Day 227

Tuesday February 20

I think we can just say that life has been getting in the way a little bit lately, so not too much going on musically. Until tonight when we find our way, in just under an hour and two buses, to Ten To One Cocktail Bar, Ant’s fantastic place in Tottenham, north London. What we find is a really cool, perfectly rectangular shaped bar space, all set up for a kind of mixed open mic featuring comedians and singer/songwriters. Our first impression is that this looks remarkably like Laksmi, our favourite bar in Berlin. It’s largely painted red inside too. Oh, and right up to date. We recently unearthed what we had thought was a lost video from the last time we played there. Coming to a Youtube channel or thread near you soon. Back to Ten To One. It’s a single long space with a bar running more or less down one side. The stage area is on the left as you come in. This places it right in front of the window which gives it an earthy street backdrop, augmented by regular double decker red London buses which massively add to the experience and to videos we’ve discovered. Added to all this, a large neon bar sign provides really cool extra framing for performers.

As soon as we walk in, Ant looks up and is delighted to see us. We told him last week that we weren’t going to make it then but that we were hoping to this week, and here we are. The place feels immediately warm and welcoming and a few people take note of us after our effusive welcome. After all the hellos, he says that Den’s running the night – The Ramshackle Collective – and he’s already told her all about us. Just then, she turns up and says hello. Brilliant. Introduced, on the list and all good to go.

We settle down and are told we’ll be somewhere in the second half. Between now and then it’s something around a 60/40 split in favour of the comedy. People newish on the scene trying out new material, and people playing their first few shows, or even their first show, as they begin to find their comedy groove. I think stand up comedy is about the hardest thing you can do in entertainment and special respect is reserved for anyone having their first go at it, and indeed anyone just doing it at all. 

Den kicks things off with what she introduces as the theme song of the evening. Called Nowhere Parade, it sets the scene for where this venue actually is. On a tiny parade of shops in a quiet residential kind of area somewhere out in zone three. But then these can often be the kind of places you find the truly cool destination bars which this place very much aspires to be. Given its independence, full-on support of talent and original music, and the general vibe which Ant has created, it really could become a destination bar. A true London gem to be sought out and travelled to. It turns out people already do; during the night, Den asks for who’s come here the furthest. Someone who’s come here from out in Hertfordshire wins tonight, but we hear stories of people coming from much further afield for a night, and even the occasional international traveller is apparently discovering it, so something is clearly going on here. And Den sets the tone for the night fantastically with songs tinged with observational comedy and surreal social commentary.

As for Ten To One itself, as we sit down and look around, we see it’s made up of so much more than the venue area we’re in right now. Walk through this space to the right and there’s a pretty large outside covered area, all very well appointed with tables and chairs, kind of set up to kind of look like a diner. Then on the other side, up another few steps, there’s a lovely restaurant area. You really could pack quite a crowd into the whole place. And all of this in a former betting shop. Hence the name, Ten To One.

By the time we’re called up the atmosphere is well and truly warmed up. With Ant having invited us here especially after having seen us at The Marquis, we’re keen to 

demonstrate to him our range of repertoire. This may take some time over a period of weeks and more, but for starters we’re keen not to play any of the songs we played when he saw us. So tonight we go for Talk About The Weather and Rock’n’Roll Tree. Although we do open with Sand Bang which we also opened with at The Marquis. The reasoning there being that we haven’t yet done it justice live and really feel we’re ready now to get a solid full live performance of this one under our belts. And we do. This eases us really nicely into it and then we’re away with the next two. Which take us right up to the high energy levels that so impressed Ant at The Marquis, although we like to think he enjoyed the atmospheric and theatrical Sand Bang as well. But yeah. Talk About The Weather and Rock’n’Roll Tree. Two authentic smash set songs. And smash in here tonight they certainly do, with Ant rocking behind us and really getting into it as he keeps an eye on the sound. And yes. Having an actual venue owner appear to enjoy us as much as this really is a great boost.

When the night is all over, the buzz around the room is all about the high levels of energy of our set and how it all but put people through the ceiling. Ant is on it as well. He pulls us aside and looks at his calendar of events. He says he’s all booked up on his Wednesday night full set music nights until May, but he’d love to have us headline a show that night. He says we can look at this together over the next few months, deciding on any acts from here that could work well with us. So yeah. We’re in and we’re on. Our first offer of a headline show in an actual London music venue. 

We go home quite a different way to how we came here as we head out onto the street and find that the first bus coming our way is going to Archway. Oh, let’s do that. Which gives us a walk home from Archway, through Kentish Town and onto Camden. Right past the two places we lived in London before Ireland, and onto the place we live now.

And another thought or two on that Nowhere Parade song. Yeah. By London standards, Ten To One is a bit isolated and kind of out of the way. But that really makes it the true London hidden gem that it is. A place you really have to seek out or care about to find. And when you do, you know it’s yours and isn’t going to be beset by tourists. Yes the tourists are all fantastic, we absolutely love living in a place that people want to come all over the world to and we very much feel a sense of pride of that in our own Camden Town. But to know the places that are yours, that the tourists don’t know about – unless they really, really look – can be its own special thing too. It’s really what makes you a local. And knowing places like Ten To One and hopefully becoming part of them is what truly makes you a London local. And also being apart like it is, I’m guessing makes it a bit easier to attract and build its own local crowd. Its own community. And to have a chance of becoming part of that is its own kind of special. 

Day 241

Tuesday March 5

I told you life had got in the way a little bit. I think you can see that now with these last few entries being quite far apart. February 4, February 20, and now March 5. But here we are. Out and ready to go again. And yeah, I think I can say that we are pretty much on the trail again. It begins tonight with a return to Ant’s bar, The Ten To One Cocktail Bar in Tottenham. 

And once more a wonderful night of music, comedy and general hanging out and chatting to all the different acts and audience members. But there’s a slight shift for us tonight. We’re held right back until the very end when we’re actually called to close the show. We had no idea that was going to happen until Den announced us as the last act of the night. Second time out and we get that privilege. Fantastic. We grab it with all four of our hands and totally smash it with I Like You (Better When You’re Naked) – Ant had heard this one but we decided it really was time to unleash it on everyone else in here – an absolutely breathless My Game My Rules – of which we get our first full recording – and Fire. This is one of our more gentle songs although it does have a barnstorming finish. It’s also nice to show we can do something a bit more controlled and reserved. I feel it’s like we’re saying, look, we don’t have to blow the doors off every single time. Although to be fair, before we get to Fire, we already have pretty much blown the doors right off and everyone’s just desperately holding on to try not to get blown out with them. The reactions have been huge again tonight. And again, Ant seems to be really into what we’re doing. Yes. We really are feeling good about this venue. It’s relatively far out when you live in Camden with everything on your doorstep, but as I was saying in the last entry, very much worth the journey.