appeal.

Yes - not to mention Chix wiv Pix - re Aynsley playing different venues, we discuss many things here, but what do the management think???? Looks like the regular venues for the November tour…...

I popped into this bar last night - nice little venue - long narrow bar with the stage at the far end - also an upstairs bar with balcony view - Aynsley’s mate Matt Schofield is playing there next saturday, 18th July - well worth checking out if you fancy seeing a quality blues guitarist and you are within the London area (BB??)

Jay Tamkin will be playing at this venue on 31st July

Here’s what I thought of CSB after seeing Jay Tamkin last Friday.

http://www.charlottestblues.com/

CSB is a 5 minute walk from London’s Oxford Street and is at the northern end of a mixture of pubs, clubs and restaurants in Charlotte Street, W1.

The venue has been recently refurbished and on the ground floor has a small dining area at the front, a bar in the middle and a small stage at the rear. Seating is at small pub type tables and chairs and all along one wall are old fashioned car bench seats from some good quality vehicles.

Wide stairs lead from near the front of the stage up to an upstairs lounge area with a great view of the stage and another bar and cosy room with some erotic art on the walls. The seating in the lounge area overlooking the stage includes some comfy wicker (Lloyd Loom type) armchairs and small tables. The mixing desk is adjacent to this area but the sound, as is often the case from vantage points above the stage of many venues, does leave something to be desired. The vocals were a little indistinct for Jay Tamkin’s set on 31st July and it was very difficult to hear his intros and other comments between numbers. Downstairs in front of the stage the sound was much better and not too loud.

It appears that the majority of the “audience” were not there to see the artist, but were there purely for a drink, possibly before going on to a club for the night. Certainly most didn’t seem to be paying much attention to Jay and his band, which was very disappointing. Chatter from the bar also impinged on the music in the quieter moments.

Presumably in an attempt to keep the drinkers in the bar, the management wanted Jay to play 3 x 30 minutes sets over three hours, but fortunately this was rejected in favour of 2 x 45 minute sets. Be aware that management may try to impose this policy on other artists that you see at CSB.

The stage is pretty small and is fine for a trio, but I don’t know how a larger band would manage (John Mayall, presumably with his five piece band was due to play there earlier in the week). There’s a pic of the stage here: http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/clubs/charl … 60119.html
As you can see, it looks pretty crowded with a six piece.

A pint of Bud is a typical west end price of £3.20. I don’t know about other drinks or the price of food, but I think these may be available on the website.

All in all, CSB is a good addition to the London blues scene and I’m looking forward to many more visits. If you do go to CSB make sure you obtain a free membership card which will entitle you to reduced admission. Your e-mail address for their mailing list is all that’s required.

Phil

It’s a great venue to see bands like Aynsley or Matt Schofield - I would guess it can hold 200 or so, which for many artists is quite sufficient. It’s a problem for the venue when new artists, without much of a following, play to a small turnout, but let’s hope the good nights can offset the less profitable ones and the club keeps going. If you want to keep music live, you’ve got to support these venues!!!!