Sadly, tonight's preview was cancelled, as only one person turned up.
It was a shame, as the Water Poet has the perfect set-up for the show. There's a projector rigged, and the room (The Cellar Bar) is lovely. It was strange to be in control of the space, when I've been there so many times to do open mic spots. If nothing else, it will make me feel more comfortable next time I'm doing that; I'll stroll in with my best Gallagher swagger, issuing demands left, right and centre (or not, as the case may be).
In some senses, not doing the show was a blessing and not a curse. I had a late night last yesterday and didn't sleep well, so I wouldn't have been at my best. That said, I was hoping to use tonight to whittle down the running time to a tight hour for Monday's preview at The Etcetera Theatre, which can't overrun as there's a show immediately after it. I started doing a run-through, but it felt too weird, as my wife would've had to sit through it for the second night running, and the bar staff would have felt forced to laugh, so I abandoned it. This also gave us more time to pack down so we could get an earlier train back.
The biggest pain was having to bring so much gear with us, to then have to take it all back for nothing. We got a taxi from King's Cross to Liverpool Street (using the spoils from last night's charitable on-the-door donations to pay for it) and then a tube and train back, all for the craic. I'm adopting a selective deafness to the amount of money I'm spending in the lead-up to Edinburgh; before long, I'll be selling my vital organs at a meat raffle.
The other frustrating thing was having to cancel Phil Kay. I hate doing this, as he'd kept the date free in his diary, but he was very good about it. I was looking forward to seeing him too. It was annoying, as the gig should have done well with him on it, but we were probably scuppered by a hot day and the fact the flyers I'd ordered to promote it arrived so late. At least today's expenses were tax deductible, but I'd rather have done another show into the bargain; you don't become a performer for financial gain.