Chick 'n' Sours, Feeling Gloomy, 7th May

Chick n Sours. Oh yes. Oh yes yes yessssssssss.

I’m a fan.

It took me a while to get here, took me a while to try any of Carl Clarke’s food in fact but it was worth the wait. This place is chicken heaven and we loved everything. Except the fries. The fries were way too ordinary. But everything else was fabulous. Stephen and I shared a chicken burger between us (which is a monster of a burger) and a plate of the guest fry chicken – black bean and ginger, spring onion and pickled bamboo shoots, plus the aforementioned boring fries, and the charred hispi, kimchi salad cream and bacon salad. Plus a bit of bone marrow BBQ which was delicious but in some ways superfluous because the chicken was delicious enough on its own.

The ‘salad’ was a well needed bit of crunch and freshness to act as a counterpoint to all the fry going on elsewhere. It also packed a welcome poke!

The chicken was definitely the star of the show and we couldn’t help remarking to each other as we ate how much we were enjoying it. That burger! Firstly, it was a behemoth. One of the biggest burger specimens I’ve seen. And secondly, it was just delicious. Crunchy, spicy, well balanced in terms of meat to topping to bun. A joy.

The plate of fried chicken we equally well received, with the Asian, slightly sweet flavours really complementing the juicy, crunchy chicken. I’m salivating just thinking about it now. I need to get more in my person as soon as possible. 

I then went out to Feeling Gloomy to dance to 'miserable' disco. I seemed to pick a bad night because the place was rather empty but the night itself was fun. Of course, the songs aren't all downbeat and miserable at all - the lyrics might be but the music is still danceable. They played The Smiths and The Cure, a bit of Kate Bush, and that was all good fun. Just a shame it wasn't busier. 

Pinch, Strange Days, 20th February

Strange Days is the new 60s/indie pop night from the guys behind Star Shaped (which I have yet to get to).

It’s a monthly event at The Garage and we went along to the launch which was free to create a bit of hype. It was pretty much exactly what it says on the tin and if you’re a fan of the indie from yesteryear then you will absolutely love this night. The tunes were strong from the get-go and we danced and pogoed all the night through.

The one thing I would say is that in terms of recent indie music, there was a dearth. Tame Impala somehow snuck in but they were the only recent tune I can recall hearing and I thought it might have been because the song they played (Elephant) sounds very 60s anyway.

The only thing was that it was fairly empty – if you could have taken the crammed and sweaty vibe of Des Was a Bowie and swapped it for the crowd here, it would have made for a perfect night.

Pinch

Before heading over, we stopped in the very lovely, very charming Pinch, tucked on a side street way off the Kingsland Road stretch. It is well worth making the journey though. We arrived not too long before it shuts at 10:30/11ish and were welcomed in by the girl behind the bar who asked us what kind of flavours we fancied and made some perfect suggestions, before chatting to us about where we were going and what good places there were to go in the area. There were a couple of other couples in the place besides us, but it’s small so it didn’t feel empty. I think if this were my local you’d hardly ever get me out of it. It feels very different to Sager + Wilde, which up until now I would have said was my favouite wine bar, but I had an instant affinity with it. Sometimes things just click between you and a place. I can’t wait to bring my fellow wine lovers here.

Des was a Bowie fan, 30th January

I don’t know who Des was, and so I cannot vouch for whether or not he really was a Bowie fan. And I cannot say how much Bowie would normally be played, as we went the weekend after Bowie’s demise so there was a LOT of it.

It was an odd night. It took place in The George, which is a pub. Not even a pub converted to a venue the way The Macbeth is. It’s just a pub. But people made do and danced where they could (including, at one point, on the tables – one woman was terrifically hammered). The crowd was mixed – mainly fairly young but with a few of an older generation who maybe group up with Bowie. Again, couldn’t say if this was due to his death, or due to the fact they’d been drinking in the pub the whole day and just found themselves at an indie night.

