24-03-23 - Saturday I - Plaza Suite @ The Savoy Theatre, Friday 22nd March

So, we popped up to London yesterday afternoon to go see Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick appear in Plaza Suite, a play at the Savoy. TW & I went with our friends MO & DO and TC. We caught the train from Worthing and then walked from Victoria to the theatre. We passed Parliament and Big Ben and got some Korean street food on the way. 

Our seats were in "the gods", right at the back. When we got there it was already warm. The play was in three acts and showed three couples all staying in the same suite in the Plaza. It was really good, I enjoyed it. The first act was really quite heavy and emotional, the second two were lighter and more farcical.

The audience was very female heavy, I guess Sex and The City had a bigger influence on girls and women and SJP has that legacy to play with. Broderick played his characters a lot more staid and restrained, I thought, it really was the SJP show. Although his shoes in the second act were sublime.

There were quite a few bottles of wine being drunk in the gods, it was a bit raucous, but then it was a Friday night.

All in I enjoyed it, it was nice to have "an event" with friends and the play was good and the off-stage action was interesting. It took some time to get home, we walked back to Victoria and caught a train just after eleven, and we were home in bed by 1am. 

TTFN.

Saturday 17-04-08 Cud at The 100 Club (Friday 31st March

Last Friday I was up in London, settling into student accommodation at the LSE. I had bought a ticket to see Cud at The 100 Club, and TW & I had talked before about me staying overnight in London. This time I had researched the perfect accommodation, at the LSE near Euston station, for £36 per night (including breakfast) and I was going to make the most of it.

I had booked a half day at work, and I caught the train up to Victoria at just after 1pm. I had my Kindle for company in a mostly empty carriage, which suited me fine. I was a little worried that I had the wrong ticket, because I was on the Gatwick Express, but it was okay. I arrived in London just before 3pm, and decided to get the tube to Oxford Circus - then I could find the venue, and walk from there to the LSE. It was a lovely sunny day, and I was in a great mood. I found the club easily enough, it was actually on Oxford Road, east though, just before Tottenham Road. It’s a bit seedy and rundown there, I suppose, but Crossrail might rejuvenate the area in a few years. I walked to the halls, and checked in. I laid down for a bit but was too hyped up to really rest.

It got to 5pm and so I headed out, determined to make the most of my London visit. I hit a number of pubs and sampled the real ales. I had a pint in a pub, The Ship on Wardour Street and was reminded of the Underworld song Stagger, with the lyric “I saw you shopping in Europa on Wardour Street, not phoning back”. The beer was good too... After a couple of pints I thought it would be wise to eat something so I popped into Gourmet Burger Kitchen on Berners Street - it’s good to stick with what you know, sometimes…

Then it was time for the gig, so I wandered around the corner to the venue, showed my ticket and went downstairs into the hallowed 100 Club. It’s a nice venue, the pints were cheap, and the layout is more wide than it is deep, if that makes sense; there were seats at the side of the stage and there was no backstage area, so the musicians have to walk through the crowd to get on stage. Which is nice because it feels as if you’re close to the band(s) wherever you are in the venue.

The support band were a Surrey/Sussex combo called La Flamme, they had an energy about them, and some good songs, and they acted as a good warm-up for Cud. I’ve been quite impressed with their warm-up bands, especially Sheen who supported them at the Garage a couple of years ago. Anyway, La Flamme (pronounced “flame”) did their stuff, thanked Cud for inviting them, and then departed.

It was time for Cud. Cud are a great band live, and tonight they were performing all their singles. With a career stretching back to 1988/89, there were a few they had to get through! Cud gigs are a great thing, as far as I am concerned; a way to get together in a group and share a common appreciation of some good music. The rhythms are stirring, the tunes are memorable, and the lyrics are other-worldly on occasion. But it’s not really about reproducing the songs note for note; Carl delivers the vocals differently live, and really hams up the role of lead singer. Mike and Will take their turns in the spotlight as well, and it’s more a celebration than anything else. You recognise the opening notes of a song and suddenly you’re dancing, which can be a bit difficult in a sold-out venue when you’re all jammed together. But I managed it; probably the beers helped. I was standing at the back (which as I mentioned, wasn’t really far back) and I was behind some tall guys. I realised that people in front of them were shorter, so I pushed past them closer to the stage. I had a great view, I was dancing, and it was great.

After they finished, I was in no rush to leave, so I got another beer, and actually had a chat (more likely a drunken burble) with Will the bassist. I presume he is used to mumbled non sequiturs, but he seemed happy to chat, so that was good. I bought a tshirt, which I don’t normally do, but since the pints were under £4 each, I had a few spare pounds. Then I headed out into the night to see what London was about.

