A groundbreaking gig - the even dozen for BBM in their various guises - turned out to be a really eventful evening! I was in London for a meeting, so hopped along to the venue after a bit of Camden shopping, catching up with the band, including "hopalong" guitarist Brett, who was still on crutches! Stuck around during the various soundchecks, thus getting "in" free, and chewing the cud with Geoff and Brett awhile.
Clive, my gig buddy and driver home, turned up at 8, a short while before first band Slinkyhead took the stage. Sporting de rigeur glam wear - feather boas, lipstick, leopard print, and also a splendid "countdown" digital display t-shirt sported by the bassist! - they nevertheless kicked up a confrontational and agitated set of bursting loud rockers. Less brash and trashy than, say, Rachel Stamp, but operating in the same territory, I certainly warmed to them.
Boom Boom Mancini were due on at 9, but took the stage some 15 minutes late, compensating mightily for the delay with a fine and flippant set. Vocalist Diane, clad in leather skinny top, tried some flashy rock poses and screams, and the audience, initially reluctant, were sucked into their fine and tune-packed set. The keyboards, now sounding totally at home on the new numbers, really fleshed the sound out, and the set was splendid; again, my favourite being a frantic "Supermodel Human".
This, however, was where the fun began! We helped the band pack up, then set off at 10.15, ignoring the main band in favour of an early night. After nearly getting mugged at Camden Tube, we got to Clive's car at 10 to 11 in Shepherd's Bush, which promptly broke down in Chiswick High Street! The RAC came out and eventually got us going at midnight with a "Heath Robinson" repair job (we had KFC whilst waiting), but of course this never held out, and the car expired again, at 12.30, on the M4 just before Windsor!
So, another callout ended up with us getting towed home, which cost Clive a huge whack, as he didn't have the RAC "recovery" cover he thought he did! Whoops! I eventually got home, tripping over hedgehogs in my road, at 5 to 3. Bah! So much for my early night; but hey, Boom Boom Mancini were worth it!
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