2008
August
>Friday 1 -The Sandringham Hotel,
Newtown
With Move Trees, Ophelia of the Spirits and Ma. We played as a four-piece for the first time, in front of a big Friday-night art-house crowd who began by baying for our blood and ended up carrying us around the venue on enormous shields laden with fruit and swords and expensive Russian effects pedals. At least that's what it felt like; in  reality we played a few songs and people cheered. Graham's pedal steel playing fitted in beautifully, and despite Greg and Mhark's having never met met him before the band was cooking. All the acts tonight were interesting. Ma did a fantastic Grace Jones cover which put me in mind of a Parisian cafe trio playing Steve Reich; Ophelia of the Spirits played lovely atmospheric stuff; and Move Trees, as well as being complete chaps, knocked everyone over with their Bowie-meets-Radiohead sound. Props must also be dealt to the lady working the mixing desk - she worked wonders.
Watch the band in action - John the Baptist, and Whippoorwill Time (courtesy Lisa Maher)
July
>Thursday 10 -The Cat & Fiddle Hotel,
Balmain
With Pal Sheldon & the Mixed Grill and A Few Angry Villagers. Brian Yatman solo.
This was one of those gigs that begin with disaster (ie. sound problems) and end up kind of interesting (me improvising new songs). The more experienced you get as a performer, the more likely your chances of salvaging something shiny from musical wreckage, I guess. The Mixed Grill have some great songs and lovely boy-girl harmonies.
February
>Thursday 7 -The Cat & Fiddle Hotel,
Balmain
With Michelle Little and The Orphans. LITW onstage 9pm. $10.
The Orphans are really worth checking out. Stripped back country. Great tunes.
2007
November
>Friday 16 -The Cat & Fiddle Hotel,
Balmain
With The Gem Saloon, Driftwood Story, and The All Ordinaries. Brian Yatman solo.
Pedal steel artiste Graham Griffith guested. A pedal steel guitar looks like a normal guitar that's been taken apart and re-assembled by a cubist and as a consequence is having a good lie-down, what with all the excitement. They sound like swooping angels. It was bliss. We played four new songs - John the Baptist, Bring on the Flood, Paper Bird and Me, Oh My.
October
>Friday 5 -The Empire, Annandale.
With John Kennedy's 68 Comeback Special and Perry Keyes.
It was a treat to play on the same bill as songwriters of the calibre of JFK and Mr Keyes.
 May
>Wednesday 23 -Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills
With The Pennydreadfuls and Aethenoph.
Parking inspectors - bah!
>Wednesday 16 -The Monkey Bar, Balmain
With Nick Kreisler. Brian Yatman solo.
A rare appearance by Kiwi legend Nick Kreisler and the Pet Rocks. Nick kept the crowd buzzing with his debonair repartee and way with a jaded lyric. The evening was capped with an impromptu space-jam featuring Nick Beswick on the grand piano and myself on guitar.
>Sunday 6 -Botany View Hotel , Newtown
With John Kennedy's 68 Comeback Special.
The 68 Comeback Special were gentlemen. Great crowd. Grizzled, enthusiastic.
March
>Saturday 31 -Ultimo Pyrmont UPTown Festival,
Quarry Green, Ultimo
Our support act was the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore. We tried hitting her up for a grant but her stern (and yet glamorous) demeanour didn't crack, unfortunately. We had a freaky interpretive dancer out front of stage, who did some fine work during our new song Round the Sun. It was fun.
 >Saturday 24 -The Vic on the Park Hotel, Marrickville
With Giraffes Casino, The Pigs & The All
Ordinaries.
The All Ordinaries reminded me of the Pretenders, early Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe. Good stuff.
>Saturday 17 -Lord Raglan Hotel, Alexandria
Brian Yatman solo With The Vignettes and Red Baron Black.
I didn't catch The Vignettes but they struck me as charming human beings, as did Red Baron Black. I threw in a couple of covers: "Golden Hair" by Syd Barrett and "I Wish I Were Blind" by B. Springsteen.
>Friday 2 -The Harp, Tempe
With Em Fatale and the Scary Rabbits and Mine.
The Scary Rabbits do summery pop with three-part harmonies - really sweet and infectious stuff. Mine might describe themselves as 'folk-rock', but they are ear-splittingly loud, and stylistically somewhere between Joy Division and the Swans, think I. Boys! Boys, boys...
January
 >Monday 29 -Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills
With The Big Empty, Savoy Kicks and Sep Caton
The Big Empty play intricate, loose-limbed blues-rock. Their drummer reminded me of a younger Lindy Morrison from the Go-Betweens, and their bassist an unholy mixture of the comedian Bill Bailey and Geezer Butler. Savoy Kicks are awesome - punchy garage rock with loads of charisma.
>Wednesday 10 -The Cat & Fiddle Hotel,
Balmain
With Rob Rhodes & the Farewell Coalition, Meander, and Nina Stamell. What to do when there's a loudmouth in the room ruining your quiet songs? Flip out (as in set about the perpetrators with a horsewhip while the band plays "The Imperial March" from Star Wars) and risk alienating your audience, or play it graceful and professional? We chose the latter. But with gritted teeth. By the way, Nina Stamell is very, very good. She has a lovely voice and writes beautifully, and is no loudmouth. You should check her out.
2006
December
>Friday 8 -The Excelsior,
Glebe
With Tundra and Capital. Despite some sound issues - ie no sound engineer- we pulled off a couple of inspired moments. My mate Con reckoned Capital reminded him of 80's Manchester band A Certain Ratio. Minus the neo-fascist shorts. Seemed like a nice bunch.
November
>Thursday 23 -The Cat & Fiddle Hotel,
Balmain
Music starts at 8pm. Lost in the Woods onstage 10pm.
With The Pennydreadfuls and Mem Davis. Props out to Drew the Sound-guy, who knows his way around a mixing desk. The Pennydreadfuls did a rather wonderful and intense version of "Sister Morphine".
>Tuesday 7 -Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills, $7
Music starts 8pm. With Sarah Humphries & The March Flies, The Torchsong Country Soul Band & The Neon Stetsons. Lost in the Woods onstage 11pm. Sarah Humphries is excellent. Gosh that lady gigs!
October
 >Tuesday 17 - Sol's Deck Bar,
Taylor Square
With Johnny Vance, Unknown Quantity, and Mushu. Bassist Mhark Cohen's debut with Lost in the Woods. Heplayed like a pro. We had a heckler from central casting and a new fan in an enthusiastic Spanish guy whose fervour didn't extend to buying a copy of the album. Cheapskate. EPILOGUE -several days after this performance the venue closed down. Don't blame them - where could they go?
April
>Saturday 1 - The Empire, Annandale
With Myriad and Jess Randall and Friends (now called The Crooked Fiddle Band, apparently) . Drums and guitar and violin. Lots of people. Some freaky dancing. Folk crowd. Inscrutable, often bearded.
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