Blog: First Gig Of The Year

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On Friday night The Bands On My Bill and I set out for our first gig of the year, at The Buffalo Bar.

The evening began DELIGHTFULLY as we had our TEA at Hummus Brothers. This is a really nice place, tho I wouldn't recommend it if you don't like Hummus as you get a LOT of Hummus. If you DO like Hummus tho, this is the place for you.

And people make a big fuss about reviewing restaurants! It's PEASY! Anyway, suitably full of the aforementioned HUMMUS we headed off to the afore-aforementioned Buffalo Bar to see The Bobby McGees. I think if you asked the pair of us to come up with a mutually agreed FAVOURITE BAND then The Bobby McGees would be IT, as they are SO VERY GRATE. They didn't let us down on Friday either, they were FAB.

It was the full line-up, which is something I've not seen very often, featuring additional bass, percussion, flute-type things and SAXOPHONE! SAXOPHONE! Just SEEING such a thing onstage makes me excitable, and hearing it PLAYED makes EVERYTHING seem sophisticated - except maybe Jimmy's singing, but still.

Blimey tho, they WORKED the gig HARD. The Buffalo Bar's a funny old place - it's probably the NOISIEST venue I've ever been in, to see bands or to place myself. Pretty much every time I've been there there's been a RIGHT old racket going on. I think it's something to do with the shape and low ceiling of the room, because even if someone's whispering very very quietly in the far corner it gets HUGELY AMPLIFIED so that, by the time it reaches the stage, it sounds like a CROWD. This of course forces/encourages other people to talk and so nearly always there LOTS of people around the edges talking and it sounds like EVERYBODY is.

I played SEVERAL times there before I learned not to take it personally, but this time there seemed to be a small added layer of Those People Who Go To Gigs To Talk Loudly. You know the sort of people I mean - they haven't come to see a band that they like or meet some pals, they've come out to Be At A Gig. "Wankers", to give them their correct name. There weren't MANY of them at all - INDEED, the room was soon full of LOADS of lovely people (SPOOKY THING: every time I mentioned someone in conversation they APPEARED five minutes later. I tried saying "McCartney McCartney McCartney" but this didn't work) - but the few who WERE there were making up for it. I guess it was because the gig had been Guardian Gig Of The Week that encouraged them to come, but I wish they hadn't. Especially the Posh Dickhead In A Cravat who stood behind me, BELLOWING WITLESSLY. I ended up having to give him HARD STARE.

Afterwards I congratulated Jimmy on his HARD ROCKING and he said that he'd FELT the noise - "I came as close as I ever have to asking people to be quiet" he said. I was SHOCKED. "You must never do that!" i exclaimed. "I know!" he said, "But I came close!"

Me and Jimmy are currently in Early Discussions about writing a BOOK together, about HOW TO BE IN A BAND. IMMENSE WISDOM such as "If you're on stage you must NEVER tell people the audience to be quiet" and the REASONS behind such PEARLS will be a KEY part of its appeal.

After them were The Tender Trap. I really like The Tender Trap now - I've never DISLIKED them particularly but, because they were around about 12 years ago when I was first gigging in That London i'd lumped them in with all the other bands I saw/didn't really like around then, without ever really seeing them. It was only when we supported them at JAMM last year that I realised they are actually DEAD GOOD. It was a shame we couldn't stay long enough to see much of their set, but now i know i LIKE them I will have PLENTY of further opportunities, I'm sure!

We couldn't stay because we had a DATE WITH TRAIN DESTINY. One of the JOYS but also the AGONIES of living in That London is the train network - when it works it is a DELIGHT but often it is also a NIGHTMARE. This time, however, was a WONDER as we timed it JUST right to get the tube from Highbury & Islington and get home, via The Overground, just 25 minutes later. That's about HALF the time it would usually take, and we rewarded ourselves with WHISKY to celebrate.

Hummus, gigs, beer, effective travel and WHISKY - a pretty good way to start the ROCKING YEAR, I think!

posted 11/1/2010 by MJ Hibbett

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