Blog: Camden And Mauritius

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What a weekend of ROCK it has been for The Validators, in BOTH hemispheres.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere I went to Camden TWICE - which is two more times than I'd usually choose over a weekend, but STILL. On Friday, after an extremely profitable SCRIPT MEETING with Mr J Kell (during which was said things like "Yes, but what JOURNEY is Terry on?") I went to the Camden Barfly to see Allo Darlin'. They were MARVELLOUS as ever, despite playing in a horrible venue with really really crappy sound. Why OH WHY do some venues - and ESPECIALLY ones which make a really big deal about the fact that they put bands on - have some shite sound? Do soundmen REALLY think "What this gig needs is incredibly loud snare and bass drums - I'll turn the vocals RIGHT down, just to make sure THOSE come through nice and clearly"? And do people who GO to such places think "The BEST place to have a really long conversation is here, in the gig room, rather than in the QUIET ROOM downstairs SPECIFICALLY SUPPLIED for the purpose of having a good old chat in"?

The GRATE thing tho was that the band didn't seem to let this get to them and INDEED appeared to ROCK UP the performance to compensate. Give me half a pint and five minutes and I will REGALE all and sundry with my Grand Theory that ALL bands should be forced to go and play toilet venues like this on a regular basis (NB until the age of 40 anyway, hem hem) in order to keep TRAINED. It's far too easy (and NICE) to JUST play to people who already like you and get a) LAZY b) RUBBISH, and it was BRILIANT to see a band not only DOING this but doing it SO WELL. My GRUMPINESS was entirely dispelled by how ACE they were, and the fact that there was always Bill From Allo Darlin' GRINNING on stage throughout was certainly a large part of it. It was, in fact, SO GOOD that I felt BAD about being such an Old Misery Guts.

Then on SATURDAY I went back to Camden AGAIN, for Mr Simon Wilkinson's birthday drinks. It was very noticeable that the more MATURE of his guests all arrived EARLY for the PUB section of the evening, where we had a DELIGHTFUL several hours of chat and BEER and good times. The YOUNGSTERS arrived just before we headed down to the Proud Galleries, where I found myself in a Night-Club! On a Saturday night! I stayed in said place for over HALF AN HOUR before realising I was too tiddly, too sleepy, and possibly too MATURE to stay for much longer, so HUGGED and left. Night-Clubs! It is nice to know they are still there for those who require their services, but I am very glad not to HAVE to go to them any more!

And while all THIS was going on there was ROCK of a more ROCKULAR nature going on approx 1,000,000 miles away in MAURITIUS where Mr T Pattison did not one but TWO gigs on that paradisical island where he and The Family Pattison are spending 2010. Of most interest, to ME at least, is the SECOND of the two, for LO! on Saturday night his Excting New Band played Please Don't Eat Us, featuring not only Mrs E Pattison on lead vocals but also a CHOIR OF CHILDREN! I am promised YOUTUBE evidence of this which I cannot WAIT to see!

What a weekend of inter-continental THRILLZ it has been - i now await the offer of a tour of The Indian Ocean!

posted 4/10/2010 by MJ Hibbett

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