Music

My dear friend Riikka inspired me to write something about my musical experiences while staying here in London. If you compare my gig experiences here to those I have had in Helsinki you will see that I have been much more active here than ever in Finland. I might have even developed a totally new me - back in Finland I would have never go to the gig on my own. Well, here I usually don't have a choice. If I want to see my favorite artists performing at one of the oh so many London's venues, I mostly have to do it alone. Cos the fact is that either any of my friends aren't interested or they have something else to do.

When it comes to live music and gigs, London is the paradise and the hell at the same time. Most of the performers around the world pop in here on their tour and there are so many active British acts appearing on stage as well. So much is going on all the time so if it wasn't for Time Out London I would be completely clueless. But as you might have guessed already, where there is supply, there is also demand. So, if you really wanna see something, you better have the tickets in your hands before anyone else have even heard about the band or their touring in London. Couple examples: Arcade Fire at Brixton Academy - four fucking gigs!!! (Do I really need to say anything more...Okey, I might have been in Ghana when the tix went on sale) and Arctic Monkeys - well, I always have such a great fun in Dublin, so why not travel there to see the Monkeys...

Okey, I know I can't go on blaming everyone else all the time and I must admit that sometimes it has been all my fault. Like that time I was on my way to Brixton to see Gotan Project and read from the paper on the tube that at that same moment Antony and the Johnsons were other side of the city performing in Barbican. Damn! And the fact that Gotan Project sucked on live doesn't make me any less resentful. And I just noticed that I'm going to miss Antony's gig in Helsinki, too. Well, maybe I'll caught them in Cork then. You never know...Right, one more before I'll finally move on those ones I've actually experienced. Beirut. At Koko, Camden. On June 26th. When I'll be far away from London. The weirdest band ever - they even play accordion! - but so worth seeing.

Very well, now moving on the part you all must have been waiting for: the gigs I've actually experienced. The very first band I ever saw in London was Blah Blah Blah at The Old Queen's Head on October 12th. You might wonder how on earth I ever pumped into this punk/nu-jazz/pop group of three Londoners. Well, that is a quite embarrassing story indeed. I might have mixed them up with Yeah Yeah Yeahs - but who can keep up with all these bands (I have pumped into yet another one lately: Die!Die!Die! What's up with that?!?) ...Anyway, the guys were great and I hope to caught them up again before my time in London is up:)

The next gig took place in November and that is the infamous Gotan Project which we already went through. So...next! And now we are in fact leaving the gorgeous capital behind and take a day trip to beautiful lady on the sea, Brighton - where I spent some of the weirdest four weeks in my teenage life, like all of you very well know. The band was Ojos De Brujo, one of Barcelona's finest and the venue Corn Exchange (Where do they get the names from? I might have to dedicate a whole post for the names of venues in Britain!). The gig was brilliant (you can read more about it from the post London By The Sea), except this tiny thing: teenagers. Whose idea was to let them in??? I'm sorry, if you dunno how to behave on a gig, stay home. Really! I'm not interested in your new jeans or boyfriend. I've come to listen the band. Do you even realise you're on a gig?!? (Oh, got a bit carried away there, sorry! I must be such a wanker on my mid-age;)

The gig after Ojos De Brujo must have been Badly Drawn Boy in mid February at Shepherd Bush Empire (here we go again...) with Miia. Yes, you understood correctly. For the first time in my gig history since the very first one I actually had a date and not just with anyone but with my dear dear friend from Finland. Oh, the sweetness of the feeling when you can truly share the experience with someone else. It always make the gig even more special. Like the one I enjoyed in The Boom Boom Room in Dublin with bands like White Magic, Goodtime John and Adrian Crowley (my fave) in the beginning of March. And that's exactly what I did also last Saturday. The Rakes at Brixton Academy with Suvi (thanks girl for inviting me:) and Sam, a semi-weird Chinese we met at the venue. Brilliant band and I so love the singer. What a dancer! But since when it has come acceptable to play only an hour including encore? That's hardly worth the money...

And that will bring us to the present day which has not been full of exciting gigs so we need to carry on to look into upcoming acts. Well, I have already mentioned my date with Arctic Monkeys at Malahide Castle, Dublin but in the near future I will most certainly enjoy Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues on live at Forum. I have heard she has give up drinking and sought help for her depression so the gig should be enjoyable. So, really looking forward to that...