It has been way too long since I wrote some things that have been happening and building in my brain. December was insane and Lidia and I did not have a extra minute for anything. We did find out that Kirk and James did get the clothing for their kids. Lidia did her last Evil Kitty event at her new space in the Creative Lounge in Wicker Park and did very well! We had several orders for Xmas on Evil Kitty website from Russia, South Pacific, Ireland and London which turned out to be only several miles from where we spent 12 days sleeping. We are both in the middle of changes and major decisions for and about Evil Kitty and the Abbey; announcements will be made here first!
So with that all said; I am standing outside on a fast boat ripping down the Thames River on a Tuesday night in mid December drinking a beer. Yes it's London and "Hell Yeah" it's on. It's been less than thirty six hours since I was packing at 4am after my last show on my way to O'Hare. No sleep Sunday night and maybe five tough hours Monday night after I arrived. So it's rush hour in the Docklands area along the Thames in southeast London and I feel as if I can almost fly. For the next 2 weeks, I have little if any responsibility back in Chicago (in London I only have to stay alive) and everything looks, tastes and feels magnificent. So standing on a fast boat cutting it's way down the heart of London is the best place in the universe to be right now. I have been past tower Bridge tons of times are have never seen it move an inch; but tonight it is going up for a tall ship and it looks pretty freakin' cool; as do all the modern buildings along the river that have a fierce sparkle to them tonight, or is it me? I am in the company of David and the lovely Terrie Jean. She is basically the group leader as David and I are "three sheets to the wind" (arrhh...nautical talk matey). We find the massive O2 and disembark not having bought the tickets and realize it is not possible to sneak by gratis. So we buy the tickets and leave the pier for Depeche Mode at the Godzilla looking O2. I have to say one of the things I like about London at Christmas is that it's usually anywhere from 50 degrees to mid 30's; comfy and moist. This year it was a hard freeze gripping the UK and most of Europe and tonight was one of many cold ass nights we were to experience. Man it was cold, so of course the will call line was outside and I had to wait for our tickets. Once in hand, we had to decide what to do as the O2 is a massive structure and the arena is only as small part of it. There is a huge multiplex, numerous bars and restaurants. No or little heat in the bar areas had us running into the arena and the main floor. Grab beers and walk out onto the main floor and find a place that was near and not to crowded a third of the way back. I had been trying to find out if there was a support act and who it was; no one seemed to know until I finally asked the sound man and he mentioned "yes" there was support and "blah blah blah" were the act. Crap I thought, we are too early and we have to suffer thru a opening act we need not see; ever! Sometimes being early for a show can lead you to see a great band that will break thru in a year or so. On the other hand, it can be a really boring and upsetting 45 minute to an hour of sh*t music. It was the latter for this evening and it kind of brought the party to a slow down. I have purposely blocked out their name as they were the epitome of cool but translates as Dumb-asses. They acted as if this gig was a huge bother and they couldn't wait to go back to their flats. So the answer was a piss, more beers and bits so that by the time the guys from Depeche started their set; I was levitating a bit and was ready to move to the groove.
Depeche Mode; a band that is very chameleon like, but yet always stays to their core roots. The core is a beat that no matter the speed of the song, defines it in it's essence. This is not throw away pop like Brittany or N'Sync and it is not the guitar driven pop of REM or U2; it's seems to be a hypnotic chorus with a big dance floor rhythm coupled with intensely personal and sing song-ey lyrics. I did see them on this tour in early August at Lollapalooza and they sucked; rather the whole thing sucked and sucked hard. Never saw a bad DM show and that was a stunner. I blame Lolla organizers and DM also. 8pm starting time in a field full of yuppies is the the conducive arena for Depeche; no way! Sound blew, the crowd was annoying and the set was a "phone in" from the boys. I left really upset and was left thinking that all these past shows, tours and records were all a lie....F*CK! So the stars were aligned in that I was in London and got tix to see once and for all if they do suck now; say it ain't so Dave! I was right, it was the venue and the wrong place and time for them in Chicago. Depeche came out and threw down and rocked the 20,000+ at the O2 this evening; even me. They started with three new songs off their newest cd; Songs Of The Universe. Not sure why three right in a row; maybe that was the oft putting thing at Lolla, but they started with "In Chains" then into "Wrong" and "Hole To Feed". The guys seem to do fairly well with all the nuances that differentiate them from most pop and electro acts and they seem to be able to pull off most of these nuances in such a monstrously massive venue! "In Chains" is one of these songs and it did come right across brilliantly this evening; something that was missing this past August. By the third song, I was ready for a few hits and hits out the ass they have! Fourth song was a rocking version of "Walking In My Shoes" and it seemed to take off skyward from there. "It's No Good" followed and was one of the highlights for the night. Just a building beat and intensity made this huge place a small, packed disco for five minutes! The hits just keep flying by at high speed; "Precious", "World In My Eyes", a killer version of "I Feel You", "Policy Of Truth" and they end the set with "Never Let Me Down Again". Just a great and fun set from a band that does have the goods still and can deliver in convincing fashion. We lose David some how, but I find him and then promptly lose both David and Terrie Jean. So I jump in a black cab and go home with the O2 still buzzing in my head and body. Well done for night one of the vacation.
