Ladyfest London

The Underground, Camden, North London. 10/5/08.
Vile Vile Creatures/Comanechi/New Bloods/Mat&Kim.

Made a late decision to do this . There had been a change of personnel in the VVC ranks. David has left and been replaced by Julia from Fake Tan. Their first gig was in London at the Ladyfest festival on the Saturday night at the Underground in Camden. I know they say they are always a bit nervous about playing in London. This in mind I thought I would go down and surprise them and give them some moral support. Allied to the fact there was a pretty good line up of about 8/9 bands too. I also knew that Julia would be there (a cyber friend) and it would give me the chance to meet her and say hi in the real world so to speak.

My first thought was just to turn up and surprise everybody. I deliberated with this for a while and wasn't sure what to do. In the end I decided to let Julia know I was coming down to surprise VVC and it would be nice to meet up for the first time. I had to put this trip together fairly quickly and managed to get a hotel not too far from Camden via tube, in London terms anyway. I booked a train ticket at not too bad a price either. I was going to treat this one as a double budget gig as all told it was going to cost a fair bit.

So Saturday am I set off for London. I got to Euston about half one got to my hotel, booked in and got back across to Camden by about 2:50 ish. Not bad going really. I sent Julia a message saying I was in Camden and we arranged to meet up at 5pm. I took a bit of a wander and got something to eat. 5pm soon came as time these days just seems to fly by. In truth I was feeling a little nervous while making my way to the arranged meet spot. It's strange that I can be such a strong individual in certain areas of life yet such a wreck in others. I think I knew deep down that this would be ok though and once I got there I was in a semi relaxed feeling, I think!. Next thing Julia was stood in front of me and we said our Hi's and hello's. Julia's friend Gayle soon showed and we went for a drink up the road before going to the venue. When we went in I had a eye out to see if I could spot Jen and Sian but couldn't see them. The venue at first seemed a strange shape but it wasn't until I went to the stage area that I understood its layout. In fairness it was pretty good and in the end I actually liked the place. While at the merch stall all of a sudden a band started playing, and I'd recognise those chunky chords anywhere. Julia and I just looked up at each other and said "they're on". VVC had started so we sped down to the stage area and settled stage right. Immediately it was noticeable how relaxed, free and fresh they were. Jenny seemed much happier and was playing with a freedom I hadn't noticed for a while. Sian was as solid as ever and new drummer Julia seemed settled. Though not as 'quick fire' as David I think she added a different texture to the overall sound. In fact even though David was a supper drummer I think the band 'dynamic' is now better, time will tell. The main thing was that they seemed to be enjoying themselves much more than they have for a while. I was so pleased for them though. There was a lovely moment at the end of FF, which they wisely played in the middle of the set (I think). Sian turned to Julia and they gave each other a high five, because they nailed it.

Next were Comancehi who didn't seem as riotous as the last couple of times I've seen them, still good though.The New Bloods were up next. I was looking forward to seeing these as I've been enjoying their album this year. They have an unusual sound centered around interesting bass lines and rhythms and the lead instrument being a violin, a growing trend these days. They were good and solid as opposed to being dynamic, they replicated their material well but that was basically it.
A duo called Matt & Kim were next on stage. Kim plays drums Matt guitar, ala' 'White Stripes'. I had a really strange feeling that I'd seen these before somewhere either that or a severe case of deja vu. They were quite good and probably the more chatty band of the evening.

The 'headliner if you wish was a lady called 'Angie Reed'. Who I'd never heard of to be honest. As she was setting up the three of us had a bad feeling about her. No instruments just a beat box thingy (presumably) and she was dressed as more of a performance artiste. I think we got about 30 secs into the first 'song' and decided to escape. Julia commented that she is the first headliner to clear a room, yeah a good call that.

We moved to the upper bar and I caught up with Jen and Sian. I told Jen I thought she was much more relaxed and free of a tension even I hadn't noticed. I introduced Jen to Julia and Gayle, it was nice to bring everyone together. Jen asked if we would like to join them for a drink after to which we agreed. In truth this fell apart at the seams a bit as VVC were trying to keep a posse of 12 - 15 people together. So Julia said she would head off so we said our goodbyes. I hung around with them for a while as it was not sure where or what people were doing. In the end I made my excuses and told them I was going to head of back in the direction of my hotel.

As an absolute bizarre twist on this trip it turned out my hotel was literally on the corner of the road Julia lived on. I knew she lived north London but that was about it. I'm still struggling to get over that fact.

I was glad I made this trip, though not something I can afford to do every month. It was good to surprise VVC and great to see them much happier. It was lovely to meet up with Julia too.

Oh! and thank you again Julia for inviting me for a coffee on the Sunday morning before my journey home. That was very welcome as the coffee in the hotel wasn't up to much. Thanks again and hopefully we can catch up with each other again someday.