Thursday, February 25, 2010

Lorries and Loungers

Lyric sheet of Helen McCookerybook; photo by Val PhoenixBack from another show, a mixture of giddiness and exhaustion. I did my good deed for the day by pointing an errant Viennese lorry driver in the right direction, lest he send his load of Tische und Stühle crashing into a low-hanging bridge. He was very grateful for my efforts, as he didn't speak English. Finally, finally, the German lessons are paying off...

Last night was quite enjoyable, a worthwhile hike to the wilds of northwest London to see the debut of Club Artyfartle (still not sure about the name), an assemblage of five singer-songwriters showing off their new wares. This took an unusual form of all of them lining up on the stage and playing one song per "set", but with three sets. The mystery performer turned out to be Viv Albertine sporting a bloody finger, courtesy of some dangerous potato peeling.

Viv was the only one to play electric guitar, which is perhaps cheating, but she seemed at home among the acoustic stringed set: Martin Stephenson (very funny banter), Acton Bell (delicate playing), Katy Carr (massive voice, tiny ukulele) and club promoter Helen McCookerybook (good tunes and elaborately written lyrics--see above) all performed new material, with the odd fluffed note to prove it.

Aside from the music, I quite liked the cakes and casual conversation, especially as among the guests was Gina Birch discussing her new-found passion for knitting bags. Things I gleaned: more Raincoats gigs are coming and Gina is now blogging. I also met a cousin of a Mo-Dette, who told some great stories about being on the road with them back in the day.
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4 comments:

Kathy McCarty said...

Hey Val!

It's ME, Kathy McCarty. I was fixing to send out some more presents. But I don't want to send the same one I sent last time. What did I send you last time?

Val Phoenix, scribe said...

Hi, you,
It was God Take All, actually.

cheers,
Val

Katchita said...

Well, scribe, looks from your blog like you didn't make it to the Berlinale this year. But believe me, you didn't miss ANYTHING except potentially broken limbs (the sidewalks were lethal with black ice). If the Berlinale is any indication, 2010 will be a dismal year in film; have to hope for better in 2011.

Val Phoenix, scribe said...

No, I didn't make it. I was relying on your blog to find out what happened.:) But, I didn't hear much from anyone, except to say it wasn't a top year for the festival. Still, here's hoping it will pick up.