29/7/01 - The Bowl 2001 - Crystal Palace Park - Sarf LondonI didn't know quite what to expect from this gig as the last time I had seen a gig at The Bowl was in the 80's when I went to see Orange Juice. The Bowl itself has been completely rebuilt since then but is still in it's original setting in a beautiful parkland valley. It is an unusual venue in that it has a big lake in front of the stage (it probably has crocodiles in it, we were too scared to paddle). Anyway... We arrived safely at around four o'clock after watching a very exciting Grand Prix on the TV. There were to be 11 bands playing today, all of them unsigned, all of them from Sarf London. As a showcase for Sarf London talent it does a fantastic job. The gig circuit around here is pretty poor and is only now beginning to pick up after being in the doldrums for about 20 years. Festivals like this will help re-establish Sarf London's musical pride, put us back on the gig map and save me from having to go to bloody Camden every time I want to see a band! We had missed the first 5 bands by the time we had arrived but thing were in full flow and Stegg were onstage doing their psychedelic punk thing. A great band, I'd like to see them again soon. We had a wander out into the arena to meet up with friends and family and the atmosphere was greats. Kids were playing with water in the heat whilst parents gossiped about their neighbours etc. My nieces Laura, Rachel and Hermoine were there to see UNCLEDROPEMOFF for the first time, so they were really excited. I don't know whether or not they liked the gig though as I didn't see them afterwards. There were some fine performances over the next few hours and a few beers later, it was our turn to strut out stuff. I must thanks the sound engineer for giving me the best onstage sound I've had for years. I can even forgive the PA system for completely cutting out from time to time as the sound was so sweet when it was working. I guess that Abdou were just too hot for the system! It was a great gig, we even had a mini stage invasion, a kind of homage to the Philip Schofield technique. Umbrellas were waving during Maria's Umbrella, all sort of things were going on in the crowd. The most amazing thing was that nobody left whilst we were playing. I expected a mass exodus, with people rushing to escape form the awful din, but to my great surprise they all stayed and were very appreciative. It was a reasonably big crowd too, the biggest Abdou had ever played to. I enjoyed it enormously, my favourite gig for a while I'd say. Big thanks to Sound Of The Suburbs for putting on such a great gig. Charlotte, Rik, Wayne and everyone else involved deserve a big slap on the back for their efforts. Thanks also to Abdou crew Chris, Der, Bam Bam, we love ya! I'll deffo go next year. |