My three days with James Marsters in London
Here sits the flaccid form of a very content Fangirl. I ache in the sort of way that reminds me of what a fantastic time I had.
For those of you that don’t know, I have just spent the last three days in Islington, London. One reason for this ickle holiday was to hear our gorgeous James strum his guitar, sing his little heart out and watch him do a little stage acting. The other reason for spending a month’s wages in three days was to meet up with some of my fellow LJers and slashers.
Here is an incredibly boring (unless you’re me) account of this most wonderful, yet bankrupting, trip.
Day 1 - Thursday 27th Oct
I arrived at the Angel Islington at about 3.30pm (ish) The hotel is about a mile from the station, although I gotta say if you’re gonna walk it, it feels more like ten miles. You would have thought that I would have remembered that from last time I came to see James. ~rolls eyes~ Noooooooo. I walked to the whole way and nearly died from the heat of a freakishly warm October afternoon.
I met up with kitty_poker1 at the hotel and, together, we did a small amount of squeeing and bouncing. And then we did a little more.
After properly checking in, the two of us set off to meet vampirefever and deborahmm and a few others at a bar. Yes, we got the bus. Yes, we got off at the right place. Yes, deborahmm gave us good directions. Yes. We still went the wrong way. Never trust a Kitty and a Suki to do something the easy way.
So, we meet up. Very nice bar. The nextdoor neighbour’s cat will be resurrected and will haunt my garden before I remember the name of it. ~shrug~ Met some more people. princess_s and vic_amy_z and felisblanco and her hubby. And probably someone that I’ve left out. Lovely people.
The first gig was at the Carling Academy. This is the same place that I saw James play in October. We met up with the hilarious sueworld2003. If you ever get the chance to meet this woman, please do. I could sit and listen to her talk for hours on end. She’s truly talented and has a knack for saying things that make you want to wet yourself. I’ll say no more.
We watched James from the Balcony. Even though I had a feeling that I’d lost both my legs and feet to Queuing-walking-and-standing-around-itis, I really enjoyed James’ performance. My view of him was partly obscured by a bloody ridiculous drape that had obviously been hung up by the local village/city idiot. Still, I managed to find a nice patch of floor to rest my weary bones and I could still just about see him through a crack in the material.
My opinion of his performance was that his voice had improved since last year. He’s always had a good voice - not a brilliant one admittedly - but I could tell that he’d gained much confidence in the last year and that really reflected in his singing.
I will also admit that I didn’t enjoy the gig as much as the one in April, but that was purely because last time was my first time. You never forget your first time.
So, we leave the venue, convene for the obligatory huddle outside to discuss the performance and to listen to sueworld2003 and her wonderful James-isms.
Next came the pub and along wandered mirasol just as we were having our table confiscated. So it’s back to the hotel for me, Kitty, Debs, and mirasol, via Tescos (Hungry), for a late light chat.
Day 2 - Friday 28th October
Most importantly, breakfast was eaten and very nice it was too. The hotel really was a bargain; in a good location, cheap, clean and the staff were very friendly.
akinaj joined us at this point. She was sharing a room with me and Kitty.
Our next stop was Forbidden Planet. For those of you that don’t know, Forbidden Planet is the greatest shop in the Galaxy. It’s a Sci-Fi/cult tv/comic type shop that sells everything from comics and books to gold plated Daleks and giant Predator heads. It’s heaven and I could stay there ALL day! Of course I had to buy a few little things. I got the 12” Subway Spike ~Loves and hugs him~, a Buffy Graphic novel that was going cheap, the last part of the latest Angel comic series: Angel : The Curse, and a few packs of The Men of Sunnydale trading cards.
Next we moved on to meet the others for Pizza. What can I say about that? Good company. Good Pizza. I won’t bore you with details.
We queued outside St James’ Church for the next gig. That seemed to drag on for a bit. I hate queuing. Still, I had Spike for company. Yup, the others just blended into the back ground. It was me and Subway Spike versus the world!!
Kidding.
The gig at St. James was cool.
The support act nearly sent me to sleep but there were some girls on the opposite balcony that had brought their Spike and Angel dolls out for a date and had sat them looking over the side. Most amusing. I swear to god, people took more pictures of those dolls than they did of the support act! Hee!
I managed to spend more money. I only meant to go to the loo, but I ended up at the merchandise table where they had one lonely box of Spike trading cards left, all by itself. I couldn’t leave it, could I?! Who do you think I am?!
James played well again. Not too many duff notes, bless his little cotton socks. He was wearing the same outfit as the night before - tight black t-shirt and ripped jeans. Lovely. I had a much better view this time. Although, we had to kneel on the floor and lean on the side to see him ‘cos the pews were too far back. God Damned Church ;o)
It is a beautiful building though.
