3 hour marathon of bluegrass at the Matakana Farmer's Market yesterday. Man, that last 20 or so minutes are hard. We're just so tired by that point, even just smiling is difficult let alone singing and playing. And it was OH SO COLD. Not as cold as it MIGHT have been, though, and for that we were very grateful.

But, you know what I hate? I hate playing for three hours, and then getting ripped off by the stallholder right next to the bandstand who only has half a cup of soup left but STILL charges me $5 for it. Don't get me wrong, not all Matakana Stall Holders are thieving *****, just the one. And it left a bad taste in my mouth. Feh.

Nat and I went down to Auckland last night to see Lorina Harding's "Farewell Concert" at the Wine Cellar. Funky venue, we'd never been there before. I think it's where crappy old couches go to die. The place is full of them, so much so that you can't actually walk between them to get to the ones at the back.

We had fun, though. Peter the cook from Waharau was there, and Paul Symons. Janek Croyden, who plays pedal steel for Pudding was part of Lorina's band for the evening, as was her brother Warren on bass and backing vocals, and Janek's partner Warren on lead guitar. He's GREAT.

Thoroughly enjoyed the show and even more enjoyed hanging out with everyone afterwards until the wee hours of the morning. More than enough fun to make up for that long, hard slog back up to Leigh afterwards!

Farewell, Lorina! We didn't have enough time to really get to know you. Maybe our paths will cross again when we're in North America.

Tags: Lorina Harding, Wine Cellar