The days grow longer - Part One - All is OK
This post has been weeks in the making. I am not kidding. It also runs up to last Friday-ish.
MUSIC: As some may know, I've been going to see a band named Found On Vincent Ward for some time. It was over eighteen months ago now that I met up with them, talking about joining their band but they stayed as a four-piece. Last May, I went to a gig and the lovely people they are, they invited me to join them and I've been to whatever gigs I could get to.
They played the Clink in Bromley a couple of months ago and I was very impressed with the other bands on the bill; an acoustic set by Mez, the front man of Von Kleet, and Meet John Doe. Mez was comfortable and accomplished, with simple, excellent songs. I wasn't feeling Meet John Doe originally. They seemed like a better version of the Automatic at first but they have energy and their singer, Jamie, is like a jack-in-a-box. He left midway through a song to hand out food they had in the dressing room. I saw both bands were playing on the 25th of February and had made plans in the interim to see the MJD's bass player's band, the 23 Enigma, at the Clink. There were some issues that stopped the Enigma from playing, so MJD stood in and were excellent with Jamie this time using the whole Clink bar as if it were his own personal climbing frame.
So, the 25th rolled around and I headed off to the Black Sheep Bar in Croydon. I arrived a bit late and missed most of the first band, Anison. Second band were an acoustic-based band called Wake. A bit middle of the road, their singer had a cooing voice - one part Buckley, one part Yorke, one part Jonathan Donahue - and they were actually very good. They had a violinist in a tartan skirt and boots, which is always a bonus.
Third up, Von Kleet in full band mode. Mez still has his stange charisma but the sound has more power. I miss some of the tender, acoustic takes on his songs but the songs sound good however they're played. Meet John Doe followed and, due to the wired mic, Jamie was unable to unleash his full range of motion. However, he did manage to jump off a speaker and smash his megaphone.
Closing the night were the 23 Enigma, who are quite awesome. Far more up my street than the other bands, who were all very good, they flirt with a mid-90s indie sound with heavy psychedelia. Awesome. All in all, a good night and Meet John Doe made me feel very welcome.
GIRLS: I've been "off birds" for... well I stopped counting at two weeks but that also means I've been free of girlie drama for that time. Yay! It has been quite blissful. It's a daily battle to find people that stimulate your mind, rather than a girl to satisfy your libido though. I went overboard, too many failed things going down in too short a space of time and I needed room to breath but I feel that when I tell my friends I'm "off girls for the moment", it doesn't feel like I'm lying. Sure, the eye will wander, as it did at the above gig with the above violinist. However, I'm not pressuring myself.
DIET: I bought myself a Coke a couple of weeks ago as a treat. There was nothing wrong with the Coke I bought on this occasion but I swallowed a mouthful and all I could taste was the sugar, which has never happened to me before. I tried to soldier on but it began to give me a headache. I had to throw it away. I never thought I'd see the day but I don't like Coke anymore. This has affected other areas of my life. I'm now drinking herbal tea with no sugar. I currently tip the scales at 14 st 8 lbs. One more pound and I'm halfway to my first target. However, as my next post will reveal, I may not make that this week.
MUSIC: As some may know, I've been going to see a band named Found On Vincent Ward for some time. It was over eighteen months ago now that I met up with them, talking about joining their band but they stayed as a four-piece. Last May, I went to a gig and the lovely people they are, they invited me to join them and I've been to whatever gigs I could get to.
They played the Clink in Bromley a couple of months ago and I was very impressed with the other bands on the bill; an acoustic set by Mez, the front man of Von Kleet, and Meet John Doe. Mez was comfortable and accomplished, with simple, excellent songs. I wasn't feeling Meet John Doe originally. They seemed like a better version of the Automatic at first but they have energy and their singer, Jamie, is like a jack-in-a-box. He left midway through a song to hand out food they had in the dressing room. I saw both bands were playing on the 25th of February and had made plans in the interim to see the MJD's bass player's band, the 23 Enigma, at the Clink. There were some issues that stopped the Enigma from playing, so MJD stood in and were excellent with Jamie this time using the whole Clink bar as if it were his own personal climbing frame.
So, the 25th rolled around and I headed off to the Black Sheep Bar in Croydon. I arrived a bit late and missed most of the first band, Anison. Second band were an acoustic-based band called Wake. A bit middle of the road, their singer had a cooing voice - one part Buckley, one part Yorke, one part Jonathan Donahue - and they were actually very good. They had a violinist in a tartan skirt and boots, which is always a bonus.
Third up, Von Kleet in full band mode. Mez still has his stange charisma but the sound has more power. I miss some of the tender, acoustic takes on his songs but the songs sound good however they're played. Meet John Doe followed and, due to the wired mic, Jamie was unable to unleash his full range of motion. However, he did manage to jump off a speaker and smash his megaphone.
Closing the night were the 23 Enigma, who are quite awesome. Far more up my street than the other bands, who were all very good, they flirt with a mid-90s indie sound with heavy psychedelia. Awesome. All in all, a good night and Meet John Doe made me feel very welcome.
GIRLS: I've been "off birds" for... well I stopped counting at two weeks but that also means I've been free of girlie drama for that time. Yay! It has been quite blissful. It's a daily battle to find people that stimulate your mind, rather than a girl to satisfy your libido though. I went overboard, too many failed things going down in too short a space of time and I needed room to breath but I feel that when I tell my friends I'm "off girls for the moment", it doesn't feel like I'm lying. Sure, the eye will wander, as it did at the above gig with the above violinist. However, I'm not pressuring myself.
DIET: I bought myself a Coke a couple of weeks ago as a treat. There was nothing wrong with the Coke I bought on this occasion but I swallowed a mouthful and all I could taste was the sugar, which has never happened to me before. I tried to soldier on but it began to give me a headache. I had to throw it away. I never thought I'd see the day but I don't like Coke anymore. This has affected other areas of my life. I'm now drinking herbal tea with no sugar. I currently tip the scales at 14 st 8 lbs. One more pound and I'm halfway to my first target. However, as my next post will reveal, I may not make that this week.