Actually, the area I was in, at the east end of Oxford Street, was closing down. One pub had stopped serving, and the pub I managed to get a drink in was about to close. So it was a quick pint of London Pride and then on. I was told that there was a late-night drinking establishment called Nordic, so I headed there. I bought a pint, but it wasn’t my thing so left pretty sharpish, and headed back to my room. And that was last Friday night, done and dusted. The only last bit of business was the breakfast the next morning, which was delicious. It was a full English, but served buffet-style, so if I'd thought it through, I could have had double helpigns. I didn't though, one plate full was enough to set me up for the day and the journey home.

TTFN.

Saturday 15-10-10 Indie Daze at Kentish Town Forum

And so on the 3rd October I headed off to Kentish Town for Indie Daze, to see a few bands from the old days. I was meeting up with an old friend from Uni and we were planning to have one of our semi-annual meet-ups and a bit of a bop. Pop Will Eat Itself, Primitives, Wedding Present and Wonder Stuff were all appearing. The train journey was fairly uneventful, except that at Burgess Hill an eighties throwback got on the train and I did wonder for a second whether he was also heading to the Forum. But then I quickly dismissed that, he would have been from a different "tribe" - he had a wet-look permed mullet, which I have to admit is fairly distinctive in this day and age. I seem to recollect he was wearing denim as well, but I may be misremembering... Anyway, he got off after a bit, and went on his merry way. I was sitting next to a couple of, or perhaps just one pilot and his friend, they were heading off to "Twickers, yah?" to meet up with some friends and watch the rugby - England were playing Australia later. In their pressed tops and colourful slacks they cut quite the dash. So, earphones in and a bit of Happy Mondays was the perfect antidote to that.
I met up with E outside the venue, and we went in without any delay. I suppose that as it was  an all-dayer, and people would have their favourite bands, not everyone was planning to arrive at 12:45. So, we beat the rush. The first band on was the Popinjays, who struck me as a more poppy female Carter USM, in that there were only two of them, one singer, one guitarist, and a drum machine. They were both quite cheery and self-deprecating, and they seemed to be happy to be there despite the fact that there were only 30 or so guys there to see them. I'd not heard the Popinjays before, but they sounded pretty good. It was a bit weird to be inside, in the dark, at quarter past one in the afternoon, watching a band perform under lights as if it was 9pm. But they did okay and started the day off well.
The next band on were Back To The Planet, and I had no interest in seeing them. Neither did E, luckily, so we headed out to get some lunch. We disregarded a number of places before ending up at the Rustique Cafe, where I had a really nice English breakfast (but no sausages, unfortunately!) and a coffee, before we headed back to the venue for the third band - Eat.
Eat are one of my favourite bands that no-one has ever heard of. I have a couple of bands which fit into that category - New FADs come to mind, but Eat are right up there. Apparently I did see them in 1992 at a one-day festival in Slough, with Jesus Jones and the Fall, but I can't remember watching them. They are proper rockers, they didn't look like aging indie kids, and they were excellent. The lead singer Ange  Dolittle was obviously the main focus of the stage, coming on as he did with dreads down to his arse and his mad stare. It was an impressive show.  They played their greatest hits, so Fatman, Skin, and they finished with Electric City. They were memorable, and probably, for me, worth the cost of entry by themselves.
Next up were Primitives, who didn't do it for me, I have to say. They played Crash and Through The Flowers, but I didn't recognise a lot of the songs and my interest wasn't piqued in finding out any more.
We started on the beers when Primitives were on, and so by the time Pop Will Eat Itself came on, we were ready to revitalise the day. PWEI always put on a good live show, and last Saturday was no exception. I found myself bopping away to the tunes and really enjoyed it. Despite the fact that Graham Crabb is the only original member, they have a big back catalogue to plunder, and they played a big range of hits, from Def Con One to Ich Bin Ein Auslander, to Get The Girl, Kill The Baddies. The mosh pit was heaving as per usual, and everyone seemed to have a good time.
I was a bit worried at how Wedding Present would maintain the atmosphere, but my fears were groundless - Gedge and the team were brilliant. They played a couple of hits and then launched into Bizarro. I think the influence of Steve Albini is still felt on them, as the tracks and the sound certainly seemed to have more muscle and power than I expected. And of course everyone went crazy to Kennedy and Brassneck, so having them on after PWEI paid off.
After Wedding Present the Wonder Stuff were headlining, and I've seen them before so I chose to head for home. It was a great day and I really enjoyed seeing the bands and catching up with E., as well as having a few beers. The journey home was fairly uneventful and I was in bed and asleep by 00:30. I may go again next year, depending on the line-up.

London Extended

The first weekend of the half-term, we spent mostly been in London.

