Executive summary of the second gig

Hitch-wise the gig went well, although we accidentally deafened some friends, which is really unforgivable. Unfortunately where we play from in the corner is a sort of acoustic dead zone, so what we think is too quiet is for some all too loud.

From an ""artistic"" perspective, I have some confusion about how well we did.  For us Malty Media has two slightly contradictory aims: The main aim is for it to be a chillout night, which means unobtrusive, drifty sounds. The other aim is that it should be entertaining, and at least sometime ask the audience for their attention. To do this we usually drop in silly or retro sounds. I'm not sure we've got the balance right, yet. Sometimes I feel we should be doing more to get peoples' attention, but then when we do I think we're maybe trying too hard, and we should just let things float.

From here we have Retroactive on Saturday, and then the last Malty Media set for the year on the 19th. With less than a week from Christmas, we're unlikely to get anyone in, but then again the crowds haven't exactly been monstrous so far, and in a way it means we can concentrate on making things mellow.

I have a plan (though I'm not sure Michael is as keen) of doing a Christmas themed event. Well, it'd be nice to dub out some Christmas carols. You know, in a restrained, tasteful way. And we could do something cheesy with the barking dogs jingle bells song. Arf arf arf, arf arf arf. Etc.