Thursday 6th of September, 2001
what kind of clowns are running the Underground anyway?
The Nick disks get collected in the afternoon, which is, I have to say, a tremendous relief. Well, until they bounce back to me with dreadful problems.
Frank Bogie comes over in the afternoon to convert some music from minidisc to CD. He wants to watch Watercolour Challenge as we're waiting for the music to play onto the hard disk. Although nowhere near as scary as the stuff I saw whilst in Edinburgh a few weeks ago, it still seems to be from another planet. It also contains a shot of Hannah Gordon carrying a big gun, which I'm sure already features in someone's fevered sexual fantasies.
In the evening to the VAC for Alastair Artingstall's CD launch. I have to get there by bus, Angel station being closed for them to repair the escalators that are less than ten years old for God's sake what kind of clowns are running the Underground anyway? Gah!
Ahem.
The room is already pretty full when I get there, lots of VAC regulars - Aiden, Rich, Edwina, Mal, etc and etc. The stage is at least twice the normal size and there's a big lighting rig and video crew.
Rockin'.
Perhaps the opening slot (which is filled by a young chap called Damon) to a gig where a large number of people have come to see the other artist might be tricky. Or perhaps not. To be honest I don't know. Anyway, Damon's not phased by it and aquits himself quite well. In fact he has a tableful of admirers and family in the room.
Alastair plays the whole album in the order it appears with a variety of guest stars (two bass players - electric and stand-up - keyboards, drums and percussion, cellists, pedal steel, Rich and Edwina and Mal on guitars and BVs).And he does rock after a fashion. I find a perch behind Stephen with Charlotte, John Fallon and some other people. The room is packed (more packed even than some of the packeder open-mics, certainly the packedest I've seen a gig night). After a couple of numbers he takes off his jacket to reveal a shirt that Jon Pertwee might have rejected as a bit excessive in his Doctor Who ascendancy.
(Thanks to Aiden for the Dr Who gag.)