A night promoted by 'She Bop' ; they generally have bands I know. Last month I had every intention of going to the show even though I didn't know the bands, but having a little time to kill in Camden, I ended up spending the evening in the Dublin Castle instead.
Tonight it's good to see the Johnson again; and shockingly Somnambulist is here. I haven't seen him for over a year. Independently we are both friends of the Johnsons and Smatka. It's fun to catch up and and he has some friends with him whose names I have already forgotten even though I saw them written down when they bowled. I think in fact that they all began with C and one might have been called Charlotte. One, who wasn't called Charlotte, was visiting from Australia.
The first band on were called Death of the Elephant. Their lead singer announced that she had a cold and that when she blew her nose blood came out. I thought it wise to shoot in Black and White as I am squeemish.
The Johns haven't played for a while as Spoon the bassist has had a broken finger. Pussycat Johnson assures me that she isn't sober, so we are certain of a lively show. Everything finishes in good time and night buses are avoided tonight.

I had intended to see the i hearts again tonight, as they were playing at the Albany in Portland Street which sounds like an easy trip to a new venue. The Johnsons are playing south of the river at Project Orange. It's quite a nice place but tricky to get to. It only takes about 30 minutes in the car, but would be much longer by public transport.
My plans change when I hear from i hearts that CC has broken her ankle by jumping off the stage in high heels last night; so they won't be playing tonight.
It's good to see the Johnsons.I haven't seen much of them this year as they have hardly got up to London. As always they do a rousing gig, with Pussy Cat Johnson crowd suffing during the encore. They also do a good version of the Beastie Boys 'Fight for your right to Party'.

A new venue for me, a big pub in Kilburn High Road. Surprisingly they have some lights. The stage is in front of a plateglass window onto the street. It's weird watching people gigging with a tableaux of London playing behind them (well it's only a few buses going up and down the high road really).
Pussy Cat of the Johnsons has played a few solo gigs in Basingstoke I think, but she doesn't normally venture up to London. She tells me her gigs in Basingstoke can be a bit drunken (as far as she remembers) but in London she needs to remain sober enough to catch the train, and to get off at Basingstoke too.
It's a bit different to the Johnsons, but overall she does a good show. I'm surprised to find that Spoon (Bass in the Johnsons) is playing here with another band, called the Germans. He also joins Pussycat on one number.
The Germans are a three-piece and do an enjoyable set. They move around a fair amount, so I take some pictures.

It's raining outside and the 12 bar is a bit damp as the roof does not seem to be able to cope. Fortunately the dripping water is not near the electrics. This is a "jezabel's lust" night at the 12 bar and there's a good selection of bands to be enjoyed. I've known the Johnsons for a couple of years now  and they always put on a good show, but I can't really think of  anything new to say about them, so probably best not to ramble on.

Also playing this Pushing Pussy Records night were The Lovebirds

This was a single launch event featuring 4 bands including the Johnsons. As the Johnsons took the stage soon after 9 there seemed to be hardly anyone there, but by the end of their first song the place was packed. I suppose all these people were hanging around downstairs. Bit odd as the bar was empty upstairs. The highly energetic and entertaining Johnsons were followed by City Lights who also put on a good performance. After a long wait at the bar I made it back in time for The Fairies Band. There seemed too many of them for the stage but apart from falling over each other from time to time they managed to keep up the tempo of the evening. I'm afraid I missed the last band as I had another go at getting a drink and ended up chatting. Overall a good evening (especially as it was free). As is often the case with single launch parties, there seemed to be no sign of said single.

I don't often venture south of the river :-) but after my expedition to the Docklands Party I decided that maybe New Cross wasn't too far to go.