I went to the Are You Listening Festival on Saturday. I wasn't sure about it because of covid as its all in doors and venues can get very crowded. Decided to go in the end and did a quick listen on Spotify beforehand. I decided to start with a band called This in the Face Bar but I then arranged to meet Keith and Fiona in the Butler and we got chatting so I missed them. Next up were Courting in Sub 89. There was a fair bit of space and ventilation so it felt OK. They do a song called David Byrne's Badside so worth it just for that I thought. Unfortunately they were without a bassist who seemed to have suddenly left the band. So just drums, guitar and a singer. Once I got myself positioned a bit further back behind the sound desk they sounded pretty good particularly when the singer was playing rhythm guitar to fill out the sound. The vocals weren't too clear though which was a pity. Then I went to the Face Bar to see King Nun. They had quite a charismatic front man and all moved around a lot. Unfortunately they had a few sound problems. The singer kept getting minor electric shocks from his mic. Not good. Quite enjoyed them but the material could have been a bit stronger. Bass, drums and 2 guitarists and quite a lot of backing vocals. Again it was quite spacious in there. Went to the Oakford next to see Mandrake Handshake. Very hippyish and a lot of them. Sounded great, like the autumn of love. The Oakford is quite a long pub but the stage is in the middle down one side facing across the pub. So if you want to see the band properly you need to stand in that bit and it was very crowded so I just watched from the side. Met up with Steve, Lindsey, Clive, Kevin, Adrienne, Penno, Matt and Rob and Keith and Fiona came back (they'd been home to sort out their dog). Stayed for Doops who are a Reading band that I've seen before and quite liked but a combination of being at the side and chatting to various people meant I didn't really engage. Same applied to Grandma's House plus the fact that I ordered a burger which they forgot about and so it took about half an hour to arrive. Very good burger though. Then went back to the Face Bar and caught the end of LIFE, from Hull before seeing Billy Nomates. I was wondering what she'd be like in a small venue after seeing her on the main stage at EOTR but she was excellent. So energetic and engages with the audience even though she doesn't say much. She seemed nervous while doing the sound check and waiting for things to start but once she gets going she's a great performer. Its all very tight too. Her backing tracks have harmonies and the like in them so it has to be. The only thing was the sound wasn't great so you couldn't get all the vocals. A good ending. It was a bit crowded and we were quite near the front but I was in a little corner with no-one behind me so it felt OK. Lazy day on Sunday for everyone.A month old today.