Couldn’t get any pictures of James, ‘cos my flash just wasn’t gonna flash that far. :o( Same with Thursday, too. I just couldn’t get a quality piccy of him at all!!! Waaaaaaaahhhh!!!
So, gig ends, down the pub we went. Back to hotel.
Day 3 - Saturday 29th October
Okay, so far I haven’t actually said an awful lot about James and the gig itself. That is partly because the fun was really everything around the whole event. It was so lovely to meet new people and meet some old faces from last time. It was like, the big thing was meeting up and having a laugh, and oh and we’re gonna see James too!
Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s wonderful. I worship the ground he walks on and he gave two great performances, but at the end of the day, the gig itself was just that. A gig. I went, I squeed, I clapped and I sighed wistfully. I mentally undressed him, assaulted and slashed him. And I had a great time doing those things.
BUT! The best was yet to come…
James had two performances on this day - Words and Music. Me, Kitty and Mirasol had tickets to both. You may now be thinking that perhaps my obsession with Mr Marsters is bordering on the unhealthy side, but I say if you’re gonna play at being a Fangirl, then you might as well play properly.
The tickets for Saturday were very expensive and I will admit that I was worried that I’d paid all that money just to hear him sing again and then embarrass himself with an interpretation of the dead parrot Monty Python Sketch.
Kitty and I had Premium tickets for the first show and that entitled us to a close view and a signed gift from James. The gift turned out to be a signed trading card from the Spike: The Whole Story series. I was thrilled!!! Not only do I now have his autograph, but I can add it to my new collection purchased just the night before!!! Yay!!!!!
So we take our seats and, yeah, we’re nervous at this point. I’m thinking dead parrot or a rubber knife floating on a bit of string. I totally blame vampirefever for that last worry.
As it turned out we needn’t have been concerned.
James. Was. Awesome.
He did Macbeth. He wrote his own in-between bits to explain and narrate the story, and that, in itself, was very well written and very well spoken.
I became completely enthralled by the performance. He got it totally spot on and proved, beyond a doubt, that he has a real talent for theatre. I got goose bumps! And you know, I wasn’t even ogling him at that point. I was just so totally wrapped up in his interpretation. Even when Lady Macbeth was playing her part and James was sitting, my focus was on her. The Fangirl went straight out the window and suddenly I was no longer watching James perform. I was watching Macbeth.
When the performance was over, all I wanted to do was watch it all over again. The standing ovation that he received had never been more deserved.
Afterwards, James and his leading lady, who I’ve shamefully forgotten her name, did a Q & A session about the performance and Macbeth. That was really fun and James was so sweet and so passionate.
So, intermission, bar, drinks and then we’re back for the concert part. Very good, still got a nice clear view and I’m sitting there thinking about how thankful I am that I’d witnessed such a stunning acting performance earlier.
Slight disaster: James broke his E string on the last song. But bless him, he ran off to go fit and stretch a new one, and while he was gone Steve Himber announced that James is starting filming in a starring role in his very first feature film!!!!!!!! Yup, we heard it first!!! Filming starts straight away.
It’s called Shadow Puppet (Not Sock Puppet ~gives Kitty the big eyeball~), for anyone that’s interested. It’s a psychological thriller that also stars that thin Vulcan woman from Enterprise. So, that’s good news. What with that and SmallVille and whatever else he’s doing, he’ll be in work right into next year.
Next we met up with all the others and we go back in for the second performance. We spot Spike and Angel again, obviously on another date.
Yup. Just as good. Bloody brilliant, in fact. Got the goose bumps again. I think everybody seemed to enjoy it. It was just really good to see him in the flesh doing something other than singing. I actually feel so honoured that I was able to see him act on stage.
Lastly, he sang again. And guess what he did? He broke another string. His A string this time. And while he was off stage fixing it, Steve Himber came on again and made the same announcement and did a Q & A session. We learned that the whole event was being recorded and it is possible that if the picture and sound quality is good enough, the performance might be released. If it is, snap up a copy. You won’t regret it.
Now, I realise that I’ve just warbled on and on and on, but everything I just said was very, very important, including the Sock Puppet. I am gonna stop now because I’m pretty sure that you’ve all given up and gone elsewhere. But just to round off, I’ve had a fabulous weekend with some wonderful people. I’ve done some great shopping and hung out with some lovely friends. I’ve seen and heard James Sing four times and seen him act twice.
I am a happy Fangirl.
P.S. I kept seeing Btvs everywhere I looked! I arrived at the Angel. On the way to the hotel I saw a shop called SX. And then we walked passed St Giles Passage! I had to sporffle at that one. ;o)
Edit:Well remembered Kitty! We also saw a shop called Copping Joyce!!! Heeeeeeeee!!!!!
