When most people think of London, they think of the area known as the West End; Oxford Street, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, etc. This London is a magical place and never fails to inspire. But the real London, the London that most of its residents live in, is a very different animal. It doesn't take much to leave one London and enter the next, just a few stops along the tube heading in any direction. To the east is where we find ourselves on this visit.
The gig and our hotel are in Shoreditch which is a rapidly developing area of East London. It won't be long before it is completely awash in the affluence that floods the West End. But for now it still maintains many of the elements that give it a certain "vibrancy". Walking around this area reminds me a lot of Manhattan in the late seventies. You always had to be aware of what block you were on, what was in front of you and who was behind, one minute you could be window shopping at the most trendiest store and the next you could be stumbling through a drug deal. Vibrant. It's in cities like these that you get the feeling that the government has only the most tenuous of holds on the street. It's in cities like these one begins to realize that the insanity of some of the news that gets dropped on your front door, isn't so insane after all, but merely a reflection of some people's everyday reality. And it's in cities like these that I, once again, realize how unbelievably lucky I am to be raising my kids in a slightly less "vibrant" city like Toronto.
The irony of all of this is that, these days, Shoreditch is a very tame (and much desired) part of London compared to areas a few more stops east and south. We North Americans are so incredibly sheltered: traveling once a year outside of ones borders should be subsidized by the State and a requirement for enfranchisement. How's that for an election platform...someone call up Obama.
The journey here to London is mainly so that we could do a little bit of early promo for the new CD. In the meantime, we figured that we might as well do a gig to help pay for the journey. We played a tiny, tiny club called the Spitz and had a blast. It was an excellent show from our point of view and gave us a lot of confidence going forward. The new songs are slowly taking shape.
The one negative blotch on the night was that after the show some thief took my binder full of the chord charts and repertoire for this tour. It isn't irreplaceable but it is a major nuisance and also kind of a weird feeling knowing that someone who was so in to the band, that they were able to get tickets for such an exclusive gig, could then turn around and steal from them. Pete thinks it was probably Fagin, but I am more inclined towards The Artful Dodger. If anyone comes across someone trying to sell a binder full of original chord charts on the message board or on Ebay then please let me know. I have a couple of Russian mobsters on retainer, waiting for orders.
Tomorrow is another promo day in London for me and Margo, while the rest of the band moves on to Glasgow. Arcade Fire is in town tomorrow night, but it is sold out. I am desperately trying to find a ticket...my month hangs in the balance.