Two Drunken Nights

What more can a man require than fine company, fine music and plenty of booze? Very little indeed I hear you declare. Well I’ve had two such opportunities for enjoyment in the past week.

Last Friday June 8^th, the man who tutors me in the rigours of the jazz playing double bass world had a gig with his band, Led Bib, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. This was one of the QEH’s summer ‘free’ concerts, which the hold in the foyer every Friday at 5:30. Very good they were to. Two alto saxs play separate melody lines whilst their twelve year old drummer (alright, he may be older than that), thrashed around like a good ‘un, and some very ‘Emergency’ style organ was played on top. Most enjoyable. On finishing, myself, the Wing-Commander and young Tiny then took in the sunshine whilst, as part of the celebration of the Royal Festival Hall’s reopening, a show band played ballroom music by the Thames whilst same-sex danced gaily (and I meant that quite in both senses of he word). How very modern.

On Thursday it was music of a very different flavour as Jon Bon had won tickets from XFM to go to the Wireless festival in Hyde Park where The White Stripes were headlining. On arrival he informed me that we also had a meet & greet planned. Fantastic, I thought. I get to meet Jack White!. Errrr… not quite. The meet & greet was with The Thrills. Never mind, there may be some free beer involved, and there was. The Thrills were nice enough chaps. That Alex Zane off ‘Popworld’ said hello to us, and I got the opportunity to flirt with XFM DJ Claire Sturgess. As for the musical fare, I’m afraid it was one dull band after another: The Only Ones, The Thrills, Satellite Party, and Queens of the Stone Age. The White Stripes - good as they were - are just not suited to a large scale festival. Two small people on a massive stage in front of thousands simply doesn't work. Musical highlight for me though was the band who headlined the second stage, Air (all the stages bar the main one finished five minutes before t’ Stripes came on). ‘Moon Safari’ is now considered a lounge/chill out/ambient/electo classic, and despite the fact it is nearly ten years old, it still dominated their set. They certainly knew how to create an atmosphere that’s for sure, all shimmering keyboards, laid back bass and clockwork drumming. Most splendid.

As Hyde Park remains a residential area, the gig ended at 10:15 (although Jon and I left during the encores). However, deciding that we simply hadn’t drunk enough, we made our way to Tottenham Court Road and went to the Pillars of Hercules where we bumped into James from Silvery. By coincide, his band are first on the bill at the Tuborg stage at Wireless on Sunday so we sunk a few to celebrate. Indeed, by the time we reached chucking out he was accusing me of Internet grooming him and I'd nicknamed Jon 'Uncle Disgusting'. I eventually got home at about a quarter t one and burnt my hand on the sandwich maker. A good night then!