Ray's Gigs

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Sunday 11 February 2024.

Sunday 11 February 2024. COMEDY WAREHOUSE presents Love & Comedy Valentine's Show live at Shepherds Bush Empire. Several black comedians and a white guy perform at this annual event. I have been to this really good entertaining show a couple of times before. --------- The stalls is seated tonight , and the venue looks full, so maybe around 1200 folks here. Pretty much a 75% black crowd. The show was on for two hours 40 mins over two sets. First set was 8pm to 9.25pm....85 mins. KANE BROWN was the host , and introduced all the acts...he is so funny as he interacts with the crowd so well. Black male comedian ??? Black male comedian ??? WHITE YARDIE is a white guy with a full on Jamaican accent , who went down really well. Second set was 9.40pm to 10.55pm...75 mins. KANE BROWN CHRISTOPHER SAVAGE RICHARD BLACKWOOD arrived stage on at 10.25pm for his 30 mins headline set. A very enjoysble evening with lots of laughter from all the acts. ------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Saturday 10 February 2024. Popped into Westfield , Shepherds Bush just before the gig nearby. Westfield seems to be always busy, despite the cost of living crisis. 5pm to 5.15pm. I watched the Chinese New Year Dragon Dance on the ground floor. then 5.15pm to 6pm. KARL LAGERFELD store launch at Westfield. It is only a small store, so just a small soft launch opening. Great to see some of the items here , many have his image on. BBB iPlayer currently has that great documentary on him , that feature footage of his Paris Fashion Shows that looked incredible. There is a DJ playing tunes , and there is complimentary juices with vitamins in his branded bottles. then OLIVER ANTHONY live at Shepherds Bush Empire. Virginia native Oliver Anthony is a country-folk poet of the people, who became an overnight sensation with the meteoric rise of his debut single, “Rich Men North of Richmond”. His passionate voice features a unique and emotional rasp shaped by his personal battles. In August 2023, he released the single "Rich Men North of Richmond" independently, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Anthony the first artist to debut atop the chart without any prior charting history in any form. This show sold out a month in advance. This show is part of an eight date UK & European Tour. --------- It is a rowdy Saturday night drinking crowd. Not many Americans here for this sold out show. We have two support acts , who play 20 mins each. Later on I see that they are both the other members in the Oliver Anthony band. They second one did a neat cover version of. ' Valerie'. OLIVER ANTHONY arrived on stage at 9.05pm for his 95 mins set. He is backed by two musicians and there is no drum kit. The crowd participation for this show was a bit strange for a London gig , as every two or three songs the band would get the crowd to loudly sing " Joe Bidens a Peado" to the Seven Nation Army riff. Oliver lives off-grid in Virginia, has scant experience of playing live, and after reading a Bible verse from his phone mid-set, declares that “all the songs you hear on Spotify were recorded on this”. His songs are rootsy and muscular, with the live addition of double bass and acoustic guitar warming up the twang of his resonator guitar. Vocally he’s the real deal, his clear tone lending conviction to ' Cobwebs and Cocaine ' , ' Ain't Gotta Dollar' and drinking song 'I've Got to Get Sober' . Too much tuning up between songs was a pain, and Oliver had the lyrics to each song in front of him on a paper, and at the end of the song he would give it to the double bass player , who would make a paper aeroplane out of it , and direct it into the crowd. A couple of good covers were played....' Rocket Man' and ' Freebird'. We had two superb versions of his mega hit ' Rich Men , North of Richmond' , with the crowd singing loudly. For the final song , the guitarist was on his own playing as Oliver Anthony went to the front of stalls pit , to pose for selfies and to sign stuff. Overall a good show...but very weird hearing those Joe Biden chants.