What’s up with you guys?

We’ve been a bit busy with work/freelancing/dissertation/things to go to (events, Oasis gigs…) and of course the blog suffered a bit. Sorry about that. But we come with bells and colours as we announce that we finally managed to meet and plan for the next AperiTweat!
AperiTweat 3.0 will take place at Viva Verdi, on the 18th of August 2009.

Viva Verdi is a very lovely wine bar just behind TATE Modern, between London Bridge and Southwark tube stations. It’s also easy to get to from Blackfriars (bear in mind the tube station is closed till God knows when, but rail station is open!) by crossing the bridge and turning left in Southwark Street. For the digital geo-junkies in you, the full postcode is SE1 9AN. Type it, get there. As simple as that. You can also see it on OpenStreetMap when you search for the postcode.

As usual, expect quality drinks (the Prosecco is awesome, ’nuff said) and free food to accompany your drinks and chats. Cause we’re there to chat, right? Of course, the atmosphere is perfect for your networking needs, and if we’re lucky with the weather, there’s also some room outside. The room outside is there anyway, even with bad weather, it just might be not as interesting!

What I personally love about the place is the ham slicer, aka “affettatrice”. It sits at the centre of the bar, and it’s surely the most scenic one I’ve ever seen in my life of ham aficionado. And it’s not just the slicer, the ham, or “prosciutto crudo” is amazing too. What’s the point in having the coolest slicer if the prosciutto is not good? The guys at Viva Verdi thought the same.

We will have some surprises in the next days and weeks, but in the meanwhile please have a look at the official Aperitweat blog and also please join us and RSVP here.

We hope to see you there!

]]> http://www.twoexpats.com/aperitweat-30-coming/feed/ 0 http://www.twoexpats.com/ray-davies-rain/ http://www.twoexpats.com/ray-davies-rain/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:46:24 +0000 Matteo http://www.twoexpats.com/?p=349

Not quite literally, he performed under the roof. We were under the rain.

We previously anticipated that after TweetCamp we headed towards Hampstead in the late afternoon. Weather forecasts weren’t great and in fact we were greeted by pouring rain as soon as we arrived at Archway Underground station (bear in mind that we left Richmond with the sun warmly shining). For a little while we thoughht about not even going to Kenwood, given the open air concerto n a field and the rain. But, we had no way of actually knowing if they were going to cancel the show or not, so we ran to the bus stop and got to Kenwood House.

Kenwood House (on a sunny day though)

The gig was te first of the English Heritage Picnic Concerts 2009, and saw Ray Davies backed by the Crouch End Festival Chorus. The CEFC backed Davies in 2007 already during the Proms at the Roundhouse (we’ve already talked about the venue), and they recently came out with a record, The Kinks Choral Collection (spotify link), with 15 classic Kinks and Davies’s songs supported by the choir. The record has had mixed reviews so far, most of them not being very enthusiastic about the actual added value provided by the choir. One sure thing is that the live is better than the record itself, but, still, it was not mind-blowing. Davies is in very good form, and the backing band too, but, maybe because of the distance from the stage, maybe because the sound system was not the best ever, I was not impresse by the chorus anyway. A far more accurate review of the gig itself can be found here.

Here’s the video for Waterloo Sunset. You can find a playlist with the videos I took on YouTube.

What we really enjoyed was the whole situation, the whole surroundings. People came very well organised: we saw all sorts of picnic covers, food boxes, wine coolers, flutes, salad (obviously with proper salad bowls and dressings). When the rain started to come down heavy, no one seemed bothered: put the poncho on, open the brolly, and that’s it. In Italy people would have run away within seconds. Even the part of the audience sitting on the deck chairs (getting soaking wet, of course) stayed there.

[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157620680937317"]

We weren’t able to carry much to the picnic concert, mainly ’cause we were at TweetCamp before it (and it was a pretty long journey, Brick Lane to Hampstead via Richmond…), but next time we’ll make sure we get the wine and the food in proper picnic style.

