During
my February return visit to London I stayed with some friends of mine I made while at King’s
College London: Charlotte, Sarah, Sarah, and their Belgian roommate… Sarah (it
did get confusing). The best part about
being back with an unfortunately small budget was the fact that I’d done all of
the important tourist activities and I could just enjoy my vacation by relaxing
and going out with my friends. For some
reason the fates had brought a lot of my friends to London around the same time
I was there, so I not only got to see some of my friends who live in London,
but I saw other American friends visiting/living in London. Anna went to visit Deanie in Cambridge the
first day we were back, so I met up with my roommate Helena (who was in England
visiting cousins), two of her French friends from high school, my friend Marcos
(who goes to Marquette but is studying abroad at Helena’s university), and our
Canadian friend Jeff (also studying at the same university in Lyon). I found us a place with cheap fish and chips
for lunch and then we ended up taking a long walk along the Thames from Tower
Bridge to Big Ben. I was back in my
element, pointing out all sorts of things to everyone else along our walk and
reminiscing about my time spent along those shores.
We parted ways for dinner and I met back up with Jeff and Marcos for some drinks with
my King’s friends at my former student union bar, The Waterfront, where I was
finally able to indulge in my favorite drink, the Snakebite. This drink is really simple: half cider, half
beer, and some blackcurrant liqueur to make it pink and somewhat fruity, but
it’s illegal in many bars in the UK because it apparently has a reputation of
doing weird things to people’s minds (kind of like how Tequila seems to bring
weird nights, but much more serious). Nothing
strange has ever happened to me so I can’t really explain it, but it is
delicious! The Waterfront not only has
awesome drinks at cheap prices for students, but it also has a magnificent view
of the Thames, including the South Bank, Oxo Tower, the London Eye, Big Ben to
the right, and Tower Bridge to the far left.
It’s on my list of favorite bars in the world.
 |
| View of the South Bank, the London Eye and Big Ben |
The
next few nights I spent with Anna at our friend Patricia’s. Anna and I went to high school together and
took French together. Patricia was our
French teacher’s daughter who’s a year older than us and who we met on our
class trip to France in 2006. Patricia
and I bonded over our love for the UK and British indie rock and stayed in
touch after our trip. Life has moved us
around a bit, but she’s living in London this year as a student at LSE so we
had to meet up and she was kind enough to let us crash at her place a few
nights.
The
one downside of not feeling like a tourist is that I don’t take a lot of
pictures because I’ve already seen everything, so it’s hard for me to remember
everything I did on my trip. However,
with Anna we spent some time in Covent Garden, Notting Hill, and Harrod's.
 |
| Portobello Market on a Saturday |
 |
| Harrod's food halls |
After
Anna left, I went back to Charlotte and the Sarahs’ for the next two
nights. Charlotte and I went for a walk
around Shoreditch and Brick Lane so I could finally go to Rough Trade East and
get a photobooth picture with her. Rough
Trade is one of the coolest independent record labels/stores in London which
has released records by many of my favorite artists (Belle & Sebastian, The
Mystery Jets, Johnny Flynn, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire, The Libertines,
Sufjan Stevens, etc, etc.). Adele also
worked at one of the Rough Trade record shops after winning two Grammys in
2009, so obviously it’s a big deal and quite the London landmark for music
fiends.
Along
our way we stopped in the famous Beigel Bake on Brick Lane, a Jewish style
bakery with a focus on bagels and other really cheaply priced pastries (70
pence for a piece of carrot cake!). The
line was out the door but moved really quickly as the workers are used to the
rush of people all the time.
We had a coffee at the Rough Trade café area and headed back to get ready for our long-awaited concert that night.
Now
this is where I’m going to be a super music snob and nerd out about my love for
Mumford & Sons and the London music scene right now. So, without exaggeration, I’ve
loved Mumford & Sons for a very long time (about 5 years). As I said earlier I was into the whole
indie/folk scene in the UK/London since I was a teenager, and in my last.fm
days I discovered quite a lot of really young, unique bands. Two of them were on a very small U.S. tour
(Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn) back in 2008 with an opening act named Mumford
and Sons. My friend John happened to be
at the concert in Chicago (because he’s a cool music guy) and through him my
friend Josh recommended their music to me, knowing I liked that kind of music
and should’ve been at that concert myself.
