Gig- by Theo

Here was a first. Kate and I, who met and romanced each other at various live music venues across Bristol and beyond, venturing forth to our first gig together since Rosie's birth. With Aunty Hermione (Rosie's aunt - my sister) on babysitting duties Kate and I sallied forth to The Cube for Rachael Dadd's album launch. Typically, we forgot the camera!

Luckily we'd bought tickets as it was sold out - indeed we saw our friend Obaro as he got turned away. To be honest if we hadn't had tickets we might not have made it, as we'd had a tough night the night before and were both pretty knackered. Still we're very glad we did.

Kate Stables, aka This is the Kit, opened proceedings with a flurry of new songs plus a choice selection from her latest album "Wriggle out the Restless" which has been getting lots of play on BBC 6 Music. She was as captivating and charming as ever.

Kate and Rachael's music is well known to us as I regularly used to put them on bills back in my promoting days, but what followed was a completely novel experience for us in more ways than one. Ichi, Rachael's Japanese husband, entered the stage on stilts, to which various bells and shakers were attached, while playing a harmonica through a fantastically preposterous mustache. It got sillier from there on. Playing a variety of standard and non-standard instruments - including steel drum, trumpet, a home made lyre, a typewriter, a home made banjo (one of the stilts), balloons, ping pong balls and a drum machine - he quickly had the audience in hysterics especially when he added endearing falsetto word play over the top. Quite, quite surreal.

By now it was approaching 11 and Kate and I were practically propping each other up in our seats, so after 4 beautiful songs of Rachael's set we decided to make a discreet exit clutching her latest album to try to make up for what we missed.

We're back!