Evening with Entitled Sons after summer afternoon in the garden

Summer has returned and so am spending many days in my back garden, which is now blooming nicely. My only issue is not, as for many people, the heat. And my garden is nicely overgrown; ok a little bit too much overgrown, but what that offers me in a garden in a terrace is the feeling of not being  overlooked. Instead I am surrounded by shrubs, especially tall buddleias. So I can feel secluded - visually. The catch though is that I am not secluded aurally. And my neighbours have a toddler. I am still working out how many times one can listen to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star floating over the fence before one's head explodes...

Anyway, at least the garden is visually appealing now with my bedding plants coming into their own.

And now that my wisteria is long gone, my clematis Perle d'Azur has taken over on my pergola to give an attractive shot of deep blue

As I say, its a bit overgrown but in a nice way

After a day in the garden I went off to central London to see Entitled Sons, whom a reader of this blog will observe I have seen many times, including a couple of times this year. Their remaining announced gigs this year were all to far away for me, but then up popped this record signing at Rough Trade in Denmark Street. This isn't usually my thing - I often see these events pop up even with bands I like, but they don't generally appeal because (a) I don't really feel the need for signed merchandise and (b) what I like is to see a band headlining and playing a long set, not just a little sample. 

But this mini gig appealed more first because it was so easy for me to get to - just down the Piccadilly Line - and secondly while I have no personal use for a signed copy of their new single, I knew my colleague at work's daughters would love one. Serendipity. So off I went.

Now, for most gigs I go to, I like to arrive early and get to the front, but in one corner or the other. No chance of that here as Entitled Sons' teenage fan base would be in the queue earlier than I would want, and this is a shop, so there were no real corners. The total admission was only 50, but that meant the entire front row would only be about 8 people, So, I was pretty much at the back with other middle aged (and older) folk. I felt safer in my tribe!

So they played a mini set of about five of their slower songs, including their new single, Epitaph. Which is a little tough to fit into their normal set, since their output is usually upbeat and this one is about the suicide of a friend of lead singer Charlie. It is easy to be cynical about bands releasing records, but as Charlie introduced Epitaph he was clearly choking a bit. This was personal, not something churned out at the request of a PR company. And he sang it very well, like he does all their songs. As I have remarked before, he has a terrific rock voice with just a nice level of "gravel" in it, which one doesn't normally associate with such a young man.

So after the little set a Q&A had been advertised, but Charlie just said that seemed too formal so they were just going to mix with the crowd (if fifty people can constitute a crowd) and said we could ask them anything. And of course get their single signed, which I duly managed, making clear it wasn't for me! 

So below is a photo I took just before leaving showing you what a small space it really was. Lead singer Charlie is to the right surrounded by young girls as you would expect. Drummer Laurie is heading towards the camera, being captured by his mum on the left, the television presenter Sarah Beeney. I had a nice chat with both Sarah and her husband (and band bass player) Graham - funny I should gravitate towards the parents!- but also swapped a few words with some of the boys. 

One comparison I would make between this lot and most of the bands I see is that the others might struggle to just mix like this. But I guess these lads have been brought up with the media, so are much more natural about it. Sarah said Charlie is actually a little shy by nature but overcomes it. He certainly overcomes it on stage.

I did make the joking observation to Sarah that it was as if she had bred them for the purpose, like some epic eugenics project. Surely too unlikely a coincidence to produce a keyboardist (Billy), then superb singer Charlie, the obviously highly talented guitarist Raffey and then finish with Laurie on drums who, although slight when they started this (I think he was only twelve), is now the tallest and beefiest member of the group, as befits the drummer, being the most physical of band roles. Foresight. Sarah said the role was foisted upon him at a young age by his brothers.

Sarah also said she had wanted them to become actors, but here they were going in a direction of their own. And quite successfully. Now I am not naive. They are clearly commercially advised. These record shop signings are done for a reason. Its not the money they bring in - I can't recall how much this was but only a little over a tenner I think, which included a copy of the single. But each single therefore adds to their sales, which will no doubt be reflected in some sales chart listing.  But there is only so much "acting" one can do. They all just come across as nice people, and the friendly family vibe they give off on stage seems repeated in mingling. Sometimes rock stars can actually be likeable. Dying young choking on your own vomit after a drugs and alcohol bender isn't actually a sine qua non.😀

Laurie said they had some further dates confirmed for later in the year as yet unannounced, so I may yet get to see them again. They genuinely are worth it.

Next proper gig for me is Two Door Cinema Club later this week which should have a crowd of about 8000, so only 7,950 more. Watch this space....

 

Private School, Black Nylon and Bones Ate Arfa at the Sebright Arms

I happened to have a free night and looking for a gig to go to, this free gig for a band I had never heard of, Private School, popped up. Then I looked at the details and first support were Bones Ate Arfa, so I thought, am definitely on for that. 

Slightly more doubtful when my train was late, then more so when having got onto the delayed train it was announced it wasn't even going to stop at my stop, due to the delays. So, I went all the way through to Liverpool Street and then had to get train back again in the direction from which I had just come!

Not that it mattered as although information said 7pm doors open, actually nothing happened until 8.

Here are Bones Ate Arfa arriving on stage,. I was at the back next to the as yet not opened bar. And of course no one in between. The Sebright Arms venue is actually underneath the pub in a black painted room that would make a decent dungeon.

Obviously I moved down to the front and a crowd duly rushed in from the pub upstairs when they started to play 

Herbie, on drums above, came to stand next to me during the next act so I asked him about this gig and he said it was a surprise to them too - they only learned they were playing last week. He was standing there with his coke - he is still too young to drink. But only for another month he told me!

Black Nylon were ok. Lead singer had a surprisingly good voice which suddenly burst out after a quiet intro. Didn't get a decent photo of the lead singer as he liked to sing from right at the front of the stage, and the Sebright's rudimentary lighting didn't extend that far

Now I think it would be fair to say that Bones Ate Arfa are at the outer end of my taste range with their grungey style. Black Nylon were in similar place. But it was perhaps no surprise to find an act on the bill that were outside my taste range. That was Private School. An American trio consisting of drummer, bass player and vocalist, not singer. There was no singing. This was rap crossed with metal. Loud and committed.  

I got no clear shots of the bass player. He was essentailly a whirring ball of hair at all times - see below. Reminded me of the Slag Brothers in the Wacky Races (which reveals my age)

The lead vocalist was very committed, and frequently came into the maelstrom that was the audience. The floor was just one huge mosh pit. I avoided the mayhem by standing on a bench at the side.

He brought up an American friend who was both pretty and a very good singer, as she revealed with an impromptu Adele cover.

By this time the lead vocalist had taken the opportunity of his break to peel off his sweat soaked vest and his trousers - it was incredibly hot and sweaty and he was giving it 100%. As was his audience

I will briefly mention one bugbear of the younger generation. This young man has just turned 27 - as he told us - and has a fine slim physique - so why disfigure it with random collection of tattoos?

So I think I can appreciate what this stuff is about, even if I can't bring myself to like it. It is a release of youthful exuberance. The crowd are like a rugby match were someone had forgotten to bring the ball. Just a melee of youngsters charging into each other to the soundtrack of drums, bass and a lot of shouting and swearing. My youthful exuberance has long been released by 40 years in an office. There is none left to release, so this just wasn't for me. But an experience to watch from a perch, with ear plugs. I could feel drips down the wall behind me. Possibly from the air conditioning unit above me, possibly just condensation from....