Chancellors Bar, Surrey University, Guildford, 30/10/08. Sid's Tour Diary.

"Set the controls for GU2 7XH" I say to Ben. "I can't" he says "the sat-nav won't get that precise" ! Technology eh ? Rubbish ! Now, where's my 8-track cartridge player ?

"No problem" I say "I played there 13 years ago, get us to the university and i'm sure the rest will come to me" ! Famous last words. We find the uni okay after a small jaunt around a roundabout but then when we get on the campus it suddenly doesn't look familiar. We're not in kansas anymore ! Still, we find a "you are here" map at the side of the road. It helps. Before we know it we're outside the venue searching for a parking spot. Ben spies a guy rummaging through some bins. Bloody students ! "Excuse me mate" asks Ben "where can we park round here ?", "down the bottom of the hill behind the building that looks like a train" says the student. Ben and I look at each other somewhat confused. However, we find the building, park behind it, ignoring the 'you will be clamped' signs (which apparently are irrelevant in the evenings anyway !) and climb the hill back up to the venue. Once inside we spot Knuckles Magoo / Nelly / Neil (delete as applicable), pull up a chair, order a round of drinks and wait for the promoter to arrive. Yep, we're here before the organisers, again ! After a "help, we're lost" call from Kat, a spot of standing on street corners and some great navigating by yours truly ("if you see a number 36 bus coming your way, that's just passed me !") we're all settled in, drinks bought and it's time for the niceties.

"Each slot is 10 minutes, 2 songs only" Al, the promoter of tonights open mic shenanigins, tells me. "There's a lot of people on the list to play". No probs we think, we're flexible. However, it starts to get frustrating now. Despite an advertised start time of 8pm nothing actually happens until 9pm when Al himself takes to the stage and plays a couple of songs, then a couple more with girlfriend holly. They're good, but they're playing covers and i'm perturbed because I thought time was of the essence. Ho hum. Some more people get up. They're good, but they're playing covers. The venue is buzzing, it has to be said. A lot of people in and although it appears that people aren't actually listening when you look around you can see that a few are. This is encouraging. But as i said, time is of the essence so will our 2 songs be enough to impress ? We'll have to wait and see ! Because, first Al is back up again playing more covers ! Hang on, if there's time going begging then why not give the new players an extra song or 2, after all, when you host an evening like this you play every week ! Frustrating.

Still, we get up and get on with it (there's a song chorus there somewhere !) and after Ben proclaims us "Brassneck, a sound man's nightmare" (he's not wrong sometimes !) we rip through "You Were Right" and "Stupid What ?" nailing the 3-part harmonies with Neil and I standing either side of the small stage and book-ending Ben and Kat (this is not a euphemism). Now, Kat had said mid-set (that'll be in-between the 2 songs then !) that we have a free cd to give away to people if they like what they're hearing, but I wasn't expecting this, a queue has formed ! Before we know it we're out of cd's and have to resort to giving away our gimmicky "Brassneck" printed pens to placate people ! "You say the word 'free' to students and they'll take anything" Kat reliably informs me, being a student herself ! So, after another blisteringly fast pack-up we retire back to our table for a well-earned drink, and then outside for a post gig fag, upon where I spy a sign outside the union with a list of useful helpline phone numbers on it, including the number of the local job centre ! Bloody students ! Get a job you workshy fops !

Finally, we settle in to watch the rest of the acts, most of whom completely pass me by, they're good but they're playing covers. 4 pints later I almost switch off completely and just when I'm sinking into despair up steps a girl called Nadia, she's good, she's not playing covers. With an almost Corinne Bailey-Rae voice her stuff is sweet and quiet but i'm struggling to hear it above the din of the crowd. I tell her this afterwards, if only so that she knows someone was actually listening.

Then, we're off, down the hill and we head for home, where for some reason i'm still buzzing, cannot sleep and sit and smoke cigarettes out my bedroom window enjoying the cool winter air. G'night.

Sid.