Concert: French Chanson and Swing

Tonight was originally supposed to be a monthly social with Spooky London. Not that I've had that much to do with them - but I have been to one event of theirs, and thought it'd be nice to be.. social. Except the venue was never announced - and then it wasn't happening at all. Never mind, that left me free to go to what I was really more interested in going to - London European Club's French Chanson and Swing. I booked in advance - it was cheaper.

It was happening in Jamboree, a place I'd never before heard of. The website mentioned that parking was available in nearby residential streets - well hey, driving was an exciting prospect! Except the day was wearing on.. and my Skype call to my mother took forever, because of her poor internet connection.. and when she finally gave up, and I finally researched the driving route, and discovered I'd have to go through Vauxhall, Elephant & Castle, (both of which I know to have horrendous traffic, and complicated lane systems) AND Tower Hill - which seemed to have something like a spaghetti junction (well, maybe a pretzel) - I realised I'd never master the required route in time.

Now, someone had recommended an app called Waze to me - said he drives everywhere, and it's always helped him when he's got lost. So I tried downloading it. It was still downloading when I eventually left.. but while it was doing that, I decided I'd better plump for public transport. Google Maps suggested (deep breath) - train to Waterloo, Waterloo & City Line to Bank, DLR to Limehouse, and walk. An easy walk, to be fair: right, left, left, and it's on the right. The alternative was the Overground to Wapping, and a bus - well, I wanted to get there as quickly as possible at this stage, and didn't fancy the delay of a bus.

So I was all set to do the train, Tube, DLR route, and turned off the computer. And then realised I hadn't researched my route back, which was likely to be late, and could be different, if services weren't still running at that time! Turned the computer back on - and when I eventually got it to work, it suggested the Overground from Shadwell, which I could walk to. Huh?! Yup. Google Maps can be funny sometimes - now, if they'd only told me that route was available for the outbound journey. So, when I left for this evening's concert, I got the Overground to Shadwell.

This was to be a decently long journey, and my phone battery was failing. Still, for the first few stops, entertainment was provided by a rail worker who hovered near me. I reached for my Oyster card, and she reassured me that she didn't want to check it - she was doing a customer satisfaction survey instead, and would I like to participate? Sure - I'd be there for ages, and I'm always doing surveys..

I was lost in a reverie by the time we got to Shadwell, and only just remembered to get off. Never been there before. You climb some stairs, past signs warning how many more there are if you don't get the lift. So we all got the lift. At the top, you can exit left or right. Tip: for Jamboree, exit right. I know this, because I exited left - fortunately, there was a map to tell me I was going the wrong way. I could see a DLR station across the road. And so I turned tail and went the other way - Shadwell isn't a big station, it doesn't take long to get un-lost.

The walk (left, down Cable Street) took me nigh on 15 minutes. From Jamboree's website, I knew it was in the courtyard of Cable Street Studios - otherwise, I'd never have found it. Walked through the archway, discovered a gate that had to be electronically unlocked - luckily, the light turned green as I approached (on my way out, I discovered there was a guard in a hut to the side). Made my way into the courtyard inside, walked to the end, and sure enough, Jamboree was where the people were clustered outside.

A fellow at a desk just inside the door scribbled my name off the list and stamped my wrist, and I was in. Bugger - the place was tiny, and crammed; I'd be standing. Got myself a drink at the bar - 10p extra for card payments, but I had practically no cash left. Was just wondering where was best to stand when I was tapped on the shoulder by someone I knew from the group - which makes two people there tonight that I knew: her and the organiser. So we stood together, at the side, with a decent view of the (empty) stage.

Jamboree is actually lovely - really quirky, one of those atmospheric places with assorted household objects scattered about on shelves, hung on the walls and from the ceiling. A heavy curtain runs on a semicircular rail just inside the door, insulating the room and allowing them to leave the door open. We could have done with a bit less insulation, mind - the place was heaving, and oppressively stuffy.

