This Saturday saw Catherine Ireton’s fourth and final Treasure Tracks gig. Her previous mystery excursions have involved a little bit of a hunt, but this time around we really were sent on a wild goose chase, not only to get hold of tickets but also to get to the final location.

The first clue was a picture posted online of the red phone boxes on Trafalgar Street, with a number to dial. I went to the phone boxes – one was out of order, the other only accepted credit cards, neither smelled great. I stepped out into the fresh air to dial the number only to get a recorded message telling me to look up for the first clue. That sent me off to one of two record shops to hunt down a Prince album which contained the next clue. The onto Resident where the final clue could be exchanged for a ticket to the gig, which just told me to turn up to the George IV statue at 8.15 on Friday night…

Fast forward to a cold drizzly night, and a group of around twenty or thirty people congregate near the North End of Pavilion Gardens. The event was put on in conjunction with Source New Music, and Bex – who introduces their regular evenings (and does all the hard work pulling most of it together) – popped up to lead us to the location of the concert. Through the stage door round the back of the Dome, down some stairs and through some 17th century tunnels (which now lead off to dressing rooms). Then back up some stairs, past a rarely used museum entrance, and somehow into the bar at the Dome, where we stop off to buy a drink before being led through the Corn Exchange and into their foyer area where a stage had been set up and Catherine and her two accompanying musicians were waiting.

It was only a few weeks ago that we saw Catherine play a full gig at the Green Door Store. All of her treasure tracks gigs have felt a little bit more special than that, playing to friends rather than an audience, to people who are willing to make that little bit extra effort to find out about the gig, and consequently Catherine was a little more relaxed. The songs were the same, but they benefited from the intimacy. The set included all of the Treasure Tracks given away so far – Synapses, given away after the Booth Museum gig, Invisibility Disguise, from the Brighton Model Railway club gig, and Pieces of You from her webcast – as well as a selection other tracks, culminating in the last track that was sent through – This One’s Gonna Make Me Some Money – tying in nicely with the gig being held in the Corn Exchange.

Although this was the last Treasure Tracks gig, there are more plans for interesting gigs in intimate locations. Keep your eyes peeled for something in the Theatre Royal in the new year…