TW had been frantically searching for a reasonably-priced hotel for one night, so that she could take the girls up to London. She had some harebrained idea that she "needed" to take the girls to London. I thought the idea was that we could crash in London and avoid the children whingeing on the way home, but as it turned out, I was wrong (more on that below). Any way, she wasn't having much luck. All the places she found which were affordable looked a bit dingy and a bit sub-par. I dare say that after a day trudging around London, any room could look inviting, but I was of the opinion that we should wait to get the right accommodation before arranging to go to the Big Smoke. But sitting in the comfort of our living room, the hotels she was looking at didn't seem to be that appealing. 

Then, on the Friday night, as we were discussing what alternatives there were, a friend of hers phoned and told her that he'd seen her trials and tribulations on Facebook, and why hadn't she phoned him? We could all stay at his, he said. TW replied that he lived in Essex, so why would she call him? Au contraire, he responded, we're on the Central Line and quite easy to get to on the Tube... So we had a quick chat and decided to take him up on his offer. On Saturday morning we came down to see the girls lounging in front of the TV as normal, and told them of our plans. They were pleased and excited, to say the least. Since TW's friend is godfather to The Youngest, and has visited recently and played with the kids, it may have been that seeing him was the bit they were looking forward to the most. 

We had breakfast, got dressed and ready, TW made some sandwiches and boxed up the left over chilli, and we headed to the train station. We bought the tickets, and had a few minutes to wait, so I popped to the Co-Op and picked up some pastries and a newspaper. We caught the 10am train up to London, and we were on the way. 

Once we arrived in Victoria, we headed east towards the Houses of Parliament, and then TW remembered her nephew was in Halls near Victoria Station. So she called him and miraculously he was in. In reality, I should say miraculously he answered, as he'd obviously had a big night out on Friday, but if you're in your early twenties and living in SW1 why wouldn't you take advantage of that? The girls were surprised and pleased to see him. We talked for a few minutes and then headed on, across the river and left (north) on to the South Bank. The route was crowded, as you would expect on a Saturday lunchtime. Not only with tourists, but locals getting about their business. In addition, there were "street entertainers" on the bridge, blocking up the pavement. There was one bagpiper, which was fine, but the rest were con-artists "playing" Find The Ball", with wads of £20 notes in their hands. It was a bit depressing. In addition the other annoying people taking up street space for no apparent reason were Christians. There were Born Agains, Jehovahs, and probably some others I didn't recognise. They were hawking their irrelevant wares, so many of them that you probably couldn't spit without hitting one of them (not that I tried it, natch). 

The hordes didn't start to thin out until after we got past the London Eye, which is an attraction we need to visit at some point in the future. We sat and had a sandwich, and watched a couple of street acts. There was a woman juggling knives while balancing precariously on some wobbly stuff which the girls watched, and then we saw some Jamaican acrobats. The Middle One actually got picked to be in the show, but she became embarrassed and didn't participate, which was a shame because her finale would have been being picked up and whirled around by the acrobats. Then we walked on.

Part of the reason for visiting London was to go to Shakespeare's Globe, because The Eldest is studying the Tudors in school and Shakespeare is a big part of that. It was more expensive than we would normally spend, the tour of the Globe was £36 - there are much cheaper ways to be entertained in London (as well as much more expensive ways!) - but the tour was led by a jobbing actor who made the whole thing very entertaining and enjoyable. It was well worth the money. And the Eldest learnt a lot; she came back from school and told us that she'd shared a lot of the facts with her class. In fact, she had remembered quite a lot of things which I'd forgotten.
After the Globe, we went to the Tate Modern for a short time. I'm always amazed at the works of art one can see there for free; there are works by Picasso among others which are just there within touching distance. Walking around the rooms with three small children is not the best way to appreciate the art on display, but I was very impressed with some of the pieces.
We weren't there for very long, as we were all getting a little tired, and then we headed to the Tube and aimed to meet up with TW's mate in Gants Hill.
Onthe Sunday we headed back into London and saw Covent Garden, then made it to Hamleys. By that point though the girls were tired and so we caught the 38 bus to Victoria. We headed homewards and made it back to Worthing at about 4pm (as I recall). What a weekend.

