And it's so sad that I'm so glad that you're so bad for me

[alexsarll]

Just as the Hammersmith Palais bows out, it is confirmed that the Spitz is also on the endangered list. I can just about accept the sacrifice of the Astoria to Crossrail, but all these others are being replaced with shops, offices and gastropubs - things of which I've never noticed any shortage in London.

Today's mind-bogglingly Wrong, I-really-hope-this-is-a-hoax website: Thank God I.... They believe that "by becoming grateful for EVERY experience in our lives we discover that we are in fact NOT victims of circumstance but beings worthy of love and a life filled with divine porpose & inspiration!" [sic. And if only they'd typo'd one further and said 'divine porpoise' eh?] Which is a stupid bloody idea, but one with some centuries of history; they've just managed to express it in an especially queasy form by coating it in modern self-help gloss and producing such charming images as this. They're looking for stories for various forthcoming titles, so do drop them a line if you'd like to see your contribution appear in such inspiring volumes as "Thank God I Was Incested", "Thank God I Have A Small Penis", "Thank God I Am Crippled", "Thank God I Am A Dwarf/Midget", "Thank God I Had A Miscarriage" and "Thank God My Pet Died".
(Of course, coming from a christian POV they do count as afflictions some things which others might not. I can imagine a few people I know might be able to offer entirely sincere contributions to "Thank God I Am Bi-Sexual")

If a German commemoration of the war dead in 1970 had seen a senior member of their government declare "The Sudetenland is German, it always was, it always will be," nobody would have found that remotely acceptable. So how come Argentina restating their claim on the Falklands in like terms is passing with so little comment?

Comments

[augstone.livejournal.com]

that website reminded me, do you know about this lifestyle side project?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. I do now. Though I think Orlando's one-time wedding band appearance as The Black Spastics may still have the edge.

Incidentally, thank you for posting your stuff to emusic just as my subscription renewed.

[augstone.livejournal.com]

heh heh, wow. were you present at this wedding 'gig'?

nice.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Alas, no. Just heard hushed mention of it, once, in a 'let us never speak of this agan' fashion.

[icecoldinalex.livejournal.com]

BWAHAHAHAHA!

in referral to 'Thank God I...' - WTF?!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Religionists can be mental, can't they? But if they do those images as t-shirts, there'd be a definite subversive market.

[martylog.livejournal.com]

Oh my life, not The Spitz! I had my first ever rock-band appearance there with SW! I wanted to do an MFMO gig there - they've a grand piano!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Well fingers crossed they'll be able to fight it, but realistically - Hurry While Stocks Last.

[the-elyan.livejournal.com]

Seeing your entry title, I keep thinking of a song by Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas. Now I know your list of influences is not so much wide as gaping, but surely not?

I to9o remember the Spitz. I was at a gig there on St Pat's some years ago, and remember seeing Ballboy, Tompaulin, and some viciously loud bastards called (I think) Vermont, who prefaced their set with the words "This may hurt". What really hurt was trying to get home in the pouring rain at 2am, with the usual St Pat's crowd, having not got to bed till 4am the previous night.

Gosh, what a life...

[icecoldinalex.livejournal.com]

Vermont are well fey!

[the-elyan.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... maybe I got the name wrong.

I shall have to seek out Rat-Tail Jim's website, as I believe that has a list of every gig he's ever been to, and no doubt he was at that one.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yes, but will your sanity survive the search?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Wasn't theirs 'Bad To Me'? Though upon investigation, turns out I'm misquoting anyway - but from The Indelicates' 'New Art For The People' (http://www.myspace.com/theindelicates) rather than Merseybeat.

That Spitz line-up sounds quite extraordinarly indie (NB I have seen all of the bands concerned, but still feel together would be a bit much).

[srk1.livejournal.com]

The Germans had a much stronger claim on the Sudetenland - which did at least have a permanent German population at one point - than the Argentinians had on the Falklands. The latter claim is entirely based on alleged geographical proximity (ie they're 300 miles from the Argentinian coast) and the fact that France established a settlement a year before Britain, and then transferred its territorial claim to Spain. There was an Argentinian settlement on Port Louis for a grand total of seven years before America kicked them out in a fishing dispute and Britain reasserted its (never relinquished) territorial claim.

It's just a silly thing the Argentinians won't get over, in the same way the Spanish won't get over Gibraltar.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Believe me, you're preaching to the converted here. And though the press coverage does tend to mention how our defence of our own borders brought down a dictatorship in Argentina, not once have I seen any reference to that dictatorship's other crimes such as the Dirty War.

[missfrost.livejournal.com]

I take it you are aware of Facebook-Barry and ignoring it?

For the record it took me one second to go Alex is on Facebook > hang on, since when does he call himself Barry? > spoof.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I'm aware, and have been shown it briefly, but am unable to inspect it further owing to the slightly cultish closed set-up of Facebook, and am pondering an appropriate response.

It's taken some people considerably longer than a second, btw.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The Astoria is going to be shops/offices/gastropubs as well, dude. Just shops/offices/gastropubs that don't mind having a thundering railway beneath them. My guess is that it will lie empty for a couple of years.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I suppose so, but that at least gives the initial closure a certain veneer of legitimacy - and I suspect that as against the other two, the Astoria is a harder venue to love.

[davegodfrey.livejournal.com]

I like the Astoria. Admttedly I haven't been to the other two you mention, though its a crying shame that London is losing small venues like this.

The Astoria/Mean Fiddler is one of the biggest venues a metal band gets to play in London. (Unless you're Iron Maiden.) I also happen to like the location as I was at Uni up the road, getting to and from gigs was easy.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

The Astoria's not exactly a bad venue, but there are problems with the bar, the sightlines...it's at its best for gigs that aren't too full, I think.
The location is bloody handy, though.

oi

[ksta.livejournal.com]

pls see my recent lj post, if you get a mo. ta.

Re: oi

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I'm not down with curry, and likely need to be at Gloomy early, but at least this means I see you at some stage, eh?

[johnnybrolly.livejournal.com]

The Spitz is one of the best venues in London. Merg!

There are some venues not currently being operated as venues proper...The Grand in Clapham is the only one I can think of a ce moment. The Kentish Town Forum - Does that have a different name these days, or has it been rubbed out completely?

There used to be three famous music pubs in Fulham. The King's Head, The Swan and The Golden Gloves. Now there are none.

If I was still in a band I'd be most depressed about all the venues closing.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

You what? Last Thursday the Bull & Gate was absolutely swarming with Shins fans waiting for the (still called the) Forum to open, and over the next month or so they've also got the View, the Manics, Maximo Park, Cat Power, Marillion...and all this aside from Schooldisco now having their weekly there since they relocated from the doomed Palais.
The Clapham Grand's line-up is uninspiring, admittedly - mainly no-marks, or tribute bands playing as part of their uninspiring selection of weekly clubs. But still, it's in use.

The problem is more creeping gentrification in certain areas than city or nation-wide, I think. So yes, Fulham has fewer worthwhile venues and more tossy DJ bars - but there'll always be a new area where the venues spring up. The main problem is, the further out they're pushed, the bigger faff the transport is.

[sbp.livejournal.com]

"Thank God I Am A Senior Citizen" - WTF? Is this really on a par with "Thank God I Was/Am A Battered Spouse"? Ageism is alive and well it seems.

Boo Spitz and Astoria and everywhere else closing down.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Well as I said, we are dealing here with people who consider being bi on a par with being raped...