<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/buxton-opera-housejul18.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5136" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/buxton-opera-housejul18-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>I looked forward to this gig for many months and at last the day arrived. Unfortunately I had two tickets but could only use one - long story which I'm not going into here. I drove over to Buxton - 2+ hours in total. The section around Sheffield was particularly busy but the final drive through the Derbyshire Dales was delightful. Checked in at the Premier Inn and walked into Buxton for a wander around.

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buxton_Opera_House" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Opera House</a> is a magnificent Edwardian building and the inside is as astounding as the outside. A warm summer evening meant that the audience spent as long as possible outside with their cold drinks before heading inside.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/natalie-merchantjul18.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-5135" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/natalie-merchantjul18-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>Natalie came on stage with her husband, Eric, on acoustic guitar at 8pm and played through until 10.30pm. They started with "Maggie Said" and continued through her song book from the 1980s onwards.

About five songs into her set she started to engage with the audience. From then on her warmth and sense of humour became more and more apparent. She was so relaxed she started a dialogue with the audience. There was a ten year old in the front row who was at her first gig and Natalie included her in the chat, finally giving her a special box set of all her CDs including some previously unreleased tracks. The front of house had sold out so I couldn't buy one.

The concert over I walked back to the hotel and had a great night's sleep in an air conditioned room. For those unaware of Natalie Merchant's music there's a YouTube taster below. This was recorded some years ago because her hair is now grey and she's put on a few pounds but time has that effect on us all...

https://youtu.be/DcXn3cZuZkg