The music wasn’t completely my cup of tea – I like indie but I like all the stuff I grew up with and this went a bit further back and a bit deeper, playing quite a bit that I didn’t know. I made the most of it and danced along but wasn't left wondering when I could possibly get down there again.  

Great Big Kiss, 7th January

When I started my Meetup many moons ago, the very first night we went to was a 60s indiepop, northern soul night called How Does it Feel to be Loved at The Phoenix. I had never heard of it before but it was a rollicking good time and I decided I wanted to try its sister night Great Big Kiss where the focus was a little more on girl groups. Almost four years later and I crossed that off my List.

It was also held at The Phoenix which is a venue I have since come to know very well. It was a cold, rainy January night, and even though the turnout from my Meetup was actually about the same as normal, I think the number of people who would normally have come to the party was under par. We went downstairs at about 10 and it was pretty empty. It wasn’t much busier by 11 and had it not been for my Meetup group the dance floor would have been all but empty. But we’re an enthusiastic bunch and we got to dancing almost straight away. The music was a lot more authentic than I had anticipated. That's another way of saying none of us knew any of the songs. I had expected at least a few we would be able to sing along to. It was also a lot slower in tempo than we felt was ideal. More swaying than foot stomping. We suspected it might get a bit livelier come midnight, and it seemed to – a bit  - but still no songs we recognised. However, patience was key and within half an hour we were singing along to Beggin’ and Louie Louie. The night I would say had mostly focused on Northern Soul and much less on the Motown and indie it also advertised. For passing fans of the genre it was a long time to wait for the ‘good stuff’, but if you’re genuinely into this kind of music then you will love it.

You could easily tell the ‘fair weather' fans from the serious followers as they had the genuine dance moves down pat and were very much dressed the part. We weren’t. I had a fun night for sure and danced for a good couple of hours but I would probably not return to this night and go to Soul of the 60s or All shook Up instead.

Cuisson POPdown and Cherry Cola, 27th June

I went to Cuisson’s Pop-Down dinner at the end of June. Held in a basement coffee shop, it certainly had the transient pop-up feel to it, giving it a slightly guerilla atmosphere.

And the cooking was quite impressive, even if unfortunately most of the dishes weren’t to my own personal taste.

There were six ‘courses’ (if bread be counted as a course??). For each I would say the ingredients and combinations were very well thought out leading to well balanced dishes. They were the perfect idea for a summer’s day – all very light and fresh.

We started with bread and their own made cultured butter. I was so pleased my dining companion was late as it allowed me to eat all her portion as well. It was exquisite. Then came the first real course – described as yoghurt with cucumber and anise, this was served almost as a gazpacho – a very thin soup. I don’t like yoghurt but luckily the other flavours counterbalanced this and I found it did taste quite nice – like a ‘souped up’ (excuse the pun) tzatziki. I couldn’t quite get over the fact I was spooning very thin yoghurt into my mouth however, which wasn’t the most pleasant sensation.

After this was something I could easily tuck into – ratte potatoes with hay, grelot tops and umami, closely followed by duck liver, thankfully served in pate form. This was spread onto a homemade cracker and was a very rich, savoury taste and my favourite (apart from the bread) course of the evening. The chunks of pineapple were a good foil to the deep ducky taste.

Next up – octopus pil pil with mustard and wild rice. Again something I would never order for myself. I think if you liked octopus then this was probably a good example of it. And it was at least sliced and presented in such a way that it was very easy to forget what it looks like in the natural world. It was now we began to realise all the courses so far had been cold, which we thought a little odd. I don’t think this was meant to be a feature of the night, but perhaps had something to do with the facilities available to them. It meant that I felt vaguely dissatisfied with the meal after, wishing I’d had at least one piping hot, filling dish.

Instead what I had as the final flourish was a lukewarm piece of salmon with horseradish cream/mousse. The horseradish was light and fluffy, and, most importantly to me – subtle. The fish was firm yet translucent. An accomplished dish but not one that rocked my particular tastebuds.

The dessert was similarly light and summery with a lychee and mango bavarois. It was so light and airy I felt I practically inhaled it rather than ate it. Very pleasant and a refreshing finish to the evening’s meal.

