Last Saturday Mrs RM and I took Matt and mate to Alexander Palace for his first Big Metalcore Gig of the year. Shamefully, I’m beating him to be the first to blog about/around it.
No, I’d never heard of Architects either, at least before before Matt saw them at Nottingham Rock City last year. It’s a fair leap from Rock City to Ally Pally for a band without significant album sales, and says a lot about the dominance of live music over records in 2018. And the power an endorsement from well-known metalcore enthusiast J.Corbyn last year.
A stream of youths in black T-Shirts were walking up the hill from Ally Pally station in the usual North London drizzle, which does at least make my look back to East London a bit more atmospheric.
“Leave us now !” said Matt as we got within sight of the queue. (Parents are very embarrassing, even ones like me who’ve actually seen the bands he still listens to).
“Don’t you want tea at Spoons with us first ?“. They didn’t.
So we set off down the hill to the Mossy Well.
Readers with a better memory than me will recall this was my last North London tick during the Christmas rush, and blow me down if it wasn’t even busier on Saturday night in February (albeit half of the punters were wearing black T-shirts).
Luckily Matt hasn’t grown a beard yet or put a tattoo with “Offend” or “Lost Forever” on his elbow, so there’s hope.
Three things to note today;
- Everyone under 25 was using the App.
- Except for the ones who wanted to see the real ales.
- The Mossy Well is bucking the Spoons trend for reducing the range of cask, which is encouraging/disastrous depending on your take.
Having ticked the pub off for GBG purposes already, I was free to indulge in any of the Mossy Well’s craft delights. So why I picked the Windsor & Eton Lumberjack I will never know, A determination to use the Spoons vouchers is my only defence.
I took my pint for a little tour of the unofficial JDW museum* while Mrs RM bullied charmed big blokes into relinquishing their seats. Successfully.
After an hour or so it dawned on us that these folk in black were still here scoffing burgers and Bulmers while our lads had been stood in a queue in the drizzle. Aw, bless. At least they’d get to the front of the stage.
Admiring the steady accumulation of washing-up, we set off for our sally round the pubs of N10.
*As you’re bored of hearing now, Muswell Hill was the site of the first Spoons.
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retiredmartin 
“Got to be Lumberjack, hasn’t it ?”
As a Canadian, I have to agree. 🙂
“Nice haircut, Sir”
Things never change, do they? Black T-shirts with “Live Fast” and “Offend” on the back are so 1980’s. I mean, have they never heard of Harley Davidson? 😉
““Don’t you want tea at Spoons with us first ?“. They didn’t.”
Cruel, but fair. (LOL)
“Tinseltown in the rain”
I think that’s a typo. Surely it should be ‘tinkletown’. 🙂
Cheers
PS – I think you have a stray ” taking up half your post at the bottom. 😉
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It’s there just to annoy you, Russ, and it will stay there. Forever.
Us bloggers love you really ;-()
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Do you get annoyed by the hidden tracks that start ten minutes after the end of Joni Mitchell CDs ?
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I used to. But since I don’t play them any more… 😉
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Alexander Palace, is that the name of the imminent sprog at Buck House?
You do realise the only way to ensure your offspring don’t get elbow tattoos is to beat them to it and and render them irredeemably uncool.
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Good point. Can you still get those removable ones you apply with a pencil ? I fancy “CAMRA says all beer is real” on my left elbow that leans on the bar.
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I would have thought a full sleeve of experimental hop bines which have an aroma of Durian.
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Durian Durian ?
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Ah the nostalgia of taking the kids to gigs. Stage 1: Go to gig as Parent/Child combo because of age restrictions. Stage 2: Travel down to London to pick up tickets at box office, hand them over to son and mates, catch train home.
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Arguably the parents who’ve actually seen the bands you listen to are even more embarrassing. Where’s the rebellion in that? 🙄😈
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Eton & Windsor, top choice, I’ve been impressed with their beers. Hope too visit the brewery later on this year.
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If we’re doing typos, I think it should read “Having ticked the pub off” rather than “Haven’t ticked the pub off” 😛
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Many thanks. Never mind typo, completely the wrong word ! Does that sort of thing happen to you ?
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Not generally, but then I think you tend to compose and post blogs much more “on the hoof” than I do.
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Delicately put ! I don’t know if predictive text is a factor on WordPress or not, as that error was really odd.
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So, not one of those phone autocorrect things then. 😉
Maybe your subconcious was thinking haven’t for some reason. The mind is a mysterious thing (well, mine is at least). 🙂
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Very much weird minds, Russ.
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Always informative 👍 I know now the name of a metalcore band, the good lord JC is on the metalcore bandwagon and Muswell Hill was the site of the first spoons 👍
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Pleased to be the source of vital info !
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