Huey and the New Yorkers, Bush Hall - 7 November

This is the gig where we finally met Huey. One of my favourite people in the world from NY has been trying to get us to meet Huey since he moved over here. Think he lives in Leicester or something. The last time Fun Lovin' Criminals played in London, we went to see them at Koko. The attempts to get in touch were foiled by a hurricane or something. I swear, I don't miss that season in NY. And now there's another one. It's terrible.

At any rate, we went along to his album launch at Rough Trade Records East a couple of weeks ago and met him ourselves. Even brought Jr, which meant that I didn't actually get to see the numbers he played off his new album. I did meet him afterwards, as he and Jr posed for photos. Jr's a ham. We left because I was starving and a corned beef bagel was calling to me. It's a hazard around that area.

So, we get to Bush Hall, and it's pretty full. Huey and the NYers are just coming on. It's a decent sized band -  guitarists: Chris, King, Na'im; the keyboardist and the drummer. The drummer's Frank from FLC. The keyboardist is Pete, who I will keep confusing Frank with later.They look nothing alike. I had been drinking.

The band were definitely out for a good time, and wound up taking the audience with them. All the songs, even if you don't know the lyrics, have you singing along by the end of them, and they are very danceable. He started out with Stick it to the Man and got sentimental with Christmas by the Side of the Road. He also sang a few standards. Chris had some good guitar solos, and Peter was a whizz on the keyboards. The band came out for two encores and I think we would've been there all night, but as one of the guys said, that's all the songs we know. But that is most definitely untrue. They must know more songs. I know they do.

At any rate, we stayed for one more beer after the show, and that was probably an error on my part. Mr wandered off and came back with after show party tickets, and instead of saying, oh no, we have to get the train and we have a babysitter... I said, great! let's go. So we went upstairs.

Now, I am not much of a drinker anymore and I had a few. Then one more over my personal limit. So, poor Huey and the boys were subjected to drunken Mrs. I was surrounded by people from NY - more specifically, Manhattan. These people are like baby pigeons.They must exist, but you never actually see any. Everyone moves to NYC or lives in the outer boroughs, in my experience. It was nice to hear their accents. I had a weird sense of being back in New York, just for one evening. Talking about the election and Hurricane Sandy.

At any rate, I must now publicly apologise for thinking Huey's full name is Hubert instead of the actual and more probable Hugh. And generally making a nuisance of myself at the party. But they seemed very cheerful and gracious as a bunch. It was too much fun and I paid for it the next day. As my co-worker said, "On a school night!" Yep. Ow.

Marks out of 10: this was definitely a 9.5. Huey and the gang have continued FLC's tradition of making sure they tear the roof off any venue they play in. A great night out. On a Wednesday!

The Olympics - 10m womens & mens shooting at Woolwich, 28 July

The Olympics are on here in London and luckily for us, Mr and I have snaffled some tickets. The funny thing is, you apply for them so far in advance, we barely remembered what we were scheduled to go to. Now that they are here, they have exceeded our expectations.

I think it's kind of embarrassing to gush, but the Olympic venues are fab, the traffic is light, all the volunteers are so nice, and well, it's like living in an alternate universe London. Where people help you if you're lost and are generally jolly. Where lots of things are painted in very bright colours, and where one-eyed cyclops dance around for your amusement.

On Saturday, we left Junior Gig in the capable hands of our babysitter Lizzy, and headed off to Woolwich on the bus. We didn't do the 8:15 start, as I'm not really a morning person. Chatted with the squaddies on security, and went into the grounds.

I thought the venue would've incorporated a historical building or two, but the site instead had these cool cubes as buildings. Big white marshmallows with different coloured spots. We looked around a bit and then joined the large queue forming outside the finals building. The biggest one with red spots.

Got inside, and then we waited. They shows these informational videos about the sport you're about to watch, which is helpful. I had no idea about shooting. Then a brass band came on, and then Wenlock the mascot did a bit of soft shuffle to the music. Luckily for me, the 10M air pistol is not a loud gun. Pop pop pop. I had brought some earplugs, which Mr mocked me for.

The Chinese contestant Guo Wenjun won, and we watched as they took away the shooting range, and put up the medal podium. Aw. It was nice to see. I always think of how proud their mums must be. It was also the first medal of the entire London Olympics. How cool is that?

There was a Chinese fan contingent and they went a bit mental, waving their giant flag and jumping up and down. Mr took a photo of them.

After the final we had a coffee and watched men shoot coloured clay things into dust while we ate our sarnies, during the break. Then, it was back to the queue, where the band came along and played for us while we read our papers. Got back into the cube, where we watched men shoot. South Korea won.

When it was done, Wenlock shuffled forlornly without the band to accompany him while we waited for the medal stand to be put up. It seemed whenever he was done, he would consult with a nearby minder. Nod, and then do a little more softshoeing. Poor fella. The men seemed to be worse shots, but Mr pointed out that they did it one-handed while the women did it with both hands.

