2kiwis

The people who own the London Eye are hosting a photography competition linked to the forthcoming 25 millionth visitor milestone. People have to upload photos that involve the Eye and winners will be chosen to receive prizes (unspecified on the website, identified as cameras and other items on other sites). I already have some nice photos of the Eye so I uploaded a few earlier in the week.

Evening long exposure

Moon and Eye glow spreading over the Thames

I set out on Tuesday evening to take some more shots on what promised to be a lovely spring evening. I walked from Embankment station and over the Hungerford Bridge to the south bank. The clocks have switched to BST (British Summer Time) on the weekend just gone so there is plenty of light in the sky on a clear evening. The weather was really nice with the temperature not too hot, not too cold, so I was able to walk around without the jacket I’ve been wearing for the last few months. In the hour or so I was walking and taking photos the sun slowly set, the sky graduating for a nice golden spring glow on the horizon to a pale blue in the upper reaches. The sun was setting in such a way that I was able to get some very nice silhouettes of the Eye and the pods.

Silhouette

As the sun disappeared behind the buildings of the West End I walked up to Westminster Bridge past the eye. I think my favourite shot of the evening was one of the Eye appearing to merge with a Salvador Dali Elephant that sits outside the County Hall. I don’t exactly know why I like it so much, perhaps simply because it’s a strange photo.

Dali Elephant and the London Eye

That was about it, over the bridge I went and down to Westminster Station to catch the tube to Liverpool Street. Hopefully the weather holds for a few days over the coming spring months and I’ll be able to go for more walks soon.

A more traditional shot of the London Eye

Monday saw us driving from Brentwood over to Bristol to attend the first public concert by the newly reformed Crowded House. In the morning I took the train down to Ilford and picked up the rental car. Then it was back to Brentwood to pick up Keryn and we were soon on the M25 heading west.

It being midday early in the week the roads were reasonably clear of traffic though we did see an extraordinary amount of trucks transporting new cars and vans to dealerships throughout the south east. After a week of sunshine the UK had just been hit by some arctic weather and we had to contend with a couple of hail storms, some sleet and one helping of snow. By the time we got to Bristol and our in-car navigation system had taken us the wrong way a few times the weather had cleared and while it was cold the sun was out and it was quite pleasant.

The venue was the Thekla Social, a boat permanently docked in Bristol Harbour. There is a car park next to the venue and we drove in to look for a space. With none available I dropped Keryn off so she could stand in the queue (there were eight or so people in the line which was surprising given the gig wasn’t to start for another 4 hours) and I drove off to find another parking spot. I found parking around the corner and as I was getting out I got a text message from Keryn. Mr Finn had apparently arrived and was talking to people in the line – Keryn said Mr Finn as she couldn’t remember if it was Tim or Neil so I had to educate her later (Tim = Split Enz, Neil = Crowded House). Naturally by the time I got back to the Thekla Neil was gone – though we did see Mark Hart (guitar and keyboards) walk in.

We stood for a while but Keryn was looking for somewhere to sit down. After her knee surgery of 10 days ago Keryn is still limping around with a crutch and can’t stand for long periods. We were talking to one of the other people in the line and he said that the bar was open so we left the queue and made our way on-board to the bar area. The bar was empty so we choose a booth with a seat where Keryn could have her leg up and I went up and got a couple of drinks. Once we were settled we had a talk with the woman working the bar and asked if the venue manager was working. Keryn had rung through previously asking if there was any way of getting a seat for the concert and we hadn’t heard back. The promotions manager was there and was called over. Katie remembered Keryn’s call and said that it wouldn’t be a problem – she’d sort something out. We were advised to turn up at the door 10 or 15 minutes before the official doors time (7:30pm) and she would let us in so Keryn could get comfortable before everyone else was let in. She said we could go up onto the balcony as that was the best place for a chair to be placed and this would also mean Keryn wouldn’t have to deal with people standing in her view of the stage. A fantastic result and about as perfect as it could have been really.

