Baptiste - Buffalo Bar, London, 1/6/2003

  by Olga Sladeckova

published: 11 / 6 / 2003

intro

Sunday evening is usually a tough evening for gigs but ex-Baptiste man Wayne Gooderham in his first solo performance still manages to make an impact in a short set at London's Buffalo Bar

Sunday evening is always a tough one. Thinking of going to work the next day and the five weekdays in front of you is enough to make most people want to hide in their homes. On the 1st July I chose to go to a gig instead. I confidently arrived at the Buffalo Bar in Highbury and Islington at 7:55 just to make sure I didn't miss the first act, Wayne Gooderham, who was making his first solo appearance. That appeared to be too early so the doorman sent me away to walk around for another 5 minutes. When the door finally opened, I paid and had my head marked with a glowing pink pen and walked down the stairs to the concert hall. I ordered a glass of wine straight away (remember it was a Sunday evening!) and sat in a dark corner to watch the other fans. Surprisingly, even though it was just after 8, the venue was already getting busy. Gooderham is better known as the lead singer and guitarist with his former band Baptiste. Since the band split up earllier this year, he has been concentrating on more songwriting and, with his brother Marc, working towards forming a new band, Ashby It seemed most of the fans knew each other. As they walked down the stairs they headed first for the bar and then, full handed, dived into the back of the hall. There they comforted themselves into chairs and chatted away. I was drowned out of my dark corner just after 8:30 when Wayne came up on to the stage with his brown guitar and welcomed us to the gig. The opening song, 'Some Things Never Work Out', sounded rather fatalistic to me. Its relatively low tones complimented perfectly the feel of the evening, and definitely soothed the spirit. A few fans had now moved close to the stage to get a better view, and started swinging to the slow rhythms of the song while holding onto their drinks. The following songs, 'These Days' and 'Shut A Final Door', as their titles suggest, definitely didn't bring much joy into Wayne's set, but perfectly fitted the atmosphere with their emotive approach. Wayne's deep voice made them sound very convincing. The last song of the set, 'A New Career In A New Town', came nearly 20 minutes into the set. It was also the only song that was born with Baptiste. I finished my glass of wine with the last notes of Wayne's set. Perfect timing as I felt he deserved good applause. Set list: Some Things Never Work Out New Song (untitled) These Days Shut A Final Door A New Career In A New Town. Wayne Gooderham will appear with his new band, Ashby, at the 3rd Penny Black Music Night at the London Spitz on Saturday 2nd August.The photographs that accompany this article were taken by Bob Stuart and originally appeared on his own website www.underexposed.org.uk

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