Showing posts with label The Elgin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Elgin. Show all posts

Friday 18 October 2013

Bess Cavendish at the Elgin.


























The Elgin on Westbourne Grove is by far the best music pub in the Notting Hill area, its one drawback is that the music room is also a dining area and a room full of nattering diners is sometimes hard to hold for the performers.

Not tonight though!

Before I go any further I should add that although I know Bess and have seen her perform a number of times I am not about to write an hagiographic review for that reason.... If I don't like something I don't review it. It is not my job to schmooze.

I frequently attend pub gigs with the good intention of lasting a couple of numbers before sinking my beer and sneaking out (I'm getting too old for this malarky) but not tonight. I lasted the whole set and could have happily stayed for another one.

Bess is now working with a new band: A great drummer and an accompanist on guitar who to my mind is the reverse image of Brian Jones (female, black bobbed hair.... you know where I am going).
The result is very very good.

High points were a cover of Gimme Shelter which brought me great joy and a song called 'Shoot Shoot' which oozes wit and a Rock Steady beat and should be a massive hit. I would be interested to see the writing credits for that one. Her penultimate number was seriously rocking and good too!

All in all a delightful evening not 5 minutes away from my front door.

And I wore a groove and a smile all the way home.











Thursday 4 August 2011

The Elgin, Sophie Barker and Aisling Mallon.

I haven't been to the Elgin on Ladbroke Grove for years. It used to be an awful shithole of a pub seemingly full of drug dealers and amateur villains. It isn't any more.
I went to see and listen to Sophie who was performing there last night. She was as good as ever. Her voice never ceases to enrapt me. I shall refrain from going on at length to avoid being considered a purveyor of cheesecake. Do try to get to one of her gigs though and check out her new album 'Seagull'.

Sophie Barker

the Elgin has been tarted up and smartened up. It was buzzing last night and good to see a lot of familiar faces. It was especially delightful to chat with actress Aisling Mallon. she had taken part in the 'Actor in Session' Cherry Orchard experiment (blog passim) last week and had caught my attention as one of the more interesting actors. We shared thoughts on the experiment.
                                                  Aisling Mallon

One negative was the lousy sound in the Elgin, something that could be easily rectified by investing in a new P.A. system.