Moustache Of Insanity, The Understudies and Help Stamp Out Loneliness - The Wilmington Arms

Its been a while since I went to a gig on my own. But here I am, somewhat late in the evening.

The location was poorly remembered, so after I'd parked my car there was some degree of wandrin' and soul-searching, trying to remember the name of the venue.
When I wandered in the last band were on stage. They sounded a bt like Lucky Soul, but the shiny singing girl has a distinctive voice, very deep, it sounds familiar. Have I see these people before?

I recognise the guitarist and bass chap, they were in Language of Flowers, I think they were on the same bill as me and the mighty Flyers when I played my London debut gig in '04.

Sometimes I feel like Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap, with that swiss cheese memory thing. I arrive at a gig, without Zippy or Al to tell me why I'm there, just a vague memory of having clicked on this show in Last.fm or Facebook, but still trying to figure out why.

I don't remember the name of the band on stage, or any ones I've missed.

I spot Trevor Lost Music and he waves, stood near is the chap from The Understudies, aw man, I've still never reviewed them. Its been three or four times I've seen them play, but never quite got round to typing up my notes.

I was stood lurking in shadows, jabbing at my mobile phone to look like I was doing something. I was skipping through old draft text messages, from when I thought I could text in gig reviews here. It was just notes, but I remember texting that The Understudies sound a bit like Kingmaker, and that I really ought to review them properly instead of going on about never having written about them.

I spot Will Harrison and Elizabeth Darling, from 'Allo Darlin', who I last saw on the platform at Indietracks. I don't see their bongo player.

Were they playing tonight and I missed them? No, they played Brixton the other day, and I remember missing that. Swiss cheese memory.

On the internet later:-

Moustache Of Insanity (Will Harrison's mob) - MP3s here
The Understudies
Help Stamp Out Loneliness (the band with folk from Language of Flowers)

Pop Martyr, The Understudies, Lucky Soul - The Luminaire

Bands
Pop Martyr
The Understudies
Lucky Soul

The understudies, Plans and Apologies, Slow Down Tallahassee - The Enterprise

First gig I've been to in weeks and weeks, month maybe. I'm scrawling this in my notebook on the Jubilee Line, heading south, it'll be a long convoluted route that gets me to The Enterprise tonight. It gets me out of the house I guess, something surely need, its almost like having a social life.

Its a warm night, crowds outside drinking, I stagger in to catch the last three songs of The Understudies. Four folk on stage, plinky plonk leyboards and out of tune guitar. There's thirty people in the room, the usual Lost Music crowd

The singer chap is yelping and whining a bit, if it was fourteen years ago, they'd make a fine support band.

The penultimate song, being a Butcher Boy cover, I Could Be In Love With Anyone,raises the game a wee bit, but I'm almost glad they finished so soon after i arrived.

Trying to get a drink at the bar pissed me off so much, it wasn't so much that there was a huge queue, just where I was stood at first, some girl in a checked shirt was either getting in a large round or just discussing with about fifty other people what drink she was having, whilst the barmaid just waited and waited. After about 20 minutes I tried moving to a different part of the bar.

Alas, despite the half a dozen barstaff, the middle of the bar seemed to be a barren zone. Two hours earlier I'd been violated at Staples, trying to buy printer ink and post-it notes. Only packs of 10 post-it pads and ten fucking quid for a 13ml cyan cartridge. Its just ink for fucks sake, but still about seven hundred times the price of petrol. Seven hundred times.

In a foul mood abot customer service and as a consumer, so I walked out of The Enterprise and headed into darkest Camden.

Half an hour passed before I felt any urge to catch the rest of the gig.

Plans and Apologies on stage, a five piece with about three too many guitarists. The singer had those big dark eyebrows that girls used to go all googly eyed for last century. There was something of the Malkmus about the lyrics.

Rather pleasant except for the last few songs where the keyboardist/third guitarist was itching to get away to some other engagement. Six quid to get in and they even want to play, fuck that shit.

Second attempt at the bar, similar levels of annoyance, the guy in front of me, halfway through ordering his round realised he had only two quid and after a conference with his mates, shoved me out of the way so some rat-like ginger twat could get a round in instead.

Luckily there was a clear space at the other end of the bar, I quickly got served by a girl wearing exciting tights, but sadly beer in a glass that still had the previous owner's dregs and foam on the sides.

Slow Down Tallahassee, three piece, two rockabilly girls and a chap on guitar. Post-apocalyptic Ken Loach, throbbing images of mathematicians in a hungover Younger Younger 28s effects pedal overdose.

Aw man, really cute photographer girl. I'm going to gave to reshuffle my top five cute photographer girls, sorry Pav.