Friday 14 April 2023.

Friday 14 April 2023. THE JAYHAWKS live at Shepherds Bush Empire. The Jayhawks are playing a UK & European Tour, before their massive summer tour of North America. They are an American alternative country and country rock band who have recorded eleven studio albums since 1986. I have seen The Jayhawks twice - in 2008 and 2012 ( The Barbican). The 2008 show was a on great line-up which The Sex Pistols headlined at The Azkena Festival,Spain. Sex Pistols + Ray Davies + Hanoi Rocks + Sonics + Dinosaur Jr + Jayhawks + Gutter Twins + Duff McKagans Loaded + John Cale Band....This was a nice size festival of around 10,000 capacity. ---------- Level 3 is closed tonight, and there is space in other levels so maybe 1000 folks max here. A middle aged crowd here tonight, with not many folks under the age of 30. Support act SIMEON HAMMOND DALLAS arrived on stage at 7.40pm for her 30 mins set. She was backed by two musicians , and played some good tracks. Simeon Hammond Dallas is a singer-songwriter from London’s Camden Town. A unique take on classic genre, Simeon fuses Country, Blues, and Soul music to create her own blend of Americana, whilst keeping the integrity of a true Londoner. With unapologetic lyricism and storytelling at it’s core, her music acts as the soundtrack to a life framed as an intersectional feminist rom-com, held together with a powerhouse of a voice. August 2022 saw the release of her second studio EP, Make It Romantic, held to high acclaim by the likes of Americana UK, Earmilk, Belles and Gals, Folk Radio, and more. The year also saw her hailed as a breakout star at Black Deer Festival, and with an electric EP launch show at iconic London venue The Lexington, plus a nomination for UK Song of The Year from the AMA UK under her belt, Simeon Hammond Dallas is definitely a name to look out for on the UK Americana scene. THE JAYHAWKS arrrived on stage at 8.45pm and played for 1 hour 40 mins. Like the Big Thief show a couple of days ago, the stage was sparse with minimal equipment and lights. The band have that nice American sound that has hints of Neil Young and The Byrds. Frontman Gary Louris, is at the forefront at most Jayhawks shows, of course. Many of the songs he helped craft with bass player Mark Olson in the band’s late-’80s and early-’90s days, and those he’s written himself since then, are—or should be—American standards. Of those, “Angelyne” and “Save It for a Rainy Day” made their usual appearances in the set. Also as usual, Louris showed off his considerable guitar chops on several songs , which featured classic Neil-Young-inspired solos....and he also got his harmonica out for several songs. Gary said they first toured the UK in 1992, and had a little shout out to which football teams do we support. Sid Griffin (who lives in London) from Long Ryder's joined them for a couple of tracks. An enjoyable show. Full JAYHAWKS setlist played tonight... I'm Gonna Make You Love Me The Man Who Loved Life Angelyne Waiting For The Sun Nothing Left to Borrow Everybody Knows All the right reasons Bitter pill I'd run away Trouble Backwards women Save it for a Rainy day We'll sweep out the ashes in the morning (with Sid Griffin from Long Ryder's) Quiet corners and empty spaces Somewhere in Ohio Blue Tailspin Encore: Listen Joe (Gary solo) Settled down like rain (Gary solo) Sound of lies Big Star Until you came along ( with Sid Griffin from Long Ryder's) ------------------------------- ------------------------------- Thursday 13 April 2023...I went to two gallery private views in Mayfair tonight. 6pm to 7.45pm No 9 CORK STREET - multi-artist private view - 9 Cork Street, Mayfair, London W1.. A very lively gallery event as must be over 200 guests here over the different floors. Complimentary Gin & Ginger cocktails, prosecco and beers for all the guests. then 8pm to 9pm. UNIT GALLERY - private view - 3 Hanover Square, Mayfair, London W1. Opening reception for Sasha Ferré's Morphogenesis and Karms Thammatat's Utopia Now. Huge paintings with lots of splashes of colour. Around 100 guests here for complimentary tequila cocktails, vodka cocktails and beers. ----------- I was on the guest list for this drinks launch party tonight but did not get along to this event as it clashed with the above events, but i sent a couple of friends along to report back for me. crisp aficionados and code-cracking fiends! Prepare for a tantalizing taste of adventure, as KETTLE® Chips celebrate two deliciously daring and top-secret new seasonings with the launch of their one-of-a-kind, free KETTLE® Chips Escape Room pop-up in Shoreditch from this weekend --- 14-16 April. The action-packed escape room has been designed to transport your taste buds on a flavour-filled journey of discovery. Put your puzzle-solving skills to the test to crunch the numbers, crack the codes and chip away at hidden clues, to uncover the two top-secret new seasonings. There are walk-in spots for the escape room experience available from Friday to Sunday or just pop in to sample the new flavours and crack some fun codes and puzzles. More information on their website.

Posted 13th April 2023