Finally some live music

So, last night I finally went to see what London has to offer for live music. I started small, not going for the big guns. I went to 12 Bar Club which was advertised as being a singer/songwriter type of place. This place would have fit in perfectly in Austin, dirty and gringy with singer/songwriters playing.


The opening act Timothy Parkes had a nice pretty sound, sort of what you would expect from a singer/songwriter, but I wasn't blow away. The headliner was Gary Lucas. I get the impression I should know who this guy is, but I don't. He was awesome at the guitar, but when he tried to throw in lyrics, it just didn't work for me. He played 2 very interesting guitars.

The first one was a new one made of recycled material like yogurt cartons by a friend/acquaintance.

The 2nd one was a metal acoustic guitar that sounded like a mix between a banjo and the sound of old school blues guitars of Robert Johnson. It was interesting to listen to it. I think maybe the uniqueness of this sound is not captured in recordings, but I could be wrong. You can tell by the wear and tear on the guitar that it is his regular.

Oh, I finally had my first Newcastle beer at 12 Bar Club...

This girl at the bar started talking to me and we ended up going to this other club named St Moritz Club where a fun ska band called Gaz's Rockin' Blues was playing. I danced more than I have danced in ages!!! It was fun! She has an interesting story and as she was not feeling the music, she simply sat and drank while I danced. I think she may have been following some ex of hers that was at the first place who was also at this place. St Moritz's was in the basement so had that rather "undergound" feel about it..sort of like being in a grotto. I think I'll try it again to see if the atmosphere is the same with a different band.