Following up my experience in early December, when a fully acoustic gig on double bass with Mudslide Morris left me with a collection of blisters, I’m pleased to say that last night’s gig, at Jack and Alice in Thame, left my fingers relatively unscathed. That was despite playing for over twice as long. It isn’t to say that I didn’t feel it at all – my finger tips have a familiar feeling of being both inwardly a little tender and outwardly a bit more callused – but I made it through and it was mainly down to being able to plug in.

Having put in some extra practice time working on playing loud without damage didn’t hurt but I am sure having an amp was the main thing. People who didn’t recognise the pickup band for what it was might not even have realised but it meant I was confident of being heard without having to play too hard and I could also hear myself clearly enough. In a setting like that, the ticket is sound reinforcement rather than appearing to be going electric. If anything, I could have come up a bit louder still, particularly with low frequencies.

Nice venue too – buzzing with an enthusiastic crowd and helpful staff. Jobs a good ‘un!