ARSE

No, not a visit to Ashburton Grove although does involve sport and indeed a visit to the venue of the first FA Cup Final 150 years ago. As an aside The Arsenal have won more FA Cups than anyone else. I meet Simon at Clapham North and coast down to the Oval where my work mate John meets us to give us free tickets and as a Surrey Member he gets us access to the Members Pavilion that hallowed place which to date I've only been able to see from the general access stands. Thanks John much indebted. We have a quick tour of the Pavilion with John then he goes down to block 24 as prefers to watch from there but Simon and I sit out the Surrey innings from high up in the pavilion. Surrounded by folk discussing financial instruments. Should have explained that it's a One Day 50 over Cup game against Kent, although after about 10 spots of rain fell start of play was delayed by a few minutes reducing this to a 49 over day. Ridiculous! As this is a music blog I won't give a full report on the cricket but Simon and I enjoyed our time in the pavilion before joining John in the sun for the Kent innings. A good days cricket which Surrey win as Kent were chasing quite a run rate after a while. Saying our thanks to John we two depart for Dalston for a tasty Turkish meal and then on to the Shacklewell Arms to meet Pete and then Gary. We're here for a free night of punk rock.

The first band are on so we go into the smallish back room for our ears and senses to be assaulted by Rampressure who play mainly very loud and harsh punk rock verging into metal. Much is straight up shouty punk rock but at times they do go off into a weirder vibe both vocally and musically. Not often a hard core band uses a steel finger slide. The crowd are enjoying it with a bit of jumping about. It's an odd crowd and many more oldies that my last gig at the George Tavern. Quite a few smartish looking folk here especially women sporting handbags who are getting well into the mosh mix (and again for ARSE) so I assume 70s smart disco look is a current east London alt look. There again I can't see anyone who looks like they've spent the day at the Oval Pavilion. Back to the band I did think them a bit metal but would like to see them again.

After a sojourn in the bar we're back in for the main attraction which is an Australian trio going by the glorious name of ARSE. They are pretty full on punk rock and again, as is the norm I guess, veering towards metal. I guess I never was into the metal side of punk despite me getting a ticket to see the last ever (allegedly) UK Subs gig in late 2027. I digress. ARSE keep us on our toes and for many that is literally as there's a fair sized (for the room) mosh pit with a lot of energetic dancing just occasionally threatening to involve myself but I resist and am content with the odd bump. Unlike the elderly photographer at the front who gives indignant looks to whoever bounces into him but what do you expect mate! The young uns, both ratty and smart looking are having a ball and it's infectious as everyone in the place seems to be enjoying the band. As the set goes on I realise that although everything is high energy and aggressive punk the songs do have their own vibe sometimes even slowing down. At least that gives the moshers a moments respite. God knows how they are coping but I'm dripping with sweat just standing here. The room is small with a low ceiling and although great for a packed atmosphere it gets damn hot. Maybe I'm not sweating but it's dripping off the ceiling onto me. Our singer guitarist asks if there are Aussies in the audience which seem to be the most energetic of the moshers and then he jumps into the crowd for a bit of guitar playing crowd surfing which we all appreciate. The bass and drums are bang on for a post punk hard core punk rock band (work that one out) with a good amount of bass distortion and a crashing guitar. It's a while since I've seen a couple of pure punk bands and I must see more. And not a whiff of jazz. Well, Rampressure did nearly fall into solos a couple of time but I think they are a London band whereas ARSE are unadulterated from that post punk leaning. We are treated to a one song encore and left with the bass hanging from a peg giving feedback and the guitarist trying to leave with feedback but his guitar has cut out. Ah well, it's more punk rock to finish with a big chord and leave the stage. Although difficult to leave this one as there is no back stage.

So a great day out and a cheap one with free cricket (thanks again John) and gig (thanks ARSE, I guess). We have an easier ride home straight down to the City and over London Bridge (we did a detour somewhat on the way up) and back home at a reasonable time.

View from the Pavilion

One of the better photos in the Pavilion

Simon, me, John

Yay - you don't often see the drummer in this place!