For those of you that don’t know, I have just spent the last three days in Islington, London. One reason for this ickle holiday was to hear our gorgeous James strum his guitar, sing his little heart out and watch him do a little stage acting. The other reason for spending a month’s wages in three days was to meet up with some of my fellow LJers and slashers.
Here is an incredibly boring (unless you’re me) account of this most wonderful, yet bankrupting, trip.
Day 1 - Thursday 27th Oct
I arrived at the Angel Islington at about 3.30pm (ish) The hotel is about a mile from the station, although I gotta say if you’re gonna walk it, it feels more like ten miles. You would have thought that I would have remembered that from last time I came to see James. ~rolls eyes~ Noooooooo. I walked to the whole way and nearly died from the heat of a freakishly warm October afternoon.
I met up with kitty_poker1 at the hotel and, together, we did a small amount of squeeing and bouncing. And then we did a little more.
After properly checking in, the two of us set off to meet vampirefever and deborahmm and a few others at a bar. Yes, we got the bus. Yes, we got off at the right place. Yes, deborahmm gave us good directions. Yes. We still went the wrong way. Never trust a Kitty and a Suki to do something the easy way.
So, we meet up. Very nice bar. The nextdoor neighbour’s cat will be resurrected and will haunt my garden before I remember the name of it. ~shrug~ Met some more people. princess_s and vic_amy_z and felisblanco and her hubby. And probably someone that I’ve left out. Lovely people.
The first gig was at the Carling Academy. This is the same place that I saw James play in October. We met up with the hilarious sueworld2003. If you ever get the chance to meet this woman, please do. I could sit and listen to her talk for hours on end. She’s truly talented and has a knack for saying things that make you want to wet yourself. I’ll say no more.
We watched James from the Balcony. Even though I had a feeling that I’d lost both my legs and feet to Queuing-walking-and-standing-around-itis, I really enjoyed James’ performance. My view of him was partly obscured by a bloody ridiculous drape that had obviously been hung up by the local village/city idiot. Still, I managed to find a nice patch of floor to rest my weary bones and I could still just about see him through a crack in the material.
My opinion of his performance was that his voice had improved since last year. He’s always had a good voice - not a brilliant one admittedly - but I could tell that he’d gained much confidence in the last year and that really reflected in his singing.
I will also admit that I didn’t enjoy the gig as much as the one in April, but that was purely because last time was my first time. You never forget your first time.
So, we leave the venue, convene for the obligatory huddle outside to discuss the performance and to listen to sueworld2003 and her wonderful James-isms.
Next came the pub and along wandered mirasol just as we were having our table confiscated. So it’s back to the hotel for me, Kitty, Debs, and mirasol, via Tescos (Hungry), for a late light chat.
Day 2 - Friday 28th October
Most importantly, breakfast was eaten and very nice it was too. The hotel really was a bargain; in a good location, cheap, clean and the staff were very friendly.
akinaj joined us at this point. She was sharing a room with me and Kitty.
Our next stop was Forbidden Planet. For those of you that don’t know, Forbidden Planet is the greatest shop in the Galaxy. It’s a Sci-Fi/cult tv/comic type shop that sells everything from comics and books to gold plated Daleks and giant Predator heads. It’s heaven and I could stay there ALL day! Of course I had to buy a few little things. I got the 12” Subway Spike ~Loves and hugs him~, a Buffy Graphic novel that was going cheap, the last part of the latest Angel comic series: Angel : The Curse, and a few packs of The Men of Sunnydale trading cards.
Next we moved on to meet the others for Pizza. What can I say about that? Good company. Good Pizza. I won’t bore you with details.
We queued outside St James’ Church for the next gig. That seemed to drag on for a bit. I hate queuing. Still, I had Spike for company. Yup, the others just blended into the back ground. It was me and Subway Spike versus the world!!
Kidding.
The gig at St. James was cool.
The support act nearly sent me to sleep but there were some girls on the opposite balcony that had brought their Spike and Angel dolls out for a date and had sat them looking over the side. Most amusing. I swear to god, people took more pictures of those dolls than they did of the support act! Hee!
I managed to spend more money. I only meant to go to the loo, but I ended up at the merchandise table where they had one lonely box of Spike trading cards left, all by itself. I couldn’t leave it, could I?! Who do you think I am?!
James played well again. Not too many duff notes, bless his little cotton socks. He was wearing the same outfit as the night before - tight black t-shirt and ripped jeans. Lovely. I had a much better view this time. Although, we had to kneel on the floor and lean on the side to see him ‘cos the pews were too far back. God Damned Church ;o)
It is a beautiful building though.