My Bloody Valentine

So, another of my lifelong wishes achieved. I got to see My Bloody Valentine at a sold-out Hammersmith Apollo on the 12th March 2013. I went with a couple of friends from Uni; Ewan and Erin, as well as Ewan's sister who was celebrating her 50th, and Erin's friend from the U.S., Rachel.
I've never been to the Apollo before, and I was impressed by its grandeur. It must have been a theatre or a cinema in a previous life, but all the fittings in the main auditorium have been taken out, except the strips of carpet leading up and down in between the rows of chairs.
On the bars were free earplugs, and signs saying earplugs are available everywhere, so I took a pair and placed them very carefully in my coat pocket. We got a beer, and moved into the main room. The support band, Le Volume Courbe, were good and worthy of further investigation - I may have to check if they have any releases on Amazon. They reminded me a bit of Stereolab at times, but then they went a bit folk-y. So, 'drone folk'? Is that a musical category? I'm not sure, but they were interesting.
Then, about 21:15, MBV came on. They didn't talk much; I don't think anyone expected much chat. They built slowly, played a couple of songs I knew - I've got the "You Made Me Realise" EP, with five tracks on it. They played a couple off that, some off Loveless, I think I recognised "Soon" off the Glider EP.
Then they played the track we were all waiting for - You Made Me Realise. Wow. What an epic track. The wall of noise MBV produced was amazing. I could feel my jeams moving around my legs with the air vibrating, which was unexpected, and the drums were thumping against my chest.
I would have put my earplugs in, but unfortunately I had taken off my coat and packed it in my rucksack. The noise was building and building, and I did have to plug my ears with my thumbs instead - for the very last crescendo. So I can say that I experienced the MBV wall of noise - and survived.
And then, it was time to go home.
Unfortunately I missed the 23:17 so had to wait for the 00:06, which meant I didn't get in at home until 02:00.

But bloody hell. What an experience. People were nodding their heads, or semi-dancing, but IMO, MBV just make a noise to experience. Standing there and letting it wash over me was pleasure enough.

And I've got the added bonus that the new LP and CD are waiting for me at Resident Music, when I can get in to pick them up - so I can listen to the new tracks and fall in love with MBV all over again.

The Wonder Stuff not Wonderful Any More...

So I went to see the Wonder Stuff on Wednesday; they were appearing on a triple bill with PWEI (Pop Will Eat Itself) and Jesus Jones in a night entitled "Sleigh the UK".

I met up with my sister at Victoria and we made our way to the Shepherd's Bush O2. We got in just as Jesus Jones were starting up, with International Bright Young Thing. They stormed through a number of songs off Liquidizer, as well as a couple from Doubt which I recognised, and of course they played Info Freako - but it wasn't the closer, surprisingly.

The songs were good, but it seemed there was something missing; I'm not sure what it was, but the music didn't seem quite rounded out. It was very enjoyable though, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle at several points during the set.

Next up were PWEI, which now only contains one original member - Graham Crabb. But he's backed up by (apparently) an ex-member of Gaye Bikers on Acid, and they certainly look like they're having fun on stage. The guitarists looked younger, but also joined in the fun. I saw PWEI last year at the Concorde II in Brighton and was initially sceptical, but they produced a full-on wall of sound and they know how to get their crowd moving. There was some serious moshpit action, which looked scary to me! But from my vantage point, they were the highlight of the night.

Lastly, The Wonder Stuff came on. Again, they only contain one original member, but I think we would all agree that Miles Hunt is the original member; he was the songwriter, the mouthpiece and the creative engine-room of the band. Miles took the stage like the all-conquering hero he is, but the band didn't seem to interact at all. It seemed like they were doing it by the numbers, and the only one enjoying themself was Miles. Things did pick up a bit when Erica left the stage so that the band could "play their boys' music", and the band romped through a few of their hits, but it was 22:45 by this time, and it was too little, too late.

The last time I saw the Wonder Stuff, Malc Treece and Martin Gilks were onstage (must have been 2005 or 2006) and the sense of communal enjoyment was palpable. It just wasn't there last Wednesday, and it probably would have been better billed as "Miles Hunt sings The Wonder Stuff". I still listen to 'Groove Machine and Hup, and I was reminded how good Never Loved Elvissounds (and my sister re-bought that for me a few years ago). I also have Escape From Rubbish Island and Suspended By Stars from their new incarnation, so I think the creative spark is there, but there was some enjoyment, some joie de vivre missing from the gig.

I'm glad I went; it was good to see Caroline and hear Jesus Jones and PWEI again, and Miles had his moments, but I shan't be attending Sleigh the UK 2013.

TTFN !! 

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

A London Weekend

We were very lucky that a friend of TW's was going away for the weekend and offered us the use of her flat. We pootled up on Thursday night after work without incident and installed ourselves in Earlsfield, SW18.
Friday we spent the day at London Zoo. It rained but the kids enjoyed it. Saturday we spent walking through London - we visited Leicester Square, Chinatown, Trafalgar Square (the NFL were in town), and we were entertained for hours by the street performers at Coventry Garden. There was a very funny guy who majicked oranges from under hats - great patter! and also a guy on a unicycle, who I think was underselling his skill, but being funny with it.
We also went to the National Gallery and the Tate Modern, and finished the day off with Pizza Express and a walk in the dark back to Waterloo along the Embankment, to see the London Eye illuminated.