dotinthesky: (Default)
Dot in the Sky ([personal profile] dotinthesky) wrote2009-11-29 07:10 pm

A Friend Passing By

On Friday morning, my brasilian friend B arrived for a week-long stay. I took him downtown and we walked in the cold for hours while discussing the end of the world and psychedelic drugs. At night, we ate pizza in a nearby pub then finished off pints to the sound of East End jazz standars at the Palm Tree pub.

Yesterday, we went downtown again and browsed various bookstores. The weather was miserable, but not as horrible as the crowds around Oxford Street. In the evening, a friend invited us to drop by Passing Cloud (where he works) to see some live music. The evening was called Worm Food! and it was absolutely brilliant: afrobeats-and-folk on the ground floor to a beautiful, happy crowd and dub/reggae/soul on the second floor. MDMA highs without ingesting anything harder than rum and juice. As B correctly pointed out, you know you are in a great club when everyone around you has a smile on their face.

We ended up staying until four in the morning. Here's a taster of what the ground floor is like:



Today, we ate breakfast at The Victoria and were happy to learn that:

  • They didn't lose their live music license, though they had to compromise with the neighbours and no longer have any gigs on Thursdays. They told me that all the signatures on the petition were a big help because it showed to the court that two people were trying to unfairly bully a large group of people. So well done to all of you that signed it!
  • They have a table tennis in the cinema area (removed on Sunday nights for the film at 8pm).
  • They now have a Dreamcast attached to the telly so anyone can play videogames if they fancy it.
  • The hairdresser is also still there.
  • They still play great music (i.e. mostly The Cure)

B loved the pub. Afterwards, we went downtown again so he could buy DVDs at HMV and visit the Photographer's Gallery. I'm going to make dinner in a minute (pasta with tuna and tomato sauce) and then we'll settle down for the night with some Planet Earth action.

[identity profile] moveslikegiallo.livejournal.com 2009-11-29 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
RE: Victoria:

YES!
YES!
AMAZING!

I need to prod ZATS a bit more. I want them to play at the Victoria for my birthday. Very very pleased about this news.

[identity profile] commonpeople.livejournal.com 2009-11-30 09:11 am (UTC)(link)
That. would. be. awesome.
I think they'd love the venue too, and since I've never seen them live it would be selfishly perfect for me. :-)

[identity profile] moveslikegiallo.livejournal.com 2009-11-30 09:13 am (UTC)(link)
I am sulking a bit. The bassist said he'd email me on Saturday about it, and I've still heard nothing. It's possible he's lost my card... but I'm not sure if I'm going to seem like an insane stalker if I send him a MySpace message/email about it. Argh!
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[identity profile] commonpeople.livejournal.com 2009-11-30 09:33 am (UTC)(link)
I love the Photographer's Gallery too - it's even great to stop by for just a cup of coffee! One unusual thing I noticed yesterday was that everyone was leaving their umbrellas by the front door before entering the gallery - I thought it was very neat for such a usually-untrustworthy London.

I was so glad to hear about the Victoria. There's a need for a space like theirs around here and it would have been a shame if some idiots succeeded in shutting it down.
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[identity profile] commonpeople.livejournal.com 2009-12-01 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe we should go together there some time for a coffee. ;-)
canudiglett: (wurst)

[personal profile] canudiglett 2009-11-30 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
Excellent! I shall bring my Dreamcast games on Sunday.

[identity profile] commonpeople.livejournal.com 2009-11-30 09:11 am (UTC)(link)
They have some games already there, but that would be fun! I saw someone playing Sonic Adventures so you don't have to bring that one if you have it. ;-)