This was at a time when they only had one EP out and I had to go to
great lengths to get my hands on any of their music. I was in love. Absolutely and completely, and I recommended
them to everyone I knew who appreciated that type of music, and basically
everyone who liked music at all. So from
there I kept listening and buying EP’s, awaiting their first album which came
out in the UK in Fall 2009/US Spring 2010.
As Spring 2010 was my big study abroad semester and Lille is close to the English Channel, I often had the opportunity to see some really good British acts that I loved. I was lucky enough to get the chance to see them twice: once in Paris and once in Lille. In early March they played in Paris, so Sadie and I took a weekend trip there to see their concert and, of course, have a wild weekend in the capital. That was the weekend I woke up 30 minutes before my train, stepped on and broke my glasses, jumped on the first metro that came (without knowing its direction), nearly missed my train, spent the night at a memorable party full of Austrians and one German, lost a contact and was left with only one and no glasses the rest of the weekend, rented a sketchy cheap Parisian hotel, and got to enjoy my first Mumford and Sons experience! The concert itself was really crowded and hot, and it was a bizarre sensation only being able to see it half-clearly, so when they announced a concert in Lille I was sure to get my ticket ASAP. That concert also sold out very quickly and so I ended up going alone. The best part about it though was that the opening act was announced as none other than Johnny Flynn, who Mumfz opened for in Chicago and who came out to play "Winter Winds" with Mumford and Sons on trumpet. After the concert, as I like doing with smaller bands, I went to see if I could talk to anyone at the merch stand, just as I did with Good Shoes, another British band who were happy and surprised to have had an anglophone fan at their concert. Luckily for me, Ben, the keyboardist of Mumford and Sons, was hanging around. We had about a 10 minute chat before it had to be cut short since I had to get the last metro back from Tourcoing to Lille for the night. In our conversation though I told them to come to Milwaukee to play if they ever got the chance (and not that this was because of me) which they did that October. By this time they were so big though that they sold out the 2,500 seat theater and I didn't get the chance to talk to them again... UNTIL, one year later in London.
A few years ago Ben created an organization with two other friends called Communion which promotes and produces music of up-and-coming artists in order to give them an opportunity to flourish in a competitive music scene. The record label itself has some really good music that I'd highly recommend looking into (Daughter, Bear's Den, Ben Howard, Matthew and The Atlas). In London, and now all over the UK, US, and Australia, they have club nights during which 5-6 bands perform followed by DJ Sets by other artists. The famous and original one in London takes place the first Sunday of every month in Notting Hill Arts Club. Needless to say, I went every month while I lived there. Communion nights were my absolute favorite part about living in London. Notting Hill Arts Club was a rather small venue with a bar in one room and a stage in the other, giving the night just the right cozy community feeling, rather than an industry-pushed means of making money. It always surprised me that they were still able to hold the club nights in such a small place, because there was so much talent there, and oftentimes many other Mumford and Sons band members as well as their musician friends/my other favorite artists were there as spectators. It was basically as close as I'll ever get to living my dream of being part of the London music scene and friends with all my favorite musicians. So when I went to my first one in October last year I brought along Charlotte and Hattie, who also love Mumford and Sons and a lot of the same music I do. I told them that there was a chance Ben would be there.. and he was! Most of me wanted to be chill and cool and not talk to him because there was no way he'd remember me anyway.. I mean, I was an American he met in France, why would I all of a sudden be in London? However my friends were urging me to go say something, since I told them I'd met him a year and a half ago in Lille. As we were leaving I found the courage in me to say something, fearing the worst rejection ever if he didn't remember me, but knowing it was likely. I approached him, tapped him on the shoulder and said "Hi, are you Ben?" to which he responded "yeah, haven't we met before?" *Whew* not just a relief, but surprise and utter excitement. I introduced him to my friends and I mentioned the gig in Milwaukee and he talked about the crazy Halloween party he went to afterwards which made him miss the tour bus to Chicago. Such a cool chap. Those Communion nights were always memorable ones..
