Last Week In London
- Posted on January 21, 2008 11:17 AM
- 0 comments
Last Week In London
By Peter Coulston
Hello and welcome once again to the definitive account of live music and other events in London last week. I mention other events because, on Monday, I was not exactly at a gig, although I was at that legendary venue, The Round House at Chalk Farm. The occasion was the BRIT Awards 2008 launch, to which I was invited as I am a member of the Academy and eligible to vote in most categories. So that means that you can blame me if you don’t agree with the nominations, even though I probably didn’t vote for most of them. However, with high office comes responsibility, so, unlike our present government, I will accept any criticism for whatever contribution I made to the final outcome. The event itself was a made for television affair, with loads of very young people bussed in to cheer and scream at the appropriate time. ADELE, the Editors, Bat For Lashes and the Hoosiers each performed one number for them and I am sure they had a great time. As for us music business people, we stayed at the back and kept the bar staff extremely busy. In my case, that meant that, despite moving on to the 12 Bar Club after the nominations were announced, my recollections of that establishment are less than clear and best left undocumented. As you probably know already, the British nominations are dominated by Kate Nash, Mika, Leona Lewis, the Kaisers and Take That, while the International section is a mix of old and new with Springsteen, the Eagles and Kylie up there with Rufus Wainwright, Feist, Foo Fighters and Arcade Fire. And may the best man (woman and group) win.
I found myself back in the same neck of the woods on Wednesday, as I decided that the Blues Jam at Green Room in Camden looked a good option. Needles to say, I wasn’t wrong. Hosted by a blues/rhythm ‘n blues band called The Velours, this turned out to be pure heaven for Blues lovers. The band themselves, led by Ricardo on vocals and harmonica and assisted by Timmins on guitar, Marcel on keyboards, Subs on bass and Martin on drums, were as good a blues band as I have heard in a long time and should be listened to whenever possible at their many London gigs, including every Wednesday at the Green Note. In addition, David Atkinson and Mark Harrison both did some excellent acoustic country blues and Joe X blue us away with his great vocals and mastery of his white Stratocaster. There was also a young guitar player who jammed with the band along with a saxophone player, and both these guys were awesome as well. A brilliant night, I strongly recommend that you check it out one of these Wednesdays.
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