Rampressure

ARSE crowd surfing

ARSE (with moody photographer :-)

Magda & Lobby at the George Tavern

Having resigned myself to not seeing a single gig in July (surely the first time since the corona suppression) a guy I work with said that he's playing the George Tavern on 31st. A few at work said that they are going and being interested in seeing him play I put out the word and Pete says he'll come along. I've not been to the George Tavern, at least that I can remember, and as it's a near legendary venue for up and coming bands aligned with the Windmill and Shacklewell Arms it's about time I visited. As readers of my blog will know I have to say a little about travelling... I decide to cycle but am held up in Camberwell by a massive Critical Mass bike ride (a good thing) reminding me that it's the last Friday of the month and I really should go on the next one, Burgess Park having the main route closed due to a big concert (acceptable) and having my bungee decide to jump off it's fitting and wrap itself around my cassette (no, not the ones that will be sold later on tonight much to Pete's bemusement) six times (a very bad thing). So arriving slightly late and with oily hands I flash my Dice ticket to the guy on the door (I say guy but he looked too young to be in a pub - is that a sign of my old age) and find Pete who offers me a much needed drink (it's still hot out). 

Soon enough Lobby come on. They're a 3 piece playing a mainly laid back shoegaze indie vibe with the guitarist and bassist sort of playing off each other so not your straightforward bass and drum driving the beat with guitar over it. They're obviously good musicians and although it's not the usual post punk high energy fare it is still great and all three of them go off on their own at times although I'd hardly call them solos by any means (a good thing). Pete detects a bit of jazz in there which is worrying as having avoided jazz for so long I'm obviously now oblivious to it having heard, and enjoyed, so much in these post punk jazz times. Goes down very well with the very young crowd with some nearly dancing. Pete and I are the oldest by two generations (a topic we discuss with us being Baby Boomers and everyone else seemingly Gen Z) and there aren't even some ageing locals having a quiet (until the bands) pint as at the Windmill. So a great start to the evening and outside we do meet someone our age who is giving out festival flyers. The outside space is not as eclectic as the Windmill (sorry to keep comparing) but it does have a pizza parlour. As an aside, I have now web searched Lobby to find that the bassist tonight was in Goat Girl and they are described as slow core folk which is a genre I didn't realise that existed let along that I was into but am now. Apart from saying Hi at the bar to a work colleague I try in vain to find others in the garden so Pete and I chat awhile before we get the call that Magda are about to take the stage.

Magda are a 5 piece with drums, bass, guitar, vocals and my colleague on keyboards. They play an energetic punky set that grabs the audience from the off. The place is now pretty busy and there's a few dancing down the front to the hard beat of the drum and bass. At times they get quite funky to get the audience grooving along nicely whilst the vocals become quite shouty spoken giving an edge to the sound. The vocalist's manner (my readers know I like a lazy comparison) is a mixture of (in the unlikely event you are reading this this is a compliment) Bez, Liam and Jason W with the vocals more of the latter and without the maracas of the formers. And a fair few dry witticisms between songs. So a great stage presence. My mate Dylan on the keys is excellent playing along with the general vibe of the song and often going off into a swirling organ really counterpointing the song and bringing a psychedelic edge to them. An obvious comparison is the Inspiral Carpets and thereby The Doors and The Stranglers. Now anyone who reminds me of Dave Greenfield (RIP) has to be rated highly. So we're all into the driving uplifting music and they go down a storm. An encore is insisted upon and then we are released pretty early about 10 past 10 which is fine by us old codgers. I'm sure the young uns are going elsewhere for kicks as it's a Friday night but after a trip to the loo (more inviting than the Windmills which is not hard and I wonder if the massively peeling paint is an art installation or simply neglect) Pete and I say our farewells and I cycle down to Cable Street and over Tower Bridge. My cunning plan is to cycle along the river in the quietness of the evening as I avoid it in the summer due to overcrowding but it's still packed and I have to get off and push my bike by the National Theatre as there is a massive salsa party going on (not sure if organised or ad hoc) with some nifty dancing going on. The crowds thin out and I enjoy the rest of the cycle home.

Magda - mate underneath baseball cap

Mate still underneath baseball cap

Lobby