The music, we'd heard, was to start at 8:45 - in the event, it started after 9. And we'd been promised two acts - but the first on were neither of these. I have, to this moment, no idea who they were - although my companion was stood next to the sound engineer, and interrogated him; he said they were Italian. They, themselves, said it was their first time performing live (ahh!) and proceeded to play just three tunes - and all named after animals. One was playing an accordion - very jumpily for the first number, "The Whale". Did the whale perhaps have the hiccups?

Well hey, the crowd was receptive, and they left the stage around 9:30. And we waited, and waited.. I was feeling queasy from sheer lack of oxygen (and wishing I'd had less dinner) and after a bit I decided to pop outside while we were still waiting for the next act. There are picnic benches outside, and I grabbed a seat on a bench by the door, and gulped in the welcome, ice-cold air. Watched the woman I'd seen inside, with two little dogs on a joint lead - she brought them outside and let them off; well, it's a gated courtyard, they were safe enough. And a German chap near me attracted my attention when he was describing to someone near me how much friendlier the staff are at Lidl in London than in Berlin..

Next time I saw him, he was up on stage playing a balalaika.. for yes, this was one of the Berlin Balalaika Brothers! I'd promised myself that if they hadn't started by 10 I was leaving - well, they started about 10 minutes before that, with a "Guten Abend!" from stage. So I made my way back in, greatly refreshed from my re-oxygenation, and over to the far side again - a good place to stand, away from the main crush of people. Firstly, there's a bit more air there. Secondly, you get a better view, as you can stand behind a whole heap of people that are sitting. I couldn't quite make my way back to the wall, where my companion still stood, but was decently comfortable where I was, with a great view of half the stage, and where I could lean on the chairs in front of me for respite.

The Berlin Balalaika Brothers might have been playing in London for the first time, but newcomers to the stage they obviously are not. Flamboyantly dressed in shiny shirts (reminiscent of the last balalaika concert I was at, not two weeks ago), they roared us into enthusiasm. The crowd got very jiggy for this! And they egged us on - lots of shouting in Russian, lots of clapping and stamping of feet. A couple of numbers I remembered from the last concert too, including a nod to Dr. Zhivago..

They're mad, this pair, and the madness reached a crescendo near the end - which is just the way to perform Kalinka. So, one of 'em decided to go crowd-surfing, the crowd carrying him above their heads, where he continued to strum away as he came in grave danger of crashing into the bunting. And when they could go no further with him, they let him down, and he led them in a conga..!

Fantastic stuff, I'd rush to see them again. They finished just before 11, and my companion and I decided to go - I had to catch the 11:16 train from Shadwell if I was to be home by midnight, and she'd found out from the sound guy that this gig was due to continue till 3! and has to be somewhere early in the morning. Indeed, the headliners probably wouldn't have been on until 11:30, given the way the evening was going. So our "French Chanson & Swing" lacked French chanson - although perhaps not swing!

We both walked to Limehouse, where she waited for the DLR to Bank, and I took it back to Shadwell. Handy I'd noticed there was a DLR station at Shadwell! Made it with just a few minutes to spare. No survey-takers on the way back - just a guy noisily chewing gum, and slapping his thighs to the rhythm of what he was listening to through his earphones. And boy am I tired after my evening..

Tomorrow, I'm with the Crick Crack Club, for an event entitled Seven Princesses - at Rich Mix, which will be my first event there with them. I was asked this evening what time that was, and didn't have a clue - "evening" is generally all I need to know until the day. 7:30 seems to be the answer, FYI!

For Sunday, the London European Club just yesterday announced an organ concert at the church of All Saints, Margaret Street.. free, with suggested donation of £5. So I've said I'll go..

On Monday, my last Meetup before Easter sees me back with - surprise, surprise, Let's Do London - for less! The Man with the Hat is taking us underground - to the Vaults. Jeez, it's ages since I've been there - definitely more a warm-weather venue, we may have to keep our coats on! Pop-up Opera is staging their version of Romeo & Juliet down there. Romantic, down in the dark? Well, as long as I don't get dripped on.. And then I'm back to Ireland for just over a week, for Easter - dates specifically chosen for the cheapest flights! I fly back to London on the 30th.