Amplifier

Check Out Batucada Sound Machine Here and their Tour Dates here.

Man...what a week. The gigs have been massive and the reception much larger than we thought! We travelled 100s of miles and played some of the most enjoyable and also one of the biggest gigs of our career to date (WOMAD)...and we nailed it!

After the UK crew pulled out all the stops to get us an entire backline for free, we headed to our first gig at Neighbourhood, London. We got a nice crowd of around 200 who were up for dancing from the first tune. Wicked support band B'Loco set the tone nicely and man they had some amazing rhythms.

James Huges, Mani Fagundes and Amplifier's Richie Setford at WOMAD, UK

       
The next morning we were to head off to Llangollen (wales) at midday, however a couple of crew members were nowhere to be found and 2 hours later we finally crawled out of London and made it on to the motorway. We made it to Llangollen (dont ask me how to pronounce it) around 4 hrs later and were amazed at how beautiful the town was and how welcoming the people were.

Our gig at the town hall had sold out (250 people) and to be honest, none of us had ever played to such an open and unashamedly enthusiastic crowd. From young to old, eveyone was dancing till midnight and when we paraded them all down into the street at the end of the gig..they almost wouldnt let us stop.

James Hughes being interviewed by the BBC (probably)

           
After a short 3 hrs sleep at a beautiful hotel - we set off at 5am for Reading and the biggest gig of the tour...WOMAD. After an entertaining trip full of traffic jams and lost shoes out windows, we made it - and raced straight into our set up for our 1pm slot. 20min before the show, the crowd was already gathering and we knew then that it could turn really massive.

And it was. When we walked on stage we couldn't see the back of the crowd and we nailed one of the best gigs of our career. The crowd loved it, we sold out of CDs and could now relax and look forward to the rest of the tour, knowing that we had overcome the big one.

A taste of what else was on offer at WOMAD, UK.

        
James Hughes

All Photos Courtesy of Richard "Cheese" Cotman