Nothing quite runs to plan...
...But if you stand your ground, you might still succeed.
Or Jason Has an Interesting Saturday Night.
After sanding the door, I finally made it to the Venue while the main support were on, only to be blocked at the door by the two surly women in charge of the guestlist, who didn't believe my name was among those listed. I'd been told that I was in under my own name or Alternative Magazine. They couldn't find me (to be fair, there were 80 names on the list).
I called Phil (who had called me on my mobile earlier to brief me on some details) who told me to ask for Gary, the promotions manager. The Swiss Tour Manager was standing next to me, but he was less than helpful. And the doorstaff (both of them) refused to find the promotions manager.
I can understand that there are probably people who's raison d'etre it is to pretend that they are on guestlists for events, but I had been told it was sorted, and being treated in a fashion that at best can be described as offhand made it hard for me to maintain my polite exterior.
I was about to say 'Fine. I've got a job to do, and I don't have time to stand here arguing the toss, so I'll buy a ticket and then we'll sort this out later.' when one of the women actually managed to find my name in the list and instantly switched gears from surly to apologetic, and gave me the red guest pass, even going so far as to ask me if I needed a photo pass. I took their apology graciously, since the last thing I need to do is get offside with the gatekeepers (I'm sure when I've reviewed more shows, doorstaff will get to know me and it will all become little more than a nod and a wave), besides which, I really wanted to see Cryptopsy...
Who were just finishing their last song. Bollocks.
Still, I ran into various folk around the gig that I knew, picked their brains about the headliners and tried to find the best spot to enjoy the performance.
The show itself was pretty good, but the venue was pretty stifling, and having only had a limited amount of sleep, I wasn't as resistant to the cloying atmosphere as I normally would be. I'm going to get started on the first draft of my review of the show soon.
My editor was relieved that I got in okay. He's going to email me word length and bits and pieces.
Anyways, after the rest of my night just got weirder:
Northern Line to Camden to drop in on Tom from Tomera's birthday drinks. Was introduced to the editor of Ultimatemetal.com by the Tomera bassist Lee Barrett. Mostly ridiculous dancing to cheesy new wave anthems.
In the end I tarried a little too long a Tom's gathering, as well as underestimating how long it would take to get to my next destination. As a result I missed my friend's Aerial Act at Rock Cabaret, but at least I didn't have to pay to get in (which is lucky, since I'm not sure I was on the memberlist). I wasn't going to hang around in any case, the club wasn't my scene.
Next I met a nice couple at street level who by coincidence were heading to Angel to go to a completely different club, so the three of us shared a cab there and split the fare. The couple were north-londoners with literary aspirations and friendly natures. I accompanied the couple to their club, thought it was good, but stilleft in time to catch the start of the set by The Skeleton Family at Slimelight. They were pretty good. Nice to see a decent drummer in a Goth Band.
Rest of Slimelight: hanging with friends, watching Ren and Stimpy Cartoons and the like.
Tube home, breakfast at San Marino Cafe and back here.
Now, I think I will put up my feet for a little bit. Still stuff to do, but it can wait for a moment.
Over and out.
J
Or Jason Has an Interesting Saturday Night.
After sanding the door, I finally made it to the Venue while the main support were on, only to be blocked at the door by the two surly women in charge of the guestlist, who didn't believe my name was among those listed. I'd been told that I was in under my own name or Alternative Magazine. They couldn't find me (to be fair, there were 80 names on the list).
I called Phil (who had called me on my mobile earlier to brief me on some details) who told me to ask for Gary, the promotions manager. The Swiss Tour Manager was standing next to me, but he was less than helpful. And the doorstaff (both of them) refused to find the promotions manager.
I can understand that there are probably people who's raison d'etre it is to pretend that they are on guestlists for events, but I had been told it was sorted, and being treated in a fashion that at best can be described as offhand made it hard for me to maintain my polite exterior.
I was about to say 'Fine. I've got a job to do, and I don't have time to stand here arguing the toss, so I'll buy a ticket and then we'll sort this out later.' when one of the women actually managed to find my name in the list and instantly switched gears from surly to apologetic, and gave me the red guest pass, even going so far as to ask me if I needed a photo pass. I took their apology graciously, since the last thing I need to do is get offside with the gatekeepers (I'm sure when I've reviewed more shows, doorstaff will get to know me and it will all become little more than a nod and a wave), besides which, I really wanted to see Cryptopsy...
Who were just finishing their last song. Bollocks.
Still, I ran into various folk around the gig that I knew, picked their brains about the headliners and tried to find the best spot to enjoy the performance.
The show itself was pretty good, but the venue was pretty stifling, and having only had a limited amount of sleep, I wasn't as resistant to the cloying atmosphere as I normally would be. I'm going to get started on the first draft of my review of the show soon.
My editor was relieved that I got in okay. He's going to email me word length and bits and pieces.
Anyways, after the rest of my night just got weirder:
Northern Line to Camden to drop in on Tom from Tomera's birthday drinks. Was introduced to the editor of Ultimatemetal.com by the Tomera bassist Lee Barrett. Mostly ridiculous dancing to cheesy new wave anthems.
In the end I tarried a little too long a Tom's gathering, as well as underestimating how long it would take to get to my next destination. As a result I missed my friend's Aerial Act at Rock Cabaret, but at least I didn't have to pay to get in (which is lucky, since I'm not sure I was on the memberlist). I wasn't going to hang around in any case, the club wasn't my scene.
Next I met a nice couple at street level who by coincidence were heading to Angel to go to a completely different club, so the three of us shared a cab there and split the fare. The couple were north-londoners with literary aspirations and friendly natures. I accompanied the couple to their club, thought it was good, but stilleft in time to catch the start of the set by The Skeleton Family at Slimelight. They were pretty good. Nice to see a decent drummer in a Goth Band.
Rest of Slimelight: hanging with friends, watching Ren and Stimpy Cartoons and the like.
Tube home, breakfast at San Marino Cafe and back here.
Now, I think I will put up my feet for a little bit. Still stuff to do, but it can wait for a moment.
Over and out.
J
posted by the.exile at 8:41 am
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