Last night, I managed to be very clever and fit all of my week's nightlife into one evening.
I met up at the Dublin Castle in Camden with the aloof Johnny Johnson, who was once the singer in <a href="http://www.siddeleys.com/">The Siddeleys</a>. She remained my escort for the first three of the four outings.
<img src="http://www.howdoesitfeel.f9.co.uk/twodickon.jpg"></img>
After catching the set there by the talented <lj user=linusland>, managing in the process to say hi to <lj user=jinty> and <lj user=andypop>, we quickly relocated up the road to Dingwalls and caught most of Cinerama's set. After greeting <lj user=mzdt>, it was off to Tottenham Court Road to investigate <a href="http://www.popstarz.org/naginfo.htm">"Nag Nag Nag"</a> at The Ghetto, which is a Popstarz-offshoot club that plays "electroclash". I'd been given a flyer at The Liquid Lounge the previous Saturday, and told I'd fit right in there. Well, I did and I didn't, really. Plenty of dressed-up young things dancing away, but after being there for an hour, I still didn't recognise any of the music. To my out of touch ears, it just sounded like hard industrial dance music, with a synthy edge. Not really my sort of thing. Maybe I came at the wrong moment, but I was feeling restless, and retired to the club next door,"The Rabbit Hole" at The Metro, where they play, well, pop songs that I did recognise.
Some things learned:
-Johnny Johnson will not get on a tube train.
-Cinerama are a fantastic live band. Better than The Wedding Present ever were. Even when they actually <i>become</i>The Wedding Present for a few songs, they're still better.
-David Gedge fans aren't <i>just</i> thirtyish men with thick necks, tidy little sideburns, and faces like Rodney Bewes. Although it did seem that way when I last saw Cinerama a couple of years ago, the audience tonight was much more healthily mixed. Lots of nubile young things of all sexes. And Sean Hughes, who passed me by the toilets and pretended to not know who I was, the fool.
-Mr Gedge still looks exactly the same as he did on the sleeve of "George Best". Same initials as Dorian Gray.
-Dingwalls is far too small for Cinerama. And too hot.
At the Rabbit Hole, a man sat next to me:
Man: Where's your bird?
Me: I haven't got one.
Man: But you must be here to pull birds, right? All dressed up like that?
Me: (shocked silence)