Couldn’t get any pictures of James, ‘cos my flash just wasn’t gonna flash that far. :o( Same with Thursday, too. I just couldn’t get a quality piccy of him at all!!! Waaaaaaaahhhh!!!
So, gig ends, down the pub we went. Back to hotel.
Day 3 - Saturday 29th October
Okay, so far I haven’t actually said an awful lot about James and the gig itself. That is partly because the fun was really everything around the whole event. It was so lovely to meet new people and meet some old faces from last time. It was like, the big thing was meeting up and having a laugh, and oh and we’re gonna see James too!
Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s wonderful. I worship the ground he walks on and he gave two great performances, but at the end of the day, the gig itself was just that. A gig. I went, I squeed, I clapped and I sighed wistfully. I mentally undressed him, assaulted and slashed him. And I had a great time doing those things.
BUT! The best was yet to come…
James had two performances on this day - Words and Music. Me, Kitty and Mirasol had tickets to both. You may now be thinking that perhaps my obsession with Mr Marsters is bordering on the unhealthy side, but I say if you’re gonna play at being a Fangirl, then you might as well play properly.
The tickets for Saturday were very expensive and I will admit that I was worried that I’d paid all that money just to hear him sing again and then embarrass himself with an interpretation of the dead parrot Monty Python Sketch.
Kitty and I had Premium tickets for the first show and that entitled us to a close view and a signed gift from James. The gift turned out to be a signed trading card from the Spike: The Whole Story series. I was thrilled!!! Not only do I now have his autograph, but I can add it to my new collection purchased just the night before!!! Yay!!!!!
So we take our seats and, yeah, we’re nervous at this point. I’m thinking dead parrot or a rubber knife floating on a bit of string. I totally blame vampirefever for that last worry.
As it turned out we needn’t have been concerned.
James. Was. Awesome.
He did Macbeth. He wrote his own in-between bits to explain and narrate the story, and that, in itself, was very well written and very well spoken.
I became completely enthralled by the performance. He got it totally spot on and proved, beyond a doubt, that he has a real talent for theatre. I got goose bumps! And you know, I wasn’t even ogling him at that point. I was just so totally wrapped up in his interpretation. Even when Lady Macbeth was playing her part and James was sitting, my focus was on her. The Fangirl went straight out the window and suddenly I was no longer watching James perform. I was watching Macbeth.
When the performance was over, all I wanted to do was watch it all over again. The standing ovation that he received had never been more deserved.
Afterwards, James and his leading lady, who I’ve shamefully forgotten her name, did a Q & A session about the performance and Macbeth. That was really fun and James was so sweet and so passionate.
So, intermission, bar, drinks and then we’re back for the concert part. Very good, still got a nice clear view and I’m sitting there thinking about how thankful I am that I’d witnessed such a stunning acting performance earlier.
Slight disaster: James broke his E string on the last song. But bless him, he ran off to go fit and stretch a new one, and while he was gone Steve Himber announced that James is starting filming in a starring role in his very first feature film!!!!!!!! Yup, we heard it first!!! Filming starts straight away.
It’s called Shadow Puppet (Not Sock Puppet ~gives Kitty the big eyeball~), for anyone that’s interested. It’s a psychological thriller that also stars that thin Vulcan woman from Enterprise. So, that’s good news. What with that and SmallVille and whatever else he’s doing, he’ll be in work right into next year.
Next we met up with all the others and we go back in for the second performance. We spot Spike and Angel again, obviously on another date.
Yup. Just as good. Bloody brilliant, in fact. Got the goose bumps again. I think everybody seemed to enjoy it. It was just really good to see him in the flesh doing something other than singing. I actually feel so honoured that I was able to see him act on stage.
Lastly, he sang again. And guess what he did? He broke another string. His A string this time. And while he was off stage fixing it, Steve Himber came on again and made the same announcement and did a Q & A session. We learned that the whole event was being recorded and it is possible that if the picture and sound quality is good enough, the performance might be released. If it is, snap up a copy. You won’t regret it.
Now, I realise that I’ve just warbled on and on and on, but everything I just said was very, very important, including the Sock Puppet. I am gonna stop now because I’m pretty sure that you’ve all given up and gone elsewhere. But just to round off, I’ve had a fabulous weekend with some wonderful people. I’ve done some great shopping and hung out with some lovely friends. I’ve seen and heard James Sing four times and seen him act twice.
I am a happy Fangirl.
P.S. I kept seeing Btvs everywhere I looked! I arrived at the Angel. On the way to the hotel I saw a shop called SX. And then we walked passed St Giles Passage! I had to sporffle at that one. ;o)
Edit:Well remembered Kitty! We also saw a shop called Copping Joyce!!! Heeeeeeeee!!!!!