The aim of the pop-down was to create a relaxed and somewhat interactive dining occasion and it sort of worked. The chefs introduced the meal and you were free to take a wander and have a look at what they were doing, as well as them circulating and checking on you. Service was attentive and warm. As a supper club experience it was quite fun, and we chatted to the fellow diners on our table. Cuisson also do a dessert-only version which I think would be worth checking out, and they regularly change the menu so if the one I have described doesn’t float your boat I reckon it would be worth taking a punt on another evening.

Cherry Cola

After our grown up meal, I went back to Cocktail Trading Co and proceeded to get really quite pissed for the evening. After this we went up to Cherry Cola in Camden to bid farewell to the Purple Turtle. This indie institution was closing its doors forever and Cherry Cola, the indie night were seeing it off. We got there and caught the tail end of the final live band and then they plunged into some very decent indie and indie-tinged pop. Everyone was bopping and dancing and jumping about and I am very pleased to say Cherry Cola hasn't ended with the Purple Turtle - you can find it resurrected in East London at The Macbeth these days. 

Old School Indie, 24th January

What can I say about Old School Indie other than it does exactly what it says on the tin? These guys are devoted to bringing you a weekly dose of the finest indie around. And we all know what the finest indie is – Britpop and the stuff that was around in the golden era of the 90s. As my boyfriend said later – it was like listening to a Shine compilation CD and I can think of no finer praise.

By the way – for a perfect pub to meet up at beforehand, I highly recommend the Joker of Penton Street. While it wasn’t playing just indie, the music in there definitely put us in the mood for the club ahead, not to mention the big Be Here Now clock of course.

After a few drinks here, we went up the road to the O2 Islington and into the Indie Disco. It being a January weekend I suspected that the night would be pretty much just mine and the Indie meetups attending but I was wrong, it was pretty busy! Busy enough for there to be a full dancefloor, but not so busy you had to miss all the songs you like because you were queuing at the bar.

So, what did they play?

Well here’s just a taster:

Jet – Are you Gonna be My Girl

Oasis – Supersonic

Blur – Park Life

Pulp – Disco 2000 and Do you remember the first time?

Wonderstuff – Size of a Cow

And a few even older school tunes such as Iggy pop – Lust for life and Heroes by David Bowie.

They also have a cardboard cutout of Jarvis Cocker which is basically just an invite to get up on the stage and dance around with him. Plenty of people did.

It was a really fun night out and made me want to try one of their other nights – Feeling Gloomy all the more.

Friday I'm in Love, 30th May

Friday I’m in Love is a singalong clubnight. Yes, you heard me. It’s a clubnight that has taken the fact that once everyone gets pissed we all sing along to the songs we know anyway, and turned that into its raison d’etre. They promise indie and pop anthems that you probably know the words to anyway, but in case you don’t they’re either projected somewhere or, in this case, you’re given a songbook as you go in. The music is courtesy of a live band, one or more of which also does a bit of singing so it’s not solely down to the crowd.

Predictably, what with being ‘anthems’ there was more than a little cheesiness to the song selection – more in fact than I appreciated. Stuff like Abba and Queen, and ending with Oasis. But it was as I had expected so I can’t complain too much. The event I attended was a Camden special raising money for Amy Winehouse’s foundation so, again as expected, there was a healthy dose of Winehouse songs throughout the evening (big thumbs up). First, we had a performance by the Drag Queens The Buffalo Girls who started with Valerie, and also did the Sugababes’ Overload. And yes, these were all in the songbook for everyone to sing along to as well.

David McAlmont was also a special guest singing one of his own songs and then an Amy Winehouse and then he came back to the stage later to guide us all through another one later as well. I absolutely loved his and Bernard Butler’s one hit wonder Yes when I was but a girl so I got a big kick out of seeing him. He is such a dapper gent with a great voice.