Luckily for me, my trip to London this February/March just happened to land on the Sunday of March's Communion. Charlotte and I got to do more bonding that day, spending our night at one of our old haunts and geeking out over the musical talent that was there that night.
The next night I met up with some other old friends at The Waterfront, and luckily for my budget, we won the pub quiz (= more Snakebites)!
As Spring 2010 was my big study abroad semester and Lille is close to the English Channel, I often had the opportunity to see some really good British acts that I loved. I was lucky enough to get the chance to see them twice: once in Paris and once in Lille. In early March they played in Paris, so Sadie and I took a weekend trip there to see their concert and, of course, have a wild weekend in the capital. That was the weekend I woke up 30 minutes before my train, stepped on and broke my glasses, jumped on the first metro that came (without knowing its direction), nearly missed my train, spent the night at a memorable party full of Austrians and one German, lost a contact and was left with only one and no glasses the rest of the weekend, rented a sketchy cheap Parisian hotel, and got to enjoy my first Mumford and Sons experience! The concert itself was really crowded and hot, and it was a bizarre sensation only being able to see it half-clearly, so when they announced a concert in Lille I was sure to get my ticket ASAP. That concert also sold out very quickly and so I ended up going alone. The best part about it though was that the opening act was announced as none other than Johnny Flynn, who Mumfz opened for in Chicago and who came out to play "Winter Winds" with Mumford and Sons on trumpet. After the concert, as I like doing with smaller bands, I went to see if I could talk to anyone at the merch stand, just as I did with Good Shoes, another British band who were happy and surprised to have had an anglophone fan at their concert. Luckily for me, Ben, the keyboardist of Mumford and Sons, was hanging around. We had about a 10 minute chat before it had to be cut short since I had to get the last metro back from Tourcoing to Lille for the night. In our conversation though I told them to come to Milwaukee to play if they ever got the chance (and not that this was because of me) which they did that October. By this time they were so big though that they sold out the 2,500 seat theater and I didn't get the chance to talk to them again... UNTIL, one year later in London.
A few years ago Ben created an organization with two other friends called Communion which promotes and produces music of up-and-coming artists in order to give them an opportunity to flourish in a competitive music scene. The record label itself has some really good music that I'd highly recommend looking into (Daughter, Bear's Den, Ben Howard, Matthew and The Atlas). In London, and now all over the UK, US, and Australia, they have club nights during which 5-6 bands perform followed by DJ Sets by other artists. The famous and original one in London takes place the first Sunday of every month in Notting Hill Arts Club. Needless to say, I went every month while I lived there. Communion nights were my absolute favorite part about living in London. Notting Hill Arts Club was a rather small venue with a bar in one room and a stage in the other, giving the night just the right cozy community feeling, rather than an industry-pushed means of making money. It always surprised me that they were still able to hold the club nights in such a small place, because there was so much talent there, and oftentimes many other Mumford and Sons band members as well as their musician friends/my other favorite artists were there as spectators. It was basically as close as I'll ever get to living my dream of being part of the London music scene and friends with all my favorite musicians. So when I went to my first one in October last year I brought along Charlotte and Hattie, who also love Mumford and Sons and a lot of the same music I do. I told them that there was a chance Ben would be there.. and he was! Most of me wanted to be chill and cool and not talk to him because there was no way he'd remember me anyway.. I mean, I was an American he met in France, why would I all of a sudden be in London? However my friends were urging me to go say something, since I told them I'd met him a year and a half ago in Lille. As we were leaving I found the courage in me to say something, fearing the worst rejection ever if he didn't remember me, but knowing it was likely. I approached him, tapped him on the shoulder and said "Hi, are you Ben?" to which he responded "yeah, haven't we met before?" *Whew* not just a relief, but surprise and utter excitement. I introduced him to my friends and I mentioned the gig in Milwaukee and he talked about the crazy Halloween party he went to afterwards which made him miss the tour bus to Chicago. Such a cool chap. Those Communion nights were always memorable ones..
