Well now and there it was my pretties, that i made my way up Lun'un to The Enterprise , Chalk Farm for an evening at The Ace Motel, hosted by Amy Stephenson. I was to be there in my capacity as an audience and I was to be joined in my venture as has become quite an idle fashion by MatthewjShawphotographers........who will be herein known as .....MatthewjShawphotographers..lol.:-)
The journey was interrupted before it began rather rudely by a tunnel collapsing and it takes much longer to get up to Chalk Farm when a tunnel has collapsed.........oh yes....much naffing longer.
Who were we going to see Betty? The Chacers my dears.............don't you usually stay with Mark and Les Betty?......well ordinarily yes and indeed it was a change for us all! As The Chacers are now a fully functioning band outfit , with a drummer and bass player!............i know! ...The Chacers now have the universally talented Richard Knutson and Jordan Flannery on board...and they are all dossing at Mark's :-)
And So i alight at the station with around half an hour to spare and i use my swanky iphonedirections facility to walk the ten minutes to the hotel , all the while rendezvousing with Matt! And what a charming place Betty has found or herself, revolving doors and mock vintage style, much like Betty herself! we have time rather cheekily to avail ourselves of tea making...........it takes much less time to fill a kettle from the bath......much less time and mess....lol
Matt has his audience hat on too this evening and is in a most marvellously vacant mood, ...is he? yes.......and i find this more hilarious than i should, we realise we have neither of us eaten :-).... but we head out for the enterprise and as we arrive Mark and Les are there, drinks and fags in 'and...nice.
I knew that i would buy cigarettes and join them, it would be wrong not too and i like it...........( have you given up smoking Bet?) no.........but i have not had more than ten in 17 days.............if i pretend i am not giving up, it doesn't matter so much.......lol
I say hiiii to Richard and howdyaddooo's to Jordan and then whisk away to find food, i dont know why i find the idea of supermarkets in London so odd, but i kinda believe no one actually lives there, London is for going out in!! but we make a quick sojourn pasties, crisps, doughnuts..............more doughnuts........doughnuts...........nice work......:-)
And as soon as we had gone we were back and Mark 'n Les hadn't moved! ....fags.... Amy is flitting abaht, taking piccies and I wonder if any of her crew are around this night...Richard and Jordan are upstairs already setting up, The Chacers are first to be on tonight! Matt and I follow the crowd and get our stamps for "The Chacers" ... Jordan it appears , has an extraordinary talent but also a fondness for daft hats! is it his lucky hat i wonder?... there has as with many YAyA signings only been one rehearsal, shows the measure of musicianship that they achieve a great sound like that , like that! .......Matt cannot sit down and takes a few piccies for pleasure, , he cannot leave the house without a camera, it grounds him......:-)
Down the stairs again! they have not changed since i last visited the establishment , and i still have no shame! but i can walk quite easily today and find a groove.. ,Les is starting to get a bit giggly, is she nervous? surely not! lol ... And then they are on!!
I take to a bench but immediately feel a few shapes coming on! The Chacers have a very danceable take and they play all their top tunes! "lovely arms" "stalking me" tables turn" "out to sea"................they have a proper pop stance! it pleases me! and Richard on bass! well, he does throw a queer shape, stood on one leg! , classic!! ..Jordan is smiling away, cool, Les sneers properly and Mark looks his indolent best.........hurrah! I have a little dance! and Matt starts tapping his toes!
I love this stuff! ay...cos The Chacers! well Les 'n Mark were down the stairs again like two jack russels after a stick, drinks 'n fags in hand before anyone else got there! We are joined soon after by several of Les' friends, one of whom had come down from Manchester only to miss them!! shit!...we have a rather lovely talk about adoption and how getting two brand spankin' new children can be a bit of a blast!! :-)...nice....
We feel we should go and see some of the other acts though and finally tear ourselves away from a rather animated and melodramtic tale of drunken bravado/ extreme violence.. from Gary.......it was a splendid tale of pride over sense and all played out with a mock cheeky smile and an obvious need for help...lol.... the Stephenson posse are out in force now....:-)
UUUUUP! the stairs............I sit with Matthew , Richard and Jordan, to see a double bass come on stage with the Small Horses, a skiffle led , yippie aye aaaayyy of a band, with intense lyrics and a strong irish drawl and a lot of foot stomping!, they weren't half bad and the crowd then got a little restless and skipped a few doh se doh's.........i watch Richard and Jordan, they are watching with a musicians eye.....and ear.....
DOOOOOWNN the stairs.....Les is a little bit wee wee'd and Mark is not sure what to do next, Richard is tired and waiting, Jordan is trying to skull a pint he does not want ...............this my dears is a proper rock 'n roll night ! ...............As it turns out it seems appropriate to bid our farewells ...and Richard looks thnkful, he had had his quota of two pints and knows his limits.... so we do hugs and love ya's goodnight and take care's and brilliant to see ya's and in some ways it is sad to part..........Matt and I wend our way back to Primrose Hill in the wonderful yellow light of a busy London night and I see a fox with the biggest brush nip around the back of the station! :-) i didn't tell Matt......not sure why.. but it was one of those , portentful moments...know wot i mean.............I hear The Chacers polished of a bottle of cava and finally got to sleep at 4 in the morning! hurrah!
Remember the night bus my pretties.....:-)xxx