A  few of us went to Portsmouth early ahead of the Blue Mermaid show because it's a pleasant place to hang out - walk around the old port feel, watch the Bruins win at Fat Belly's, etc. 

NH act Floodwatch opened the night. They are Dave Stedman and Jim White, both formerly of the band Turtlebone. Their songs use their two voices, a variety of instrument combos, and, for a number of them, drum loops to good effect. You can check out their stuff at http://www.myspace.com/thefloodwatch. 

We recently bought a couple new speakers for our PA system (don't worry I'm not going to get gear-head here), and Mermaid has a bring your own PA policy. The additions made the vocals very clear which enabled us to sing to the full capacity of our meager abilities. Since the room is very small and intimate, and we use an acoustic guitar throughout, the set leaned toward vocals/softer-ish songs - ones we feel translate well in that idiom. 

There was a nice crew of fans both from the NH area as well as a host of folks that commuted from Boston way. As always we're very grateful and hope they had half as good a time as we did. (It seemed so. Some dubbed themselves the Best Crowd Ever afterwards...strong words...) People joining along for the final chorus of "Same Old Goes" actually got me emotional a bit I confess - "you are my context..." 

We played a new song for the first time that is currently being called "Sly Fox", I think only because that's what we've been referring to it as. Dave will have to chime in on whether that's the real name at some point I guess. Noah plays some banjo on it. It was apropos to do it that night because one of the verses references a report Dave received a couple months back from a Sand fan that Mermaid had been torn down...an erroneous one thankfully. 

By all accounts I heard the set was a success. It felt right from where I was. This is what we played: 

Put a Brave Face On
Same Old Goes
Call Me Elvis Now
Itinerary Restfully
Stick Around Some More
Solitary Man
The Woes of Edgar James
Lettuce Rays
The Snow is on the Grass Again
Sorry Buddy
Running of the Tree Frogs Week
It’s Coming
Let the Demons Die
Sly Fox
Dreams to Forget
File Under Clothes Considered