As we didn’t have to bother with queuing any more we settled in the bar for the rest of the afternoon. Outside the queue grew slowly larger. Inside the bar staff joked about the crazy people outside queuing so long before the start of a gig, they’d never seen the like before. People came and went, we saw a few people with cameras and I had noticed a BBC van in the car park. Because we were inside we didn’t get to see any interviews (like the one on the TVNZ page here: TVNZ Crowded House story with video). As the evening drew on we noticed the car park outside was beginning to empty so I headed out and got the car so it was closer at the end of the concert – moving also saved us about £10 in parking charges as well as the meters weren’t working in the Grove Street car park by the boat. We also talked for a while with a guy who had recognised me from the FRENZ forum (A message board for fans of the Finn brothers and their various bands). Just before 7pm the band turned up in the bar to have their dinner, we left them along as they didn’t need us interrupting their eating.

As promised we were shown downstairs before those in the queue and Katie even fetched an extra chair so that Keryn could sit with her leg out straight – one chair for her and an extra for her leg. The balcony did indeed have a good view of the stage and we were more than happy with the arrangement. It wasn’t long before people started coming in and the floor below us quickly filled up. The balcony took a lot longer to fill as most people didn’t seem to realise they could come upstairs. By the time the opening act (Lawrence Arabia and and his Erotic Threads) came on stage the venue was quite full. Crowded House took to the stage shortly after 9pm.

Crowded House with Beth Rowley guesting on the new song ‘Transit Lounge’

The concert itself was fantastic – two hours of good music and fun. You could tell the band hadn’t been together that long as there were a few little mistakes but the good humour and general happiness of the band and crowd meant that mistakes weren’t important. There was a lot of in-between song banter and plenty of interaction with the crowd. On the classic songs the crowd joined in with the singing and when Neil told everyone to sing along to ‘Better Be Home Soon’ in memory of Paul Hester (the Crowded House drummer who committed suicide two years ago) the combined voices of the band and audience were quite stunning in power while still being very tuneful. The new songs being worked on for the forthcoming new album were given a respectful and enthusiastic greeting, especially when we were taught to sing the ‘la la la la la la’ part of the song ‘She Called Up’. The only downside was the curtailment of the encore due to a curfew so we only got two songs instead of four at the end. It didn’t matter, everyone was still smiling as they exited.

Good night!

More photos can be seen in the gallery: Crowded House @ The Thekla Social, Monday 19th March 2007.

It was now 11:30pm and we had a drive back to Brentwood so we couldn’t stay which was a pity. After exiting the stage the band made their way back to the upstairs bar and spent the next few hours relaxing and chatting with those fans and others who had stayed. I instead got to drive for two hours along mostly empty motorways and we arrived back in Brentwood shortly after 2am. It had been a long day but it was an experience we won’t be forgetting any time soon.

This week has been notable for a couple of musical events. On Monday night I was joined by Ollie (from work) and Ben (used to work together back in NZ) at the Shepherds Bush Empire to watch Tim Finn in concert. We had seated tickets but were able to go downstairs to get up by the stage with minimal fuss. Keryn wasn’t able to join us as she was home recovering from knee surgery last week – hopefully this’ll be the last time she goes under the knife for a knee complaint. Keryn seems to be recovering well.

The opening act was Catherine Feeny – an artist that Patricia had recommended to me. She was good, more catchy singer songwriter goodness.

Catherine Feeny

Tim Finn was in a happy mood and the concert was really good – full of energy. All of the songs came across really well and the crowd enjoyed it, especially the more familiar Split Enz and Crowded House tunes – along will Tim Finn classics like Persuasion. There were a couple of special guests featured in the encores, firstly Miles Golding playing violin on the Split Enz track “Time for a Change” and then Neil Finn joining in for a couple of Crowded House songs.

Tim Finn

More photos from the night can be seen in the Gallery – Tim Finn @ The Shepherds Bush Empire, March 12th 2007. Next Monday Keryn and I are heading over to Bristol for a special concert; The first public performance by the newly reformed Crowded House. It should be really good.

Last night I went along to the FOPP record store on Tottenham Court Road for a free mini-gig by the Australian band the John Butler Trio. Again Keryn couldn’t make it because of her knee – hopefully she is better by next Monday. Other than having my view obscured by a pole it was a very good gig. At the end I got to talk to briefly to the band which was good, all very relaxed and friendly. We’re going to see the JBT perform next month at The Roundhouse in Camden and it promises to be another good night.

John Butler

A few more photos can he seen in the gallery – The John Butler Trio @ FOPP, March 14th 2007