After a bitter weekend, I headed back here for the arrival of the Beast from the East. Couldn't believe it when I looked out the window this morning to see lying snow - so rare in central London! The roads were clear, at least. But OMG it's cold - never got above a couple of degrees all day. So I wrapped up really well - was still frozen heading for the bus, which made it very vexing that one passed as I waited to cross. Only a few minutes to the next, but I was so glad when it came. Ironically, I got off one stop early - there was some confusion, owing to the driver stopping before the stop, and again at it, and I was facing backwards, so couldn't see what was happening. Never mind, the extra walk wasn't too cold - despite the fact that it was snowing again - and I did grab a paper en route.
Some confusion when I arrived - a huge crowd trying to get in, and one valiant usher, standing on the front steps, bellowing - something. Full marks (and a round of applause) for effort, zero for comprehensibility. Finally, someone said something that made sense - people in the stalls were queueing to the left, those of us in the Upper Circle just to the left of them again, and entering between the two lit signs. So I got in without too much hassle - ticket on my phone, mercifully; I just had to enlarge it, so they could zap the barcode.
Straight up to the bar, then - and I was to be glad I had a paper, considering that, while all we'd been told in advance was that doors were at 7, it turned out that the house wouldn't even open until closer to 7.30, support was at 8, and Jake himself from 9 to 10.15. A short set, I mused - well, I'm more used to big acts that go on for over two hours. But they have bigger back catalogues, of course.
Got a rather decent pinot grigio while I waited - and I was to be glad, afterwards, that I stood in the bar for as long as I did. When the house opened, I went in - delighted to see mini railings, in the style of the Opera House, that meant I could reach the front row without difficulty. Unfortunately, although my seat was comfy, the legroom was a bit of a squeeze - particularly after hours of sitting there. And a double rail in front of me obscured the view a bit - but not much, as I could peer between the rails.
So. Our first act was a pleasant young lass called Georgie, who entertained us for something under an hour. And then Jake came on, without much fanfare, and entertained us for, actually, an hour and a half, I think. A fellow to swap his guitars and bring him drinks - and adjust the mic when he decided, near the end, that he'd rather stand. Nobody else on stage with him.
As I remarked to the usher on the way out, I'd never before heard of him, and was quite impressed. (Turned out she'd never heard of him, either.) He has some of the catchiest melodies I've heard, which made the evening a real pleasure - really clever lyrics, too. Actually, he's got something really good. His most unique feature, however - and I don't think even his die-hard fans would argue with this - is his voice. He has a normal speaking voice - but when he sings, he has a voice that is the incarnation of Elmer Fudd..
So, I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy the albums. But hey, the late, great Leonard Cohen - whose Suzanne was played as we waited for him to come on, and was one of my highlights - had the voice of a frog, so it's hardly fatal. Certainly, a fairly packed house was adoring.. and took the opportunity, at every lull between songs, to yell "We love you, Jake!" Yeah, I think he got the message after the first dozen or so times. Towards the end, as he started to take requests, they switched to yelling song titles. And it was lovely, finally, to see people in the stalls start to get up and jive to the music - I believe Two Fingers, the only one I knew in advance, was the one to start that off! Nice, too, to have a proper fan beside me - she obviously had her favourites. Yeah, I'd happily go to see this guy again - he knows how to work a room, and he has the material.
Cold, cold, cold on the way home - it's years since I could feel pinpricks all over when I got in and started defrosting. Thank goodness, I was just in time for Tesco. Wrapping up again for the rest of the week, methinks. Tomorrow, an opera in Sanskrit..! without subtitles. Satyagraha is at the Coliseum, and is about Gandhi. So I should figure it out - could do with the Sanskrit scholar from last Tuesday's play! Gosh, it's ages since I've been there..
On Wednesday, Summer and Smoke (Tennessee Williams) at the Almeida. Does include actual cigarette smoke, and a gunshot. North London Friends are going, but I'm going independently. Sold out now..
On Thursday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - and Meetup - at the Bridge Theatre, for what I hear is a stunning performance of Julius Caesar. You get the choice of being part of the crowd - I'm not. Modern setting.
On Friday, back with North London Friends, at Hampstead Theatre, for Acceptance.
On Saturday, Up in the Cheap Seats, and Beginning, at the Ambassadors Theatre. For once, not an official ticket for this - got better value with What's on Stage!
On Sunday, I found another Southwark tour - excellent! The "Family Friendly Liberty of the Clink" tour is run by Walking in London.. therefore Funzing.. and Londonist is involved somewhere too. Hard to keep track of everyone involved in walks. The standard code (crazy_fun) is still giving 10% off on Funzing's website.
Next Monday, London European Club is headed to Monologue Slam, an actors' showcase at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East.
On the 6th, Up in the Cheap Seats is at Sadler's Wells for a performance by Ballet British Colombia.
On the 7th, Let's Do This is off to a jazz evening at Two Temple Place. Beautiful venue - should be a lovely evening.
On the 8th, Walking Victorian London is running a walk around Il Quartiere - Tales from Italian Clerkenwell. Excellent - I've had my eye on that for a while. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 12th, London Dramatic Arts is at Caroline, or Change, at Hampstead Theatre. As usual, too expensive for me, and I got my own ticket, at about half the price. She's only going with one unnamed guest - maybe she won't go at all!
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