Friday 27 January 2023.

Thursday 26 January 2023....6.15pm to 9.15pm... Venue showcase. ST JOHNS CHURCH, 73 Waterloo Road,Waterloo, London SE1. This church dates back nearly 200 years. It is situated on the roundabout opposite the huge IMAX. Like the bigger church in Hackney with the same St Johns name , that i have been to gigs at , it has had a major refurbishment...this one costing a whopping £5.5 million. One of the things they worked to improve is something you can’t see but can hear, and that is the acoustics, as they were less than ideal for a large space. The ceiling panels are now filled with 5cm of acoustic padding to reduce echoes, and they even ensured that the chairs in the hall are covered entirely in fabric to add further sound dampening. What’s particularly impressive is how closing the glass doors to the outer reception area manages to collapse the outside noise to barely noticeable levels. The improvement will be a boon for the church’s finances, as they can now hire the space out for concerts and events. Indeed, the Southbank Symphonia have now taken up space in the undercroft for rehearsals. The church’s aspiration is that roughly a third of the time the church will be used for religious purposes, a third for free for use by community groups, and a third for commercial purposes to pay the bills. Part of the commercial use will be hiring out the main hall, but they’ve also upgraded the undercroft and converted a bit of a warren of rooms into a series of much more inviting meeting rooms and spaces, with a much better basement reception area. One space, right underneath the main portico stairs was being used for storage back in 2011, but has now been cleared and restored. Currently used for an art gallery space, it can be hired out for atmospheric dinners and receptions. The main space can seat 150 at tables , or 300 seated, or 500 standing, plus many smaller spaces. Around 100 guests here who enjoyed lots of complimentary food and drinks. Complimentary Chapel Down English Sparking wines, two different cocktails, and different beers. We were standing for the various canapes, and seated at tables for the various bowl foods, and various desserts. There was two females (violin and cello) playing in the background. Very enjoyable here, and will be interesting to see what live music events get booked here. www.stjohnswaterloo.org - Visit their website here. ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ Thursday 26 January 2023. Free weekly ES magazine has a five page article with pictures titled 'When Hip Hop Came To London' to coincide with the BB2 four part docu series 'Fight The Power : How Hip Hop Changed The World'. Three shows at Hammersmith Odeon 01/02/03 November 1987. LL Cool J + Public Enemy + Erik B + Rakim. I worked all three shows on front stage security for these very lively great atmosphere shows. That was when the venue was all seated...folks danced by their seats...no trouble. -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- Wednesday 25 January 2023. Sky Arts 10pm to 12pm Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage 2021 ‧ Documentary Unfolding over three blazing hot days and nights of nonstop performances and heaving mosh pits, a July 1999 music festival promoted to echo the counterculture idealism of the 1969 original instead devolves into riots, looting and sexual assaults. Initial release: 23 July 2021

Posted 25th January 2023