After a few minutes Cynth pointed out that we were probably in the wrong bar. And even though I disagreed, we went next door just in time for a beer before the real Tim got onstage.

It's a tough job being a solo musician opening act, but the boy done good playing various tracks off his Finding New Ways To Love album to an increasingly appreciative crowd. A crowd that featured Tinyfish guys like Simon,  Paul and Rob. All down here checking out the venue before their own debut next month. I had a quick chat to then and said that they're not a band who like to sit on their laurels and are cracking on with their second album, and are trying hard to get on the bill for Aylesbury's Hobble On The Cobbles, headlined Big Fish.

Also in attendance was the ever increasing Matt. It'd been a while since Matt and Cynth had last bumped into each other and they chatted on for ages. I also spied the infamous Miss Kitty in the crowd while Chelsea Og and Polly Pockets kept a low profile.

Croydon Mick was flitting around like an excellent host, though stopping short of refilling everyone's glasses.

Now Strangefish have had a fair bit of noise made about them up North recently, but this was us Cockneys first chance to get a glimpse of them. When they wandered on stage it was obvious that there's been a group decision to pool all their hair and give it to the tall one for safe keeping, and so it was singer Steve Taylor who had it all. Anyway, he introduced the band then declared that as it was their first time "in t'smoke", then they started playing the whole of their recent Fortune Telling album. It was a brave choice but as it turned out a wise one as the crowd spent the next 50 minutes focused on what must be one of the best records to come out of Manchester for a while. And you can quote me on that. It was obvious that the crowd knew the album inside and out because they did manage to clap in all the right places.

The band are tighter than a rabbits codpiece and only half as smelly. The keyboarder Paul O'Neill bears a passing resemblance to a slightly hairy John Jowitt yet sounds like Martin Orford while bass player Julian Gregory plays a mean violin on occasion. Guitarist Bob and drummer Dave Whittaker complete the band, so they do.

So we were treated to the whole of the album and a couple of jeans / shirt changes by Steve before they left the stage to massive applause.

They returned to play some of their older material which i will freely admit to not knowing but their crowd, some obviously imported from a northern sanatorium especially for the night, did. The Lighthouse Jig went down well as did the beach call song, which also inspired the crowd into a feeding frenzy of ball mastery, though it's easy to see why we have never won anything at volleyball, even though we love watching the beach variety.

Where was I? Oh yeah, beach volleyball. Mmmm tasty buns...

No, Strangefish. The boys from Coronation Streetland had impressed the crowd mightily and I'm sure that the crowd had impressed them too. They're back down our way again this week, when they support Jump at their Horses Head Soup gig at the Limelight Theatre in Aylesbury Home Of Prog on Saturday 23rd June.

And I'll be back down the wonderful Peel on the 7th July to see the debut of Tinyfish.