Friday 9th of March, 2001
Go into Walkers, and try to do the proof corrections on the Nick Book. It looks great, very colourful, but I always find this stage a bit trying - when I'm working on a book to begin with, I know where everything is, how everything was done; by the proof stage, I'm less sure, and have to do a bit of relearning. And then I'm loath to let it go again (just because I can't see any problems doesn't mean they're not there). Hopefully Macs are fast enough, with enough storage and RAM that I can do these more easily in the future (or at least present them in a more unified form). The strategy that I use - which was essential five or so years ago when I started doing them - involves lots of very complicated bits and pieces.
Lunch (vegetarian rice dish - looks unprepossessing, but tastes very nice, another reminder not to judge food by its appearance alone). After lunch go back to work and finish the corrections.
Then I decide to go and see if I can find a Roland USB keyboard to use with the Powerbook, so I don't have to get all sorts of wires and bits and bobs out in order to make music. I'm looking for buses, but decide in the end to walk. The walk down the Embankment and over Hungerford Bridge is very nice, but then the rain starts coming down hard. Decide I'd rather get wet and walk than try to find some form of public transport.
I go into a Role-playing game shop and get a set of dice - all kinds, for getting odd random numbers. I have wanted to do this occasionally, so hopefully having the dice will either (a) allow me to do it easily, or more likely (b) drive any need of a number between, say, one and twenty from my mind. Nice dice though - sort of speckled appearance. Very D&D (or possibly T&T or some other system).
I get up to Denmark Street - the place where I thought I was most likely to get the keyboard, Turnkey, were out of stock. Rose Morris don't stock them at all. Everybody else just does guitars. Except World of Pianos who just do... you're way ahead of me. Eventually I was passing by a small shop round the corner from Denmark Street and looked in on the offchance. Yes they had a number. This often happens - this small shop seems to have pretty much what I want, whereas no one else does. Perhaps some sort of cartel is in operation. And of course I can't go there first, that wouldn't work. It has to be a last resort. Hum.
Pop into the Virgin Megastore to see if the Blegvad album is out yet. No sign of it, but a bit of digging does yield Standards - the new album by Tortoise; the live album Heavy ConstrucKtion by King Crimson (no sign of that when it came out); and 69 Love Songs by Magnetic Fields, since I was going to get it eventually and it seemed like a good enough time.
Dice, keyboard, CDs - major booty.
Cadging a lift from my pa, I stop by the supermarket on the way home, getting the other half of this weeks provisions. Many grapes, tins of tomatos, frozen Quorn and that sort of thing. And a razor - last time I was here I bought a big pack of replacement razor blades. When I got them home, I found out that they didn't fit any handle that I had, so now I have to get the razor to go with the replacement razor blades. Does everybody have a large collection of similar (but not similar enough) razor blades, or is it just me?
When I get home, my first action is to try out the keyboard - of course, since it has much-coveted New Toy status. When I realise that I should set the MIDI thru off channel in Cubase to 16 (or any other channel that I don't actually want to use at the moment) it works like a charm. Very interesting hearing the VST instruments "direct" as opposed to having to program the notes in.
I get to the Bread & Roses at about half past nine. I have already missed the first half. Meet some people fleetingly, and then go up to see what's happening. The place is heaving again - amazing! Or not, if you know what you're doing on the promotion, but I don't, so it all seems like magic to me. Quick chat to Phil and Dave - I mention watching the Brel video to Phil, and he suggests I check out another live video -Knokke-le-Zoute. Break over, the host (Robb Johnson) does a couple of numbers, Ian Coles (doing the "new singer" slot that I was doing last week) does an a capella and two accompanied on borrowed guitars - during the second, a string breaks (ooh, bad luck, I hate it when that happens!) and someone tunes up another guitar for him. And then Phil. He starts with Man From Delmonte as usual, except... where am I? I do feel as though I ought to be playing, as if I've forgotten or something. It's very odd watching Phil from the front instead of sitting behind him. A lot of his gestures make much more sense this way. Well, they would. They should. Very hot room. Terrific new song (I Hear Voices?), sort of looming, dramatic and slow.
And of course I haven't seen Phil performing for over two years. Cor.
Hopefully some of the people will come to the Kamel Klub. Or perhaps not. Who knows? Not me, that's for sure.
I spend some time after the show chatting, so although the tube behaves itself for me this week and doesn't dump me at Waterloo, I still get home at midnight. I have my cocoa and get to bed, but it takes me forever to get to sleep (more frustrating when you're tired than when you're not).