I won a ticket for Echo and the Bunnymen's gig tonight in, of all places Glasgow's Apple store. I intend to try and update this via my iPod Touch during the gig. Or is that bad form?

seems we are getting a full 90 minutes, must be about 300 people in here, the queue was massif
must say I'm impressed with my tOuch!
my friend has the camera so no pics

...and you couldn't get a more fun thing to do. We don't so much go for "names" just independent musicians whose music we like. First thing I'd ask in response to the original post... what fourth wall? This is a gig/concert/performance of songs we're talking about, not some Harold Pinter play. The need for the "fourth wall" is to enable the suspension of disbelief which goes hand in hand with the make-believe of theatre. A concert is ALL ABOUT an artist connecting with their audience - how many times have we remarked that a gig's much better in a tiny, intimate club than at the local enormodome simply because the smaller venue actually enhances the audience's connection with the performer. House gigs enhance that enhancement.

With our house gigs we've gone for artists we know. Through a variety of reasons my wife and I have got to know a load of up-and-coming singer/songwriters who are working on the London circuit and a number who ply their trade on the art centre/folk club circuit. A lot of the ones playing in London are doing so for practically no money so the pretty much guaranteed return from a house gig is really welcome to them. And of course all of the money goes straight to the artist - strictly they are not commercial concerts but private parties with a suggested donation on entry (I know others who do it on the basis of passing the hat around)

So would you have heard of any of the performers? Maybe, maybe not... we've had a range, Amy Wadge and Edwina Hayes (of Hummingbird) might be known to some here, not strictly a house gig but Beth Rowley and Ben Castle played for us at our birthday party a couple of years back as a favour (the event that sparked off the whole house gig idea for us), we've had the ukulele totin' Victoria Vox from Baltimore, some-time Uncle Earl bassist Laura Cortese, looping bass maestro Steve Lawson and his wife Lobelia, cookie jazz-pop-ist Miranda Barber and a range of others... quite a range of styles but all of which worked brilliantly in the context.

Universally the artists have raved about the house gig - it's a really different experience for both artist and audience as there simply is no fourth wall and the atmosphere is incredibly relaxed and informal. If you've never been along to one I can thoroughly recommend trying it out, even if you don't particularly know the artist - it's an experience. We don't advertise publicly, only to family and friends and have pretty much reached our capacity of 24-25 every time. Again, you don't have to have a huge house - we certainly don't and depending on the artist, PA can be optional (although we have a small PA which we use).

The main thing for us is that everyone, including the artist has fun - our kinda motto is "people we like playing music we like to people we like". If you think it might be fun to do a house gig I'd thoroughly recommend it - it is great fun. We now have friends who say to us "Don't worry about telling us who the artist is... just give us the date of the gig - we're there!"

For more info there's a load more blogging discussion on Steve Lawson's blog at: http://www.stevelawson.net/wordpress/?p=all
http://www.stevelawson.net/wordpress/?s=house+concert
(lots of interesting what's the new paradigm for music discussion here and some groovy ambient bass looping here too).

In the meantime here's some photos from our housegigs...

That doesn't surprise me. His was the only gig I've ever been to where the pre-gig music over the PA was his own albums!

I must say that I found it buttock-clenching round that couple's house - there weren't enough people somehow. And the guest who stood singing loudly at kissing distance to Ian Mc, oh total cringe.

The pictures from the chap above look more like how things could be: decorated like a stage and with a house party feel.

I have a friend who is searching for the Icicle Works Seven Horses Deep vid, can anyone help?