Last weekend I had a cheap day out in London courtesy of Advance rail tickets totalling around £15. In fact it was an afternoon and evening (13:00 from Norwich, 22:30 back from Liverpool Street). The idea was to visit as many photography galleries as I could fit into the afternoon, and then go to a blues dance in the evening at a venue a minute from the station.
My plan was to begin with galleries in the Hoxton and Shoreditch area, immediately north of Liverpool Street station, then moving on to a gallery north of St Pancras and finally the National Portrait Gallery at Trafalgar Square. What I suspected, of course, was that I would find enough to interest me in Hoxton, and that turned out to be true. Coincidentally an east London photography festival (Photomonth) is running throughout November (http://www.photomonth.org/), and this ensured I wouldn't run out of things to see. On top of that, the area has a great deal of really interesting street art, which took up a fair amount of my time.
By chance I came across a great exhibition in Redchurch Street at the Maverik Showroom of Pete Williams' photographs of musicians. Just to mention two: a beautiful shot of singer Dee Dee Bridgwater and her daughter at a tribute gig for Billie Holliday; a great shot of Courtney Pine in 1988, and I wrote down most of the caption - there were some great captions - at 'A moody dive in Stoke Newington, winter, Courtney is late, impossible traffic chaos and I'm jammed into the corner of the tiny stage, camera ready and the Mondesir Brothers are playing to an increasingly hostile crowd. Eventually Courtney arrives, car breakdown, he's noticeably bothered at making people wait. He jumps onto the stage, he doesn't even take his coat off but rips the soprano out of its battered case and suddenly beautiful music fills the club, calming the crowd and softening the edge'.
My plan was to begin with galleries in the Hoxton and Shoreditch area, immediately north of Liverpool Street station, then moving on to a gallery north of St Pancras and finally the National Portrait Gallery at Trafalgar Square. What I suspected, of course, was that I would find enough to interest me in Hoxton, and that turned out to be true. Coincidentally an east London photography festival (Photomonth) is running throughout November (http://www.photomonth.org/), and this ensured I wouldn't run out of things to see. On top of that, the area has a great deal of really interesting street art, which took up a fair amount of my time.
By chance I came across a great exhibition in Redchurch Street at the Maverik Showroom of Pete Williams' photographs of musicians. Just to mention two: a beautiful shot of singer Dee Dee Bridgwater and her daughter at a tribute gig for Billie Holliday; a great shot of Courtney Pine in 1988, and I wrote down most of the caption - there were some great captions - at 'A moody dive in Stoke Newington, winter, Courtney is late, impossible traffic chaos and I'm jammed into the corner of the tiny stage, camera ready and the Mondesir Brothers are playing to an increasingly hostile crowd. Eventually Courtney arrives, car breakdown, he's noticeably bothered at making people wait. He jumps onto the stage, he doesn't even take his coat off but rips the soprano out of its battered case and suddenly beautiful music fills the club, calming the crowd and softening the edge'.
Then across the road to the Idea Generation Gallery in Chance Street for the major exhibition of Mick Rock's photographs of musicians - the Stones, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and many others. I also went to the Book Club in Leonard Street for Andy Willsher's black and white collection (musicians again), Tintype, Rivington Place, Calvert 22 and Flowers East - all on foot from Liverpool Street station very close by.....
Then in the evening to the upstairs room in The Railway Tavern in Liverpool Street for a couple of hours of blues dancing run (Down Home Blues) by Blues Revolution. A great way to end the day, then across the road for the last but one train back to Norwich.
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