An Evening On Camden Lock

Went and saw my current favs Peter, Bjorn and John at Dingwalls last night. Dingwalls is a skanky club next to the lock, just in front of the markets in Camden. It’s quite a famous club. I think U2 played one of their first London gigs ever there.

I went along with Simon, my UK editor. He’s got what some might call ‘eclectic’ tastes in music so he’s often my partner in crime on such excursions. He was there for the fantastic Kings of Convenience gig at Queen Elizabeth Hall, the totally awesome Soundtracks of Our Loves concert at the Astoria, the mellow Sigur Ros show at Somerset House and the so-so Mercury Rev gig at the Hammersmith Odeon.

He also has a corporate credit card so under the guise of ‘author care’ he took me to dinner at Gilgamesh, a mind-blowing restaurant tucked away in the old stables building that is decked out like a Babylonian palace. It reminded me of the ruins at Persopolis in Iran, or to be more precise, what they would have looked like before they become, well, ruins. (Check out the website and you’ll see what I mean.)

The food was as impressive as the surroundings. In fact, I would go as far as to say it was the first great dining experience I’ve had in London. Until now I’d never had a meal that could beat a cheap Thai takeaway from King Street in Newtown. But then, I haven’t got a corporate credit card.

Anyway, on to the gig. While not as lavish as Gilgamesh, Dingwalls did have an authentic 70’s punk aesthetic that was kind of cool. I think it must have been THE gig to be seen at this week because there was a collection of scenesters and industry types hovering around the edges. Worse they spent the whole gig chattering amongst themselves. It was really annoying, especially when the band did an acoustic version of Amsterdam. I was tempted to tell them to shut the fuck up, but we plunged into the mosh pit instead. Better sound, more energy and people who were there to see the band, not be seen. Result!

On the way out I got a couple of band t-shirts, including one for Daisy. I buy her a t-shirt from every gig I go to. They’re too big for her now, of course, but when she’s a teenager she’ll have a nice collection of ‘noughties’ band t-shirts. Whether a red Peter, Bjorn and John t-shirt will be suitably appreciated when we’re all driving around in hover cars I’m not sure. She’ll probably sell them on the mid 21st century equivalent of eBay.

So all in all, not a bad effort for a Monday night. Great meal, great gig and a cool new t-shirt. And here I was thinking that moving to the suburbs was going to kill off my social life!