Concert: The Gods, The Gods, The Gods

Tonight, back with CT - for a show called The Gods, The Gods, The Gods, at Underbelly Boulevard. New venue, it seemed! I got myself organised last night - for once - and booked somewhere to eat: closest place to there that I fancied was Bill's Soho. Now, I haven't always had the best service at Bill's.. but the food is always good, so I said I'd give it a shot.

I booked for 5.45. Now, I was a bit delayed finishing something at work - so was just in time to miss the bus. Buses Due seemed to be down today, so I had to rely on Google Maps' predictions of when the next would arrive - happily, for once it was right. But oh, that bus seemed determined to make me late - not only did the driver stop for 10 minutes "to even out the gaps in the service", but wow, he was just down the road from where he was to change to another driver, so we were delayed again! Most vexing..

It occurred to me, as I trotted down Charing Cross Road, that the last time I was here, every road crossing was like fording a river! What a change in the weather.. It also occurred to me that I'd better watch my step - I nearly went over on my ankle twice on the uneven pavements, hurrying as I was; they're really bad. Anyway, I made it in the end - at 6, just in time for them to honour my booking, phew! I might have been ok anyway, but it was busy, and I wouldn't have wanted to risk it.

Now, again, I had trouble getting my wine in a timely manner - what is it with people that makes it so hard for them to pour a glass of wine?! They don't do large glasses here either - 175ml is all - which meant I had to order a second: twice, before the order was successful. But the food arrived lickety-split! which I was most happy with. I had the set menu - calamari to start (lovely), followed by minute steak (£3 extra, comes with fries). It came with a hard-ish pat of garlic butter on top.. not the best steak I've had, but it definitely did the job. I tell you something, though, the fries were very moreish - best I've had in years! Highlight of the meal. Interestingly, they have QR codes on the table that you can use to pay - except that when I tried that, it couldn't find an order for me. So I had to wait for minutes for the guy to wander around so I could ask in person. Never mind, I was still out of there, two courses (and two glasses of wine) later, well within an hour of when I arrived. Good price, too! Definitely worth visiting, in this area.

The venue was two minutes' walk away - Google Maps helpfully directed me down a small alleyway:

I wasn't the only person looking for it on my phone, either. I was to realise that I'd been here before - just before lockdown, as it turns out! It used to be called the Boulevard Theatre. Well anyway, I had my name checked off - and the nice lady said, oh, you have a standing ticket - do you want to be in the Balcony? I said, well, if there's an alternative.. so I was.

I'd have had time to grab a drink - the bar is on the same level as the Stalls - but I was ok for the moment. So I ended up queueing upstairs, because the Balcony wasn't open yet. The lovely usher held a drink for someone who needed to go to the loo, then got plastic drink glasses for people to take to the Balcony with them. Funnily enough, they didn't seem to be big enough for the contents of the large glasses that people had got.. do take note! She chatted away merrily to the audience queueing, and explained that they'd been open since October..

I was to be so glad I'd gone upstairs - by the time the show started, the floor was full!

There are three stages, so there's really no right place to sit - where I was was about the best location. Now, I didn't really know, in advance, what this show entailed - there was talk of "four stories", of writers with a storytelling tradition, of "immersive theatre". Bull. This is a techno concert.

(sigh) I mean, they were ok.. they could sing (well, a couple of them, anyway). They went on and on with religious imagery - well, not traditional religion per se, but there was a lot of talk about the Old Gods, and how their time has passed, and yes, there were supposed to be four stories. I didn't try to keep up with these - the music, I found quite anodyne, kind of happy-clappy stuff. There was a bit about how the recorded woman's voice we'd just heard was an acquaintance of theirs, who'd died soon after the recording was made.

The most coherent bit was some mystic-sounding rant about a guy about to jump from a (London) bridge - they're thinking the Millennium Bridge - until a passing busker says something wise that changes his mind. So he takes himself off to a nearby art gallery instead, where he heads to the children's hands-on section, grabs some markers and paper, and writes out 28 signs, which he proceeds to take out and fasten to the bridge. The content of these signs is then told to us, in a continuous stream by one of the band members, and when we hear something that resonates with us, we're supposed to raise a hand. To be fair, you'd be hard-pressed not to find something appealing in all that lot.. mine went up at "This too shall pass".

So far, so Gen Z. I sympathised with the band, who kept looking up to the largely silent onlookers in the Balcony - I don't think I was the only one there tonight who expected something very different. The most fun I had, mind, was watching an ecstatic young lady zone out to the music - she was loving every minute! Obviously a major fan, she also knew the words. And funniest of all was her boyfriend, standing beside her, trying to look enthusiastic - obviously not as interested, he kept obviously wondering whether to put his arm around her, and deciding against it: probably didn't want to risk breaking her mood.. aww..

I was so glad when it ended - and I wasn't the only one who grabbed their coat and exited at that stage, rather than stay for the dj. We had a 20-minute exit window - and we ran for it! Nice to be home early, too, for once.. Anyway, they're playing two shows tomorrow, if this is your thing - the dj makes an appearance after the second show. Knock yourself out. Hey, at least I got to see what they've done to the place..

Tomorrow is when I'm trying to catch up with all those ex-colleagues.. Ivan can't move his rehearsal from that day, so three of us are meeting for lunch in Cambridge Heath, so he doesn't have to lug his equipment too far. The Approach Tavern, to be precise. Then he's off to play music, while the other two of us will head down to Victoria and see what pubs look good around there - James is headed home from there. Martin will probably join us there - it's a handier venue, and a better time, for him.

On Sunday, I'm back with London Walking Tours, Art & Culture Explorers for Jane Austen's London Walk..

On Monday, back with North London Friends for the first time in ages! They had one remaining ticket for Cold War, at the Almeida - otherwise completely sold out! So I bit the bullet and bought theirs - albeit above my normal price range, including a Paypal fee, and with a Meetup fee on top.. it was that or not see it at all! It'll be good to see them again, too..

On Tuesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Blood on Your Hands, at Southwark Playhouse - for which I used the second of my theatre vouchers, bought under their Pay as you Go scheme, where you get them at a discount.

On Wednesday, another CT ticket - this is for The Gorgeous Diva & Katie Norris Double Bill, at the Pen Theatre. Somewhere else I've never been, hmm..

Helen is in town on Thursday - and suggested we have dinner, and head to the Canary Wharf Winter Lights! Excellent idea - I was thinking of seeing them, but didn't have a specific date in mind. We're heading to Amerigo Vespucci for food. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

And on the 29th, I'm headed to The Hills of California, at the Harold Pinter. Another of those great value Seatplan vouchers..