Marks out of 10: 8, particularly for the dancing mascot

The Tallest Man on Earth, Rough Trade East - July 2

Mr and Gig Junior went to a free outing on Monday night, to see The Tallest Man on Earth at Rough Trade Records East. This is a fairly common event for the boys and they bring back bagels, as RTE is located near the 24-hour bagel place that is probably the only decent place to get them in this city. At any rate, Mr reports back that The Tallest Man wasn't as billed and in fact seemed considerably shorter than him (he is quite tall). Gig Jr seemed more interested in the bagel and the train ride.

I asked about the music and apparently they were so engrossed in playing Connect 4, they didn't actually listen to the man play. But they purchased his album on vinyl.

Jack White w/First Aid Kit, Hammersmith Apollo - June 22

I have a confession - I usually avoid the Hammersmith Apollo, due to one very horrible Florence & the Machine gig where I had to stand up at the back of the balcony. It was hot and so awful I left before the encore and before I passed out from the heat. I saw nothing except people's backsides. But I do love the White Stripes and so off we went to Jack White on Friday night.

First, we met up with Tim the plumber and got on the train. Tim's a great guy, but he enjoys his lager. Mr and I swore blind we would not be sucked into Tim's tricks of buying loads of beer/cider during a concert. Last time that happened, Tim and I wound up prancing around like fools outside Heaven with Erin O'Connor and the lead singer of the Alpines. I kept calling Erin, Erin Brokovich.

I was so tiddly I took a photo of Tim and Erin with her head cut off. Mr was inside trying to get Oh Land's autograph. They ran off just as he got outside. Never mind. But the problem is that if you do that on a school night, or any other night where you have to get up with a small child the next day, it's not good.

So, here we are at the Apollo, and Tim goes off for the first round, as I settle into my balcony seat. Having a seat is key at the Apollo. Do not bother with the standing tickets they sell. First Aid Kit are on, and sounding good, playing between the sheeted instruments for Jack's set. We catch two songs, the lion's roar one and the one where they yell "Fire!" and on the album is a duet with a guy who sounds like a young Bob Dylan. I luv this album myself.

FAK seem a bit shy - the two of them have long hair and they look like twin Cousin Its from the Addams family up there, playing away. Sometimes I think musicians being shy is just the most bizarre thing. Aren't you supposed to be performers? But the noise the two hairy ones were emanating was excellent. They leave to loud applause

Then, after a decent  interval, Jack White and his 6 woman band come on. The ladies were dressed like Charlene Tilton from Dallas. Now, Mr White is a bit of a hyper performer. He cannot stand still. He prowls around the stage like a 5-year old stuck indoors. He is also quite multi-talented - he can do a guitar, he can play the piano. I like guys like this.

He blasts through a large selection of stuff he has written since Meg left the band. Some of it is country. Jack has a fondness for country, as his collaborations with Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams have proved.  Me, I am not so crazy about it and I don't recognise most of it. This is alleviated somewhat by Tim's constant watering of Mr and I with alcohol.

And Jack seems a bit lost, despite his running around. And then I figure it out, after the interval where he and his band (he also apparently has a six-man band that he plays with too, on alternating dates) trundle off for a drink. This might be down to the cider I had ingested, but here's my theory:

Jack is missing Meg. Meg, the woman who spent concerts beating up the drums like she was the Cadbury's Gorilla. The one who would do a song and howl into the microphone. Meg, the one who is apparently suffering from stage fright and no longer will tour.

Poor Jack. He did his best. The female drummer tried to thump the drums like Meg used to do, but she wasn't using her time behind the skins as therapy like Meg did. So, the audience stayed seated until the end when he played "7 Nations" and the Doorbell song. I think the last one was directly aimed at Meg. When ya gonna ring it, Meg?

Marks out of 10: 7, because by God Jack tries.
The Apollo's still not my favourite venue though. It does get hot up in the balcony. 

Best Coast, Shepherd's Bush Empire - June 20

Sorry for any lack of coherence in this blog. I have taken over an old one and revamped it a bit. I find we see a lot of gigs and I forget all about them, so this seems to me a pretty good way to remember them. And share my unofficial opinion on them. You are free to disagree. 

Last night, Mr and I went to see Best Coast, a California duo. They were playing at Shepherd's Bush Empire in West London. Truthfully, although the groundlings were enthusiastic downstairs, the band seemed a little bit lost and maybe would've been better at Bush Hall, a smaller venue nearby. It was a lot of guitar and kind of drowned out what turned out to be quite a lovely voice on Bethany Cosentino. Bit of a shame, really. The covers she did at the end were the strongest part, because then you heard what notes she could hit.

I also liked the bear hugging the state logo on their t-shirts, but they didn't have my size. Sometimes, the most 'meh' kind of bands come up with really good graphics. We went to a concert with Mona last year, a boy guitar band, at Koko. I bought a t-shirt because it was pretty cool looking. I get more compliments on it. Can I remember any of their songs? Noooo.

I also like it when bands get their support acts on, which Best Coast did at the end. The audience skewed young, but then again, unless I'm at a Squeeze or Neil Diamond show, we're often the oldest ones in the room. Overall, an enjoyable muscial experience.


Marks out of 10: 6. For the covers, really.