We have few little things coming up in the next months or so, so we’ll keep you updated!

Kenwood House how we would have liked to see it courtesy of _mubblegum_ on Flickr

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Living away from home surely has its positive sides. One of these is the fact that if you like music, and you DO like music, and you move to London chances are you will go and see some gigs. The truth is that you will have lots of choices, lots of bands to see, lots of places to go and so little time.

Obviously music taste is different for each and every one of us, and different venues host different gigs, but these are the ones that, historically speaking, you can’t afford to miss

1 – 100 Club

100 Oxford Street, W1

Maximo Park @ 100 Club - Courtesy of aguichard on Flickr

Originally a restaurant, it has been a venue for live jazz music since 1942. In 1964 it changed its name into 100 Club, and hosted the best Blues, R&B and Beat acts around. If The Who and The Kinks don’t ring any bells to you, well, I’m sorry.

The 100 Club hosted the first punk festival. 1976, 20th and 21st of September. Monday and Tuesday, of course. Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned, Siouxie and the Banshees and others. It all began here.

Since May 1980 the 100 Club has hosted Northern Soul allnighters, still running nowadays.

And then the buzz of Indie in the mid 90′s. Oasis, Kula Shaker, Cornershop, Muse, OceanColourScene…

Need any more?

Who we went to see

The Trojans, gaelic ska band lead by the great Gaz Mayall

2 – Brixton Academy

211 Stockwell Road, SW9

Paul Weller sold out at the academy last winter

It used to be a cinema and a theatre, and you clearly recognise that from the leaning towards the stage of the floor and from the layout of the seats in the upper area. The arch and the interior are still like they were originally in the late 1920′s. Scenographically speaking, it’s probably the best live venue in the UK.

Bob Dylan and The Clash both played 5 consecutive nights at the Academy. The Specials are set to play 5 nights for their reunion (but without Jimmy Dammers is a bit like The Jam reuniting without Paul Weller) in May this year.

Who we went to see

In 2005 we saw Shout Out Louds and The Magic Numbers, in 2008 Paul Weller

3 – Hope and Anchor

207 Upper Street, N1

Basement at the Hope and Anchor - courtesy of _maracuja on Flickr

Difficult to imagine late 70′s music without the Hope and Anchor. This pub in Islington, main spot of the pub rock London scene, hosted gigs from Madness, The Damned, Joy Division, U2, The Stranglers, just to name a few.

Given the size of the basement, it’s crazy to think about it full of people seeing The Specials…

Who we went to see

A band of friends of friends of ours called The Words. They were opening act fore some other random Killers-sound-alike bands

4 – Royal Albert Hall

Kensington Gore, SW7

Noel Gallagher Live 2 the RAH - Courtesy of mattandsally on Flickr

Opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, for the hole history I’ll leave it to Wikipedia. The Royal Albert Hall has been hosting the Proms since 1941, and an impressive line up of superstars played here. Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, ABBA, Ocean Colour Scene + Paul Weller + Oasis, Morrissey, The Who.

It’s simply breathtaking.

Who we went to see

Madness as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts in 2008

5 – Roundhouse

Chalk Farm Road, NW1

The interiors of the Roundhouse - Courtesy of etcher on Flickr

The building was originally built in 1846 to repair steam engines, but its uses changed often in its history. It started to be used as a live venue in 1964, and hosted shows by Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd, among others.

What I personally like about it is the round (of course) shape and the feeling that yes, one could be using that space for all sorts of different things but it keeps on giving you the idea that no, you really can’t do anything else than playing music.

Who we went to see

Los Van Van this year. It was fine at the beginning, then it got boring and we left…

How about you?

What are your favourite venues for live music in London? I know we are missing many, the Jazz Cafe and the Hammersmith Apollo among others, but we haven’t had the chance to visit them yet.