Well, I’d been looking forward to this weekend and with 2 weeks to go I still hadn’t received my pre-show ticket so the doubts were starting to creep in.  After contacting Mr Alger he assured me that he would be on the door on the night and there wouldn’t be a problem, now I was worried. 

After enjoying Maximes the previous night a bit too much (hic!) I spent most of Saturday pulling myself together for the festivities to come at The Tavern.  Turning up just after eight, the band were still soundchecking and it would be another 30 mins before we would be allowed in. I introduced myself to Mr Alger and with a glint in his eye he said he’d never heard of me, teehee hoho!!  So I was in and the fun could begin.  Basically the pre-show was a rock disco and China doing a 45 minute acoustic set, so I felt £10 was bit steep, even though the DJ played some cracking tunes.

China came on just after 10pm to a small, but appreciative crowd and kicked off with 'Stay'.  Tonight was basically the acoustic version of the set the band would play on the main day.  The band looked very happy just to be playing and launched into a song from their 1st album, 'Shout it Out' with a solo featuring some cool fx.  Next up was 'Medicine Man' from the new cd and it was at this point I noticed the acoustic guitar and bass sounded a bit muddy, but there was an energy that seemed to overide this.  'Trapped In The City' was next and was dedicated to all musicians who have ever toured and found themselves feeling trapped in whatever city they were in. 

It was around this point that the members of House of Lords turned up but their presence didn’t detract the audience from China.  China then threw in a curveball and did a storming version of Van Halen’s 'Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love' before going into 'Lay Down' from the 'Natural Groove' album.  We were then treated to 'In The Middle Of The Night' from the bands 2nd album.  It was then time for another song from the new cd and the final song of the night which I think was called 'Girl On The Street'?.  This rounded off a very enjoyable set which the crowd lapped up.

If it hadn’t have been for China’s stellar acoustic set then this pre-show would have been more of a fizz than a bang and it also showed the crowd what they should expect on the main day. And so to bed and a good night’s kip in preparation for the  Sunday fireworks.

* Review by Brassy.