Brixton is Electric
Spacey Jane Rock!
Aussie indie rockers Spacey Jane were delighted to be playing Electric Brixton on a recent Friday night. Their energetic and entertaining set went down well with the 1500 full house, who responded by singing back their tunes enthusiastically. This evidently surprised and gladdened the band, who had endured an extensive Perth-based lockdown over the past couple of years.
The four-piece outfit was itching to get out and play live, and Brixton provided a great venue. Frontman Caleb Harper said as much when making a heartfelt pronouncement to the audience, expressing his surprise that the numbers were so large, “we guessed maybe a couple of hundred, but, wow, this is unbelievable.”
The concert finished at 10 30 pm and it surprised us as we left to see queues around the block for the next gig that was due to start in an hour and going through until about 5 am. The upcoming act was a Nepalese performer who is obviously highly popular as the show was destined to be another sell-out with hundreds of young Nepalese chatting excitedly in anticipation behind the barriers.
Our party headed up the road to the White Horse, a popular and buzzy boozer. It was more beer, music and dancing and a spot of pool playing as the party vibe continued. The pool table proved highly popular, with a couple of feisty exchanges about whose turn it was to play next. All pretty good-humoured though amongst the multicultural crowd.
The night with not over when we left as we headed off to the cheap and cheerful Hand in Hand. They were holding a St George’s Day party, and we persuaded the Door Manager to let us in, although it was by now gone 1 am. We stayed for another hour or more, chatting, drinking and people watching.
Smiles from the VIP Section
Staying over at my grandson’s place, which he had recently moved into with his girlfriend, we crashed on the sofa bed for a few hours. I was earliest up and took a coffee out into the leafy garden to enjoy the morning sunshine and listen to the twittering of the birds. I couldn’t believe I was in London. It was just so peaceful and bucolic.
Later we walked over to the fabulous Brockwell Park. This 50 hectares of hilly parkland, with many ancient oaks and extensive views to the north of the London cityscape, is a tremendous public asset. It was amazing to see the range of formal and informal activities taking place on this busy Spring Saturday. As well as the normal cricket, football, basketball, jogging and tennis, there were kids' BMX racing sessions, mixed adult touch rugby, swimming in the lido, boxing classes, keep fit and tai chi going on. Organised tours of the nursery and the walled garden were being undertaken with experts on hand to impart their knowledge and wisdom. It was brilliant to see such community activity.
We emerged on the other side of the park at Railton Road, which I recalled was the epicentre of the Brixton riots in 1981, with a pub in the road being set ablaze. The vibe of this weekend’s Brixton was much more positive.
An excellent full English at Steve’s Café set us up for the day before we headed back on a different trail through Brockwell to pick up the car and head back to the provinces.
It was a cracking Friday night and Saturday morning and opened my eyes to what modern Brixton was now about.