ReStrangled 41

It's a big weekend with folk travelling from far and wide...  Friday night is nostalgia night with a trip to see The Stranglers supported by Dr Feelgood at the Brixton Academy. First to arrive to break mine and Debbie's peacefulness in the late afternoon is Bruce then soon Jon and Scottie and Olly (nee Simon) are knocking on the door. After a lovely lentil shepherds pie and a couple of set-me-ups we take our leave of a relieved Lily-Rose and make our way to the meeting point of the Queens Head (recently tarted up) on the Stockwell / Brixton borders and meet the others, being Cameron, Simon, Simon, Simon (aka Ramsay), Becky, Jules, Jo, Pete and Wendy. I think that is all of us? Will check the photo... Having been given birthday card from Ramsay and Jo and original Stranglers badge by Simon (both lost in the mosh later) we herd the cats out of the beer garden, past the loos, out of the pub and to the Academy where we fanny about trying to get all together post frisking and eventually get through the doors to the main arena. Dr Feelgood are rattling through an excellent rhythm and blues number, well, what are now known as Dr Feelgood though none of the original originals but the ones in the band have been playing together for a lot lot longer than most bands do. Anyways they sound pretty solid which is great. Not so great is that it's their last song and given the applause sounds like they went down very well. Ah well, missing them was inevitable with so many to meet beforehand and I'll just have to venture out to Debbie's old stomping ground of Canvey Island to see them again. We find a good spot to congregate and then I go to the bar (why? on my birthday weekend??) and by the time I get back the first band I went to see 41 years ago are about to take the stage. You can tell by the Meninblack tune playing. They launch into Tank with an energy belying their years and I'm transported back 41 years to when I was a fresh faced teenage punk with hearing that worked. Seeing the Stranglers sent me on the steady decent to being partially deaf. What? Are the bands quieter these days or our hearing worse? Certainly everyone who speaks to be mumbles in an incoherent whisper...  OK back to the music. We have a newish song and the new ones are pretty damn fine although it's unfair to expect them to compete with the band's extensive and very excellent back catalogue from way back when. I think around the time of Grip a few of us decide not to lose our grip and forge our way to the moshy area where we get right down the front. So Olly, Cameron, Jules and after a while Simon C spend the rest of the night happily dancing, pogoing, getting back off the floor and quietening down an over zealous young un (well, relatively) lapping up the sounds. If you know what I mean. The band are right on the money with Jean Jacques having lost none of his hard edged bass, Jet's replacement doing a fine job, Dave G running up and down the keys bringing that soulful psychedelic bent to the songs which was what really made the band stand out from the rest of the pub rock and punk generation and the guitarist and vocalist (when JJ ain't) having mastered that Hugh Cornwell, twangy sound. It's an excellent set which goes down very well. Highlights are Princess of the Streets, just that bass intro is worth the money, and the ten minutes of moshing madness that is Something Better Change and 5 Minutes. The brilliantly dark, musically astounding and keyboardly psychedelic Down in the Sewer ends the set which is just so apt. They encore with Hanging Around and No More Heroes (if I remember rightly, I'm a little giddy at this point) which cannot be sniffed at. Wow! Dunno how many times I've seen them but they never fail to impress.

We shuffle outside where eventually we all meet up and have a round of photos so we can remember who was there. Unfortunately Beckie and Simon have had to run so we'll have to photo shop them in somehow. Fake news! We part from Pete and Wendy and prevaricate where to go next. Deciding on the Prince Albert up Coldharbour Lane we loiter there listening to reggae and ragga and similar before deciding to go disco and trek up to the White Horse where Ramsay manages to piss off the bar staff yet again. We dance about to mediocre pop songs which is probably just what we need at the time but then as often happens you have a sudden moment of lucidity think what the hell am I doing and decide to leave. Getting Ubers has never been so difficult which mixed with various of our band deciding to show off by touching their toes and then simply lying on the floor doing leg stretches means we take about an hour to get the few miles home. After seeing off Simon Jules and Bruce. Back home the 8 of us who are left (little test - work out who is left) stupidly open the prosecco brought by Jon and Scottie and keep the kid awake until about 3am. I will leave it to the next day's blog to let you know how we all felt...

Thanks to everyone who came along. I know that The Stranglers were the main attraction but I like to think you all came just to celebrate my imminent birthday.....

The Stranglers 

Afters clockwise- twat photo bomber Simon Simon Jim Jules Simon Cameron Jon Bruce Scottie Jo's feet not sure where her body and head are Wendy flicking the Vs 1970s style and Pete missing Simon and Becky

So we did get one of Jo - think that was us dancing to Beyonce...

The morning after the night before