11th Jan: Coincidences. Coincidences are good.
Last night I was all set to go to a party with my brother. It's a farewell thing for an old flatmate of his. Which is cool (she's not a bad chick) except for two things. The party was a long way away, and most of the people there would be young, a little loud and stupid, and (here's the clincher) really interested in cars. So I was unsure about going. Especially as there was a gig I wanted to go to.
So my brother calls me around 7.30 and explains that there isn't any room in the car he's hitching a lift with, and that I could get a train out and have someone meet me at the station. At which point, the gig starts sounding a lot more attractive. He agrees.
So I head down to the every-wonderful Indigo Bar , there to see Turin Brakes , a band of whom I actually know nothing, except that they get good reviews, and I really liked the b-side of their first single. (They're kind of in the same genre as someone like Coldplay or Travis, but a lot more stripped down - two guitars, two vocals and keyboard).
Then comes one of those great nights. I'm standing on my own when Stephen walks up. He's a friend of a friend, we've hung out a few times, and he's very enthusiastic about making friends. So we're talking for a while, and Vincent from school walks up, and we all chat a while. Then Vincent goes to find his wife, and Stephen makes friends with this random English guy who's there on his own. We all head up the front for the gig.
And it is fantastic. One of the best gigs I've seen in a long time. Great tunes, well-played, both the crowd and the band really into it, to the point where they do an unplanned encore and finish the set applauding the crowd. I'm totally converted, and ecstatic to have seen them in such a small venue.
Then a bunch of us head down to Sandwiches, a new(ish) bar/club that's playing quality indie/dance stuff in the bar, and has a nice, dark, seedy-looking dancefloor that would be absolutely fantastic if (a) they weren't playing progressive and (b) I was on drugs, but is still pretty damn good anyway.
Home, sweaty. Good night
|
