Friday, March 09, 2007

Kristin At Koko

I love going to theatre. Obviously. I wouldn’t spend so much of my life sitting in front of a stage if that wasn’t the case. But I do sometimes miss other non-theatrey pursuits. I used to be a regular gig-goer but over recent years one has rather eclipsed the other. So I couldn’t pass up the chance to see one of my favourite artists, Kristin Hersh, play Koko on Wednesday night, could I? Koko’s a new one on me. All red and glittery, like being in the belly of a big gay whale. And Hersh was reliably great though I prefer it when she dispenses with her band-mates and goes acoustic.

However what I found myself noticing most was how, well, not at the theatre I was. For a start I somehow seem to have forgotten how late these things start. Hersh is a considerate performer and she didn’t keep us waiting but still there was a lot of milling about. And then there’s the people sending serial text messages, taking pictures on their phones, and chatting away through the songs they didn’t know – all crimes punishable by the British breach-of-etiquette death stare at the theatre.

Plus there’s all that encore faffing. KH played a storming version of Me And My Charms after she came back on stage, but even though I enjoyed it I found myself manoeuvring myself subtly towards the exit, so I could make a break for the tube at the end of her set before the mass exodus. A great gig and a great night, but none of these things used to bother me before. Just a blip I hope.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds very familiar - my wife dragged me to see Echo & the Bunnymen at one of their recent revivals - initially it seemed fine....but although I could achieve some sort of appreciation for what the band were doing, the (younger) crowd - and younger crowd behaviour - just bought it home to me how quickly we age, and are left behind ! Not meant to be a sad social observation, just that your review really struck a chord !
P.S. Going to Man of Mode tomorrow, Sat 10th, impressed with your honest review, looking forward to the performance.

Interval Drinks said...

Thanks, glad I'm not the only one.

I think the problem was compounded by the fact that I arrived far too promptly and that it wasn't the best set I've seen KH play, the acoustics weren't brilliant so I was more easily distracted.

Man Of Mode is definitely worth seeing, an interesting revival. Be interested to hear other views on it.