Day 8: Unsound London night 3 and Tate Modern
It's been a big weekend, so I'm a little behind in my posts. I'll catch up again soon. Saturday I decided to visit the Tate Modern to see what was on. Aside from the exhibits it's a really great space to visit and was another opportunity to soak up the London skyline.
In the evening was Unsound London Night 3 at a small club near Elephant and Castle under the overhead railroad tracks. It was an early start for this type of venue and very "intimate". The first artist played mainly atonal noise soundscapes which weren't really my thing but were interesting to watch.
Next up we're the Durian Brothers. By this time the venue was getting packed ... a little too packed for my liking, but I guess that's London. They were quite a contrast after the previous artist with their rolling rhythm and occasional melodic riffs. I really enjoyed them.
Last was the band I was most interested in seeing Forest Swords. Their music was something different again mixing great soundscapes, sometimes etherial and sometimes heavy, and even throwing the occasional dub step beats in.
There was an after party at the same venue but I suspect the music would have been quite hard and I decided I was in the mood for something a bit lighter so I made my way to Vauxhall to "gay" things up a bit. I was intending to check out a bar I planned to visit Sunday but it had started to rain so I popped into the closest bar, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, instead. Once again, it was a packed venue, more than any I can remember visiting. But the crowd were very friendly and clearly having a great night. There was a bit of a floorshow happening at the time which was quite a laugh. A bit of a quiz show with three contestants on the stage competing with the audience. Last question was a blindfolded cake taste test ... how English.
Once the music started it was a bit of an eclectic mix but fun. Every now and then they played a crowd favourite ... with just about the whole place singing along! It was a great night. Lot's of fun and not like anything I've experienced in a long time.