Gig Diary 2 - Bar Vinyl & The Alleycat Club

Ah Camden...I'll always have an emotional link to Camden as I spent a lot of time up there when I lived in London. I've played the Jazz Cafe a few times, met Noël Gallagher there, watched the Bluetones and other indie favourites in a place that was once the home of Britpop. I've walked the lock on summer nights, gone round the bustling markets under the low lights and cobblestone streets. I've bought clothes, food, art, taken in the vast range of culture madness and general oddness that is that square mile...but one thing still and always has intrigues me. How have the police not caught the drug dealers!? I mean it's so easy and there so stupid with it as well, Camden lock bridge is still the hotspot and they couldn't be more pathetic in there attempts to be inconspicuous if they tried! If someone would like to enlighten me as to why it seems so blatant there please let me know....because I guarantee if I went undercover i'd suss them out in 30 mins....without question!

The place still excites me even though I can understand why it would irritate a lot of people. There's more tourists now taking pictures of the big Converse attached to the shop wall than there is actual alternative purists, although you can still find them. It's the bizarreness that I adore, the fact you get people walking down the road in full cyberpunk getup or one sleeve missing and a monocle, or a guy dressed as Albert Einstein....and no one cares....it's great...I love that! The extravagance, the weird and wonderful, and the fantastic stalls will always be inviting to me.

So the gig was in Bar Vinyl which is a small bar down the street with Britpop legend 'The Good Mixer' at the end of it. It has a nice interior and was a lovely place to go and have a few drinks and some nice food to get out of the Mighty Boosh outside. I think it needs a little more work to really make it a serious live venue though, it's essentially set up for small cocktail bar type background music or a small club environment, not really live music I would say. The gig wasn't greatly attended and so the vibe was small and not noteworthy which gives me very little to engage with. So unfortunately not great....the few people that witnessed it liked it, and I played quite well, so no harm done! So with some time to kill I went and sat on London Bridge and watched things.....I like watching things you see...

During the next day on Monday I took the opportunity to see the London Observatory. Being a space nut it was something I absolutely adored and I think anyone with even the slightest interest in space exploration, the structure and need of 'time' socially and it's importance in nature, or just want to have a nice walk in a park....should go to Greenwich and experience the mueseums. I was lucky enough to see the space photography exhibition there as well, and the planetarium is something else! I'm not going to bore you with it because I could talk all day about it...just go!

Yuri Gagarin ....an that...

The Alleycat club in Denmark Street had all the credentials of a fantastic evening. The venue was in London's guitar haven for a start! It's 50s rock and roll decor and basement entrance make you feel like you are entering into history and the haphazard wallpaper of old rock and roll magazines and NME's only add to that. It was complete with smooching couple in the back of the venue, I had to look twice as I thought it could have been Danny Zuko and Sandy. After soundcheck I realised that this night may suffer from a poor attendance as there wasn't much foot traffic coming in and the bar had been open a while. When I played there was a few more in and people enjoyed what I did but I found it hard to engage and really only getting in my stride at the end. 

I approached it more jokey and less professional maybe than usual as it just seemed a little patronising to be waffling on a sales pitch in a vibe-less room! Fantastic venue though and it was just an unlucky night of poor attendance. Thanks to the people who were there though, and your comments are appreciated hope you enjoy the CD. 

Next stop The Troubadour...I've heard a lot about this venue, let's try it out!

Stay Safe

Andy xx

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