It was cold the whole time there; really cold for the UK. It snowed an inch in London and everything shuts down; truly unbelievable. One of THE major economic hubs of the entire world and they freak out at an inch of snow and ice. WTF! I think Heathrow Airport has one snow plow and it was parked in another part of the country. No salt, just sand or "grit" as they call it. Come on guys, come out from underneath the bed and buy some snow plows and salt and it will all be better; I swear! I drove to a ATM during one of the inch plus blizzards, the whole trip was 2.5 miles and it took us two hours and ten minutes from door to door. it was insane and a bit funny; just never get accumulation in the south of the UK. This down turn in weather was met with more beers and partying which seemed like the logical thing to do. Pubs were visited, groceries were bought, snacks were made, Monte came and went with deliveries and we ended up on Monday afternoon getting ready for Johnny Rotten and Public Image Limited'slivereturn to the stage at the world famous Brixton Academy. Woo F*ckin' Hoo.
Now it's Monday the 21st and we are getting psyched to see Johnny and his band at the Academy in Brixton. Nice and famous place, but they seem to over sell it when they have good shows; more on this later. It had been drizzling all day and it seemed to be threatening to freeze again over night, so the whole country was in a state as the trains were frozen and down for most of the weekend. "STAY OFF THE ROADS", was the call to arms on the evening news. Shots of 30 mile long queues in the north of Britain and cars sliding all over the place was the montage that was featured at 6pm on all the news outlets. "SALT I TELL YOU", is what I am saying to the TV, "BLOODY SALT" (so they would understand better)!! With all this intelligence streaming in about the big freeze coming to grip jolly ole England, we decide to drive to Brixton! Cooper has volunteered to make the drive as we don't need a cab then; more beer money! We head off to the venue not really knowing if there is a support act or not. Not on the tickets or any adverts I had seen. Thinking it could be someone really cool or new and buzzing. It wasn't any of the above! Johnny was obviously saving money by NOT having a support act, but just a DJ playing dub. C'mon now, couldn't you find some awesome London based act to play 30 minutes? I am pretty sure the Academy does not have any heat, it was cold as balls in the bar and holding a pint seemed both comforting yet absurd. I would say that there are two distinct PIL's; one that was the band that put out it;s initial release, Metal Box and Flowers Of Romance and the one who was on MTV singing mildly annoying pop songs, I was banking on the good one showing up and doing all the hits of my college years! Well it was what I had been hoping for, PIL played almost everything I had wanted to hear in their marathon set. It was Grateful Dead like in it was over two and a half hours. We bailed after almost two full hours of the band. They opened with their theme and it was rockin' to say the least. Up next was one of my all time favs off of Metal Box; "Careering". Brilliant and Johnny still has that weird presence that only he seems to be able to carry off. "Poptones" and the intensely depressingly awesome "Albatross" were thrown down and accepted nicely with the sold out Academy. "Death Disco" and "Flowers Of Romance" were two others that really stood out and hit home with the London crowd. My feet were freezing at the end as well as the hand that had a pint in it for most of the set. I think "Memories" was the last we heard as I walked on what felt like stumps to the lobby. Found the car pretty quickly and went home for some tasty food by Coop's and some great UK TV. Not too shabby for a cold as hell Monday night in London.