Then we all just ploughed our way through the songs for the night, singing as loudly as you dared because that was what everyone else was doing. No need to feel shy. You didn’t have to put your heart and soul into it if you didn’t want. There was more than a few (men, mostly) standing practically motionless, almost as if they were paying no attention to the music, but they were mouthing the words just the same. In fact, this crowd singing, I decided, was a little too anonymous for me. I like the attention you get from karaoke! And, in some ways, the night felt a bit like a vehicle for the band members who were miked up and singing along.

Then, after an encore that wasn’t in the songbook, the singing part of the night came to a close, just about in time for people to get the last tube if they ran. For me, this is when the night really came to the fore as they then just played a bunch of indie and RnB songs for the rest of the evening. What an awesome selection. I would come to this night again simply for the afterparty. We moshed to Nirvana’s Lithium, bopped to The Strokes’s Last Nite, and shook it like it was a polaroid picture to Hey Ya! I really didn’t want a late night as I was travelling the next day and kept thinking of leaving, but we were doing that 'oh, after this one we'll leave' thing for at least four songs before I was finally like, I must go home!

A different take on an indie pop night that works well and clearly has a bit of a following. I'd go again.

So Tough So Cute!, 20th December

So Tough, So Cute play indiepop and pop punk but with a focus especially on girl groups and female music. They were playing their LAST EVER night in London just before Christmas so of course I had to make a special effort to go. It won't be their last ever event - but all the others will probably be happening in Sweden and that's a little bit further than I'm willing to travel.

It took place in the Macbeth, a pub I hadn't been to before, but which I really liked. It's quite out of the way, so not really the kind of place that gets passing traffic. Which might explain why, at 11 pm, it was practically empty. Or, it could possibly have been that the annual Christmas migration had started. Either way, when we got there we weren't entirely sure whether the night had actually started or not.

I thought it probably had though, judging by the music being played, and as more people turned up and some started making tentative steps on the dance floor, we finally started to feel like we were in the clubnight I was expecting it to be, rather than just a nice pub that had good music. 

And the music was good. They played quite a few Smiths songs, a bit of The Cure but there was also a definite favouring of girl bands and artists that you don't get so much on other nights. The Runways were played. No Doubt's 'Just a girl' followed Sleeper followed Elastica. It was nice to hear some female-centric music as there's some really good stuff out there. And then they played Trouble by Shampoo. I did say 'some' really good stuff. By 2 am when the night was over, we'd all been dancing for a good couple of hours and weren't ready for the night to end. It would have been great if they'd had extended opening hours considering it took so long for the night to get going.

Despite having a really good time there and liking the music, there are other nights around to fill the void So Tough So Cute will leave (like Blow Up or Great Big Kiss) so even though it is a shame to lose a good night playing good music, I'm sure London will survive. Malmo probably needs them more than we do. Farewell and good luck So tough!

Blow Up at the Bussey Building, 14th December

Merry Christmas everyone! My present to you is my write up of the Blow Up Christmas party. I know, I spoil you.


I must admit, when we first got there I had some misgivings. I hadn't realised there was another night on - called Hawaiian Bop upstairs and when we got there it seemed to be the louder, more happening night, with the 50s rock n roll blasting out the doors. Our room, in comparison seemed rather quiet and sedate.

And the first act, unfortunately, didn't do much to assuage my fears. He was very good but his music was a little downbeat (and a little derivative - all four of us practically jinxed each other when we all said he sounded like the Arctic Monkeys after his first song). I was expecting something a little more fun from the opener, more fun even than his mouth organ could provide.

But we didn't have long to wait. As soon as that act was over, in fact, the DJ kicked it up a gear or two and the night really got started. We knew things had got serious when an instrumental version of Jumpin' Jack Flash was followed up with Sometimes by The Strokes, with Bowie's Rebel Rebel hot on its heels. Sprinkle a little 60s French pop a la Brigitte Bardot into the mix and give it a twist more of 90s indie pop with Blur's Boys and Girls and you have a recipe for success there.

