Music to drink tea by
Live: The School & Allo Darlin’ // Bush Hall, London
Bush Hall seems to be something of an oddity in terms of London gig venues. That’s even after one takes aside the fact it’s a fairly large ballroom (with chandeliers!) that dates back over 100 years. It’s location was what took me most by surprise. Nearly every venue I’ve been to in London tended to be in the northeast of the city. Shoreditch and Highbury tend to be where it’s at on the north of the river, Brixton on the south. Bush Hall sits a fair way out to the west, across raised roads and ridiculously large shopping centres. I’m sure to the Londoner’s this is all very normal, but it took me rather by surprise just how separated it was.
This also meant arriving at the place rather early, before the doors had even opened. Thankfully a few minutes later we were let in from the cold. There’s something quite nice about being one of the first into a venue. Particularly when the venue offers tables and chairs around the outside. I parked myself at the table nearest to the merch table that held the Allo Darlin’ album that I desperately wanted but alas no one was there to sell to me. Still, within half hour I was holding a shining new copy in my hand, alongside The School album and a couple of badges too. All bands should be required to supply badges at their gigs, if only because it makes my bag look rather less boring.
Pagan Wanderer Lu was the first act on. I’ve been aware of him for a while and if I’m honest, what he does isn’t really my cup of tea. He’s very talented and all, it just doesn’t do much for me. Which is fine. Alas that meant that the most interesting part of his set to me was the fact he was wearing a Space Invaders t-shirt that I also own.
While waiting for Allo Darlin’ to setup, it was time for a drink in the bar in the lobby, which led to an impromptu game of London Indiepop EyeSpy. This was my first attempt at the game but I think my final score of 27 29 was fairly respectable. Was anybody else there playing? It’s stalkertastic. I even spotted MJ Hibbett tweeting about the very gig we were both watching both on Twitter and in person at the same time. Crazy!
After that excitement it was finally time for Allo Darlin’ who were absolutely superb. Seriously, I can’t think of a single band that I enjoy more at the moment. They went with a bold gambit of starting and closing the set with gentle, solo songs that seemed a bit risky at the start, but by the time they’d jumped into The Polaroid Song, the whole place was bouncing along. Each time I see them I’m sure the El Scorcho sample in Kiss Your Lips gets louder from the crowd, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. The only slight disappointment was the omission of Henry Rollins Don’t Dance from the set, but it’s not on the album, so it’s understandable. Speaking of the album though, it’s already slotted itself in as my favourite of the year so far, which in a year in which Romance is Boring was released is no mean feat.
Last on, and to a slightly smaller audience were The School, who were treating the gig as their album launch party. Seems a bit odd given the album isn’t out properly here until June, but who cares? I’ve said before that I like The School but with some reservations, and it’s about the same here. I like their songs and enjoy them live, but there’s something that holds me back from regarding them as a favourite band. Which is fine really. Maybe the album will be the thing that finally tips me over the top. Their set was good fun though and the finale with Allo Darlin’ and “anyone else” on stage singing brought the night to a lovely conclusion.
An excellent night out in a unique venue overall. Find a selection of my photos from the gig below. Behold, my first attempts at gig photography with manual settings!
