2 posts tagged “lost”
Was the response to my chosen gig buddy of last night after I explained why I was an hour late for the Grammatics gig.
I really like this band. Their music is quite quirky and I hear a lot of different influences in there. Production-wise the stuff I've heard is quite 80's/cure-esque I think. Have a look at their page. The Vague Archive and Shadow Committee are great to listen to.
Missed the last tube so went to the chill bar thing around the corner for a while and watched some jazz/triphop thing. Then went for a wander and bought some cider (classy). Eventually went cab hunting which was unsuccessful. But managed to get into an Ibis hotel foyer for half an hour whilst we waited for one. Luckly a nice scottish bloke let us borrow his pass to get through the door. I had to spend half an hour looking like I was sort of queueing to get a room/sort of playing with my phone. My mate drank cider and took advantage of the free internet I think.
I'm off to see Goldheart Assembly at the Troubadour tomorrow as I came across them a while back and have been meaning to see them for a while. What gigs have you got coming up at the mo? I've had a shortage of 'We're playing here' emails. I'm out again tonight and on Satuday too I think. I should start cycling to venues maybe? That could be disasterous though I guess.
I've got a Columbia A&R meeting today where I'm going to really push an act I've mentioned before (but can't mention now ;-) in advance of meeting our Chairman. Got some really good stuff to present, most of which has come through here so I'm hoping to get a second blog signing some time soon. But that may take a bit of time I guess.
The reason I was so late for the gig was I got my new bike yesterday. The sales bloke looks exactly like Eric Idle and sounded like him too. Anyhoo, I got changed into my completly non-waterproof cycyling gear (monkey magic t-shirt and canvas shorts).
It's the first time I've had proper gears, the whole shimano thing is at least 10 years old but I'm a bit behind. I was used to gear changes on the cross bar like on my chopper (it was my brother's actually)
I sort of had an idea where to go, so headed over putney bridge for barnes, came through Barnes, got lost and didn't know where I was until I re-appeared pretty much outside my ex's house. Would have been difficult to explain why I was there so I managed to pedal a bit harder and get to the Thames in record time.
Again, I got lost and it was embarrasing as to how many other cyclists zipped past me at high speed. Probably with a snooty expression on their face but I only got to see their lycra-clad arses disappear into the distance. Hmm, I wonder if I should go for the lycra look? :-)
Eventually I had the "Ahh, I'm here" moment, shortly followed by the "Oh f**k, I'm here!!" moment. I'd overshot by a few miles and had a long trek home. 2 hours later I made it. According to tfl's website it should have taken 35 mins. Shite.
Hope all is tranquil and easy to find with you.
I've never actually had a 'Duvet Day' before. It was originally described to me as a 'Doona Day', but they were Australian and have funny words for just about everything. I was corrected on the expression by a fellow brit. I've really enjoyed it and hope to do it again soon. Though I don't think my boss would like it.
I booked today off and didn't surface until just before lunch, which was great. :-)
It was so dark all morning that I was very glad I didn't have to go to work. Something has gone very wrong with the English summer. I mean, wet.. ok, sunny... very ok. But I just don't know how to dress at the moment (many would say I've never known how to). One minute it's nice, the next a monsoon with hailstones the size of peas. That happened a couple of weeks back.
Today we had this:
Anyway, less weather more music. I went to see Captive State last night and they were fookin brilliant. It's the best gig I've been to in a while. It was at the Spitz in East London. Last time I was there I nearly set fire to the stage when I knocked a drink into the pedal board of my organ. It made a very loud bang and the gig went a bit downhill. I should have checked to see if the burn mark was still there. :-)
Have a listen to their songs. I'm not articulate enough to give you a running commentry or insightful comparisons other than I can say live, they were great. 9 people, mostly on stage, with a great mix of keyboards, percussion, brass, guitars, great backing vocals and most importantly strong songs. Normally when there's loads of instrumentalists involved, half of them needn't be there, for this band it wasn't the case. A great bit of mixing from the sound guy too. Even the backing vocals were tight and added to the layers of sound.
In many ways their set up and performance reminded me of Hot Chip. I'm not sure the recordings can reflect their greatest asset which was their live set.
As usual, I got very drunk which isn't the cool thing to do when technically I'm working. I think I'm meant to be in the shadows at the side of the venue, secretly taking notes and leaving undetected like a Ninja. Rather than drinking several pints, getting shitfaced and making a fool of myself at the front of the stage. :-s Had bad paranoia this morning but that was probably the hangover.
How rock n' roll is this? It's Friday evening and I'm at home writing a blog. Saying that I was meant to be at the barfly tonight but the guy who was taking me can't make it and the tube is stuffed because of the above weather apparently.
Hope all is good out there.