So, that gives you an indication of the kind of music they played - it was far reaching 60s to 90s top-drawer tunes. But on top of this, were the main act of the night - The Bongolian, arriving on stage all dressed sharply in Beatnik style - in black and sunglasses. I hadn't realised the name was so prosaic. They're a band - and they play the bongos! Not exclusively. The front man also plays the keyboard in the style of a Hammond organ (think Booker T and the MGs) with some panache. But when he stands up and whales on those bongos, the crowd's love definitely ratchets up a notch. Similarly to the Bikini Beach Band who I discovered not so long ago, this band is pure joy in entertainment.

We all loved it and only the prospect of a long journey back to the other side of the Thames made us inclined to leave earlier than the end. The Bussey Building made for quite a good venue - no frill but it was spacious and easily held everyone who attended without getting too hot and sweaty. 

I don't travel to Peckham often, especially if I'm staying out after midnight as transport home is not easy, but I'd happily make an exception for Blow Up again. 

Scared to Dance, 12th May

Is it me (and please tell me if it is) or is there a dearth of good indie nights happening at the weekend? And I said good indie nights. Not nights that play nothing but "indie anthems" like Wonderwall and Mr Brightside, or nights where you're likely to hear Here Comes the Hotstepper following Common People (I'm looking at you The Borderline, The Roxy). 

And then I heard of Scared to Dance. Not by scouring the Net looking for indie nights, but because I happen to follow Robin Ince on Twitter. And he happened to be doing a guest DJ spot one week and mentioned it. A little investigation and I thought this might be just what I was looking for. 

Scared to Dance happens twice a month at either The Albany in Great Portland Street or King's Cross Social, in well, King's Cross. They say they play indiepop, post-punk and new wave. If you follow them on Twitter you'll also learn that they're particularly fond of The Cure, The Smiths and Dexys. So far so good. They also take requests in advance of the night. Very democratic. 

So I finally managed to make it to one of their nights this weekend, at The Albany. They often have guest DJs and this week it was the turn of Sean Price from Fortuna Pop (who have The Pipettes and The Temper Trap on their roster). The Albany itself is quite a nice pub, and there is a downstairs room where Scared to Dance takes place. Scared to Dance started at 9 but we wanted a few drinks before going down there to give it time to warm up. As we drank we tried to keep an eye out on how many people were going downstairs, to gauge how busy it was and when we should move on down. At about 10:30 we popped a head down to see who was down there. Very few people. We asked the guy on the door what the deal was and he said that often people from the pub come down there when the pub shuts, but that normally Scared to Dance has its own contingent who turn up and fill the place out. But for some reason this hadn't happened this week. We went back upstairs and had another drink and then decided we'd go down no matter how empty/full the place was. 

By the time we went downstairs there definitely was an improvement, but you couldn't really say the place was pumping. All the seats were taken, and there were a few people bopping about. In due course people did filter in from upstairs when the pub shut and there were definitely a few there who I thought were probably regulars and made no bones about showing their love for the music through the medium of dance.

Ah - the music... the music I thought was great! On their website they give you a taste of the kind of music you'll hear. They're quite the music connoisseurs and I was a little worried I might not know much of what they played on the night (although I do like to discover new stuff). I need not have fretted. There was a good mix of stuff I knew - such "indie bangers" as Blur's Boys and Girls and The Cure's The Lovecats were interspersed with other stuff I didn't recognise but that kept me swaying and that I would like to get to know better. It was just the right balance and exactly what I had hoped it would be.

Unfortunately, the place never really felt like it got going and what could have been an "amazing" night was only a "good" night due to a lack of atmosphere. Maybe I was just unlucky and this was an off night; I do get the feeling from their website that they're well established and they do attract some interesting guest DJs. It feels like there's a lot of potential here, if only all those people out there craving a good indie night (I'm sure you exist in your droves) had descended upon the place. And the entry is so cheap - £6 or you can sign up for free membership and then only pay £4. The downside is that it only stays open until 2 am, which for me is quite an early night. I think it warrants a second chance, perhaps at the King's Cross venue. And in the meantime, spread the word - this night deserves your attendance.