girls who play guitars

mp3s:
Okay - KaiserCartel
Dead On The Lawn - KaiserCartel

A Friday night foray into Farringdon, to a small (one might even say tiny) gig at the Betsey Trotwood, to see Brooklyn band Kaiser Cartel. I arrive before James does and order a glass of Pimms (as advertised on the pub’s chalkboard) from the girl behind the bar. English isn’t her first language. My Pimms arrives as a neat shot over ice, in a small tumbler. Interesting. I ask for some lemonade, but in a glass that small, boy is that drink strong.

We eventually head downstairs to the basement where the gig will be. It really is tiny. We spy an antechamber off the left, with padded bench, and, randomly, a tv that’s linked to a camera right near the band setup. We kick back and watch the opening band on the television (lazy much?) then find ourselves joined by the two boys from Kaiser Cartel, Benjamin and Drew. Nice guys. They go to set up, we leave our comfortable lair to actually watch them play. They’re just… wonderful. Great music for the small venue. The lovely lady of the band, Courtney, has a great voice and by the last song – in which they unplug guitars and play acoustically, walking among the crowd and singing directly to you – I’m in full girl crush mode.

We chat briefly to Courtney after the show as well (they’re heading up to Manchester that night, by coach, but Benjamin seems to have lost his passport) and she invites us to stay any time we’re in Brooklyn (!)

We make our escape before the last band comes on as there are things to do, people to see, places to be – and we’d only gone for KaiserCartel anyhow. We stand on Farringdon Road – it’s only just dusk-ish, at 10pm, the air is still warm and St Pauls is in the distance, lit up like a cardboard cut-out against the hazy watery blue of the twilight.

As I walk back to the tube station I stumble across this flyer stuck the pavement, and although my knee-jerk reaction is a typical “Pah, no of course not,” as I sit on the tube home I think about and realise it’s about time I give my home town the credit that it’s due, and upgrade my answer to a serious “Maybe.”