Luckily for me, my trip to London this February/March just happened to land on the Sunday of March's Communion. Charlotte and I got to do more bonding that day, spending our night at one of our old haunts and geeking out over the musical talent that was there that night.
 |
| Or, you know, just judging people... |
The next night I met up with some other old friends at The Waterfront, and luckily for my budget, we won the pub quiz (= more Snakebites)!
The next day I headed out to Cambridge to visit Deanie and her/our friends who came to visit her over their spring break. Before catching my train, though, Charlotte and I enjoyed a nice fatty full English breakfast at The Shepherdess, a famous breakfast spot in Islington. Standard.
I then packed and made my way to Liverpool Street Station to catch my train. Once I made it to Cambridge/St. John's College I was greeted with a hearty 3-way hug from Deanie and Vinnie. Feelin' the love. Deanie had two other guests that night as well, Beckie and Audrey, and we all had quite the night. It started off with a fancy free port and sherry social gathering before going to Hall for a 3 course Cambridge worthy meal cooked by a Michelin star chef.
 |
| My peanut butter+honey toast couldn't fit in the picture. |
I then packed and made my way to Liverpool Street Station to catch my train. Once I made it to Cambridge/St. John's College I was greeted with a hearty 3-way hug from Deanie and Vinnie. Feelin' the love. Deanie had two other guests that night as well, Beckie and Audrey, and we all had quite the night. It started off with a fancy free port and sherry social gathering before going to Hall for a 3 course Cambridge worthy meal cooked by a Michelin star chef.
Since you're not allowed to take pictures or even leave the hall to go to the loo while the fellows and distinguished professors are eating at the head tables, I have no pictures of the food itself. They ring a gong when they come in, everyone stands, prayers are read in Latin, and then you can sit. However since the fellows are served first, they leave really early, leaving the students with a more relaxed atmosphere when they're only halfway through their meals (which also means they're interrupted to stand for a closing prayer in the middle of their meals). I'd been to two other Hall dinners during other visits to see Deanie, so I knew I could have high expectations which the food and wine did live up to. Since there were 4 of us non-Cambridge students as Deanie's guests we got kind of out of hand and I let my self relax this time, not being too proper. One Cambridge tradition when going to hall (as they say) at another college is to steal an entire place setting (plates, cups, cutlery, etc.) so of course we all decided to get a souvenir. I managed to get a nice fancy coffee cup and saucer with the St. John's emblem on it.
After our luxurious dinner we went back to the social gathering with seemingly endless amounts of port and sherry, which we very much took advantage of to start off the night. Ah, the joys of being in Cambridge.
The night continued with a silly not-so-relaxed Cambridge student bar and a night out at a club. Lots of fun happened that night which cannot be posted.
Back in London I spent my last days seeing as many other friends as I could before heading back to the land of the French.
 |
| Audrey, Vinnie, Deanie, Beckie and me |
After our luxurious dinner we went back to the social gathering with seemingly endless amounts of port and sherry, which we very much took advantage of to start off the night. Ah, the joys of being in Cambridge.
The night continued with a silly not-so-relaxed Cambridge student bar and a night out at a club. Lots of fun happened that night which cannot be posted.
Back in London I spent my last days seeing as many other friends as I could before heading back to the land of the French.
Being in London again was a strange sensation. Everything was so familiar but everyday things like tube stops and lines had faded a bit in my memory, making me realize I no longer am a Londoner. For some reason the way of life seemed so much more fast-paced than I remembered from living there and I kind of hated it when I first got back. It's so big! Towards the end though I re-learned why I loved it in the first place, and it really is a gathering space of a lot of my favorite people and memories. After all, it is the place where my nickname of "The Queen" became more official.
No comments:
Post a Comment