The ticket (Eventbrite) said 6pm, the Meetup group said 7. I arrived just before 7, and the place was almost deserted. It turns out to be an Indian restaurant, and you take a seat by default - a sign at the door asks you to wait to be seated. The lady beside it checked my name off a list, and told me where to take a table - nearer the stage if you haven't booked a meal, it seems. Not that you can't eat anyway - they give you menus just in case, and I ordered a glass of extremely good house white.
It's a long and narrow place, stage in the middle. 8pm came and went, and no sign of any music. The other attendees of my group did come though, and ironically sat right beside me. We chatted briefly, but predictably there was no sign of the organiser. And seeing that they wanted to chat between themselves, I left them to it. The place didn't start to fill till well past 8 - and sure enough the band didn't come on till after 9. I'll know in future. Just as well I had my phone to keep me company!
The band, happily, were well worth it - and despite being so close to the stage, I didn't really find it too loud. They have a rocking vibe with a slightly unusual twist.. I was toe-tapping all night, and the area in front of the stage was soon full of gyrating bodies. Turns out this was their last gig for a while - they're off to record their first album! Mind you, they did have a carrier bag of £5 cds if you wanted - I didn't have any cash anyway. I guess they played just about everything of theirs that you can find on YouTube. And good luck to them! They're exceedingly good.
Got away without paying for the wine - although food was still being served after the band came on (and is nominally served till 11), it tails off pretty sharply once the music starts, the menus being removed from the tables. And I think the restaurant staff go home. With a crowded bar, and my glass already removed, no-one was looking for payment from me. (I'd have had another glass if they'd asked when removing that glass, but they didn't.) Anyway, I'd go back - and have recommended it to my team for a future social.
Tomorrow was Mario Bakuna and Edmundo Carneiro in the same venue - fully seated, this time. But today, ShowFilmFirst, who send me periodic emails with ultra-cheap offers, sent me an offer for £2 tickets to a flamenco show, tomorrow in the Jazz Cafe. Well hey, I love flamenco, so that was that!
Sunday is Roda de Choro with Alvorada, back at The London Jukebox. Now the Meetup group can't seem to agree with the venue on how long the gig is..
Monday and Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS). Monday is Tartuffe, by Molière, at the National.
Tuesday is a show called Bare: A Pop Opera, at The Sainsbury Theatre.
On Wednesday, I'm back with Let's Do This for another meal at Tas, meeting at The George again beforehand.
On Thursday, I'd have loved to go with UITCS for Season 7, the last of Pinter at the Pinter. Unfortunately, when I checked, although they still had tickets - they were either standing or a minimum price of £93 for that night. Nah, don't really want to go that badly! Never mind, the London European Club is off to a concert of French Chansons: The Sparrows of Paris, at Old Mary's. That's a most acceptable choice! Then I'm back to Ireland at the weekend again.
And on the 25th, I am back with UITCS to Sadler's Wells for Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch! This time though, it's Bon Voyage, Bob. And with cheaper tickets in the back row of each of the lower levels, I'm in the stalls for the first time in ages! Annoying overhang, but hey, they're the cheapest seats, and I get to avoid all those stairs, for once.
No comments:
Post a Comment