Set list at Dry Dock songwriting open mic

In the circle, I sang Ciorstaidh's Carol-Ann, which is already one of my favourites -- I feel like it's in a similar style to Attention All Shipping and Heidi, and I'm reluctant to play more than one of them per set.

It was interesting to hear Ross Gooding talk about wanting to have "about 20 songs that stand up on their own" -- Ross is one of the people I look up to at the circle, and his songs always stand up; I was slightly surprised that his number was so low. I've played upwards of 50 originals since I started keeping track earlier this year. Not all of them are hits, but I don't think I'd struggle to put a set of 20 bangers together.

At the open mic, I played:

• Connection
• Stuck Inside Of Avignon
• Host Of The Evening
• Attention All Shipping
• Hot Damn

I played Host because host Elijah had cried off; I want it to be about a generic missing host rather than a specific one. Hot Damn was fun; someone said it sounded like a Hollies song. It's always a bit nerve-wracking playing something technical like Stuck Inside Of Avignon, but doubly so when Smudge is in the room. That's slightly unfair on him, though; he's a fantastic guitarist, but he's also the sort of generous and encouraging presence that makes the Weymouth open mic scene what it is.