Week Seven
This week kicked off in a big way. Three new places in total and all of them (two in particular) were quality. We kicked off proceedings at Earls Court on Friday to watch Avicii (Oh my god he's so commercial). Saturday it was two birthday parties to go to (Partyman and all that) with a superb meal at Steam and Rye followed by a bit of nightclub ping pong at Ping.
Special guests this week include: Jamie Collins, Katrina Lennon, Will Matthews, Josh Beebee, Brynne Mccord, Ed Morris, Tom Grimes, Richard Pearce, Tom Wright, Haz Scott (Birthday Girl), Rob Buchanon (Celeb), Chris Kroeger, Freddie Dixon, Chris Hazell (Biggest fan), Bex Murphy, Aimee Pyatt, Lucy Tedstone (Birthday girl), Charlie Jordan, Briony Jones, Alex Jagger and Dan Cowling to name a few.
Special guests this week include: Jamie Collins, Katrina Lennon, Will Matthews, Josh Beebee, Brynne Mccord, Ed Morris, Tom Grimes, Richard Pearce, Tom Wright, Haz Scott (Birthday Girl), Rob Buchanon (Celeb), Chris Kroeger, Freddie Dixon, Chris Hazell (Biggest fan), Bex Murphy, Aimee Pyatt, Lucy Tedstone (Birthday girl), Charlie Jordan, Briony Jones, Alex Jagger and Dan Cowling to name a few.
Summary of Earls Court
Name: Earls Court
Type: Entertainment Venue/Stadium
Date Visited: 21/2/14
Price: Standard gig prices
Rating: 3/5
Review
This place is a big old boy and what better way to go to a new stadium/arena for the first time then to watch the main man Avicii. I can hear all the 'scene' crowd going 'I hate Avicii, he's so commercial !' You are not wrong, he is commercial but the man is awesome so do one.
There was a very young crowd amongst the crew and, of course, a fair amount of chavs. That said there was a big group of us so we didn't notice the white lightning gangs too much and focused on the music. Earls Court arena is huge so the atmosphere was hindered slighty but there were plenty of bars around so queues for drinks were small so it was nice and quick to stay hydrated and miss minimal amounts of Avicii's 'set' (sorry for that heinous cringe word) which is thoroughly important at venues.
Overall the venue is good but maybe too big as everyone loves to be a little cramped at these sort of events. Adds to the occasion I always think, so for that I can only give this a 3. Better venue, if you're asking, is Brixton's O2 Academy. Avicii nailed it though.
Not entirely sure what I'm doing here. Strong look
Summary of Steam and Rye
Name: Steam and Rye
Type: Restuarant and late night bar
Date Visited: 22/2/14
Price: Worth it
Rating: 4/5
Review
What a tidy establishment this is. We were there to celebrate Haz Scotts 25th Birthday so we had an American style booth/table for around ten of us. Smart. Good bottled beer was on offer, service with a smile too by a nice barmaid, some cabaret style dancers on stage and THE food was magnificent. Not every day you get to have a Lobster in a brioche (or breesh as I pronounced it, which the table for some reason found amusing) bun and my word, that was the ticket.
Admittedly this meal was post England V Ireland and few jars had been drunk, which always makes food taste better, but honest to god it was exceptional. A cocktail then arrived on the house, in the name of Scotty's birthday, which was presented inside a T-Rex's head (see photo at the end). Nice touch. Paid the bill as I was off to Ping but serious thumbs up for this joint. £62 for the pleasure? Fair in my eyes. It was shame I couldn't stay for the whole evening as it turns into a club and those who stayed tell me it was a great fun. Would love to come back.
What a tidy establishment this is. We were there to celebrate Haz Scotts 25th Birthday so we had an American style booth/table for around ten of us. Smart. Good bottled beer was on offer, service with a smile too by a nice barmaid, some cabaret style dancers on stage and THE food was magnificent. Not every day you get to have a Lobster in a brioche (or breesh as I pronounced it, which the table for some reason found amusing) bun and my word, that was the ticket.
Admittedly this meal was post England V Ireland and few jars had been drunk, which always makes food taste better, but honest to god it was exceptional. A cocktail then arrived on the house, in the name of Scotty's birthday, which was presented inside a T-Rex's head (see photo at the end). Nice touch. Paid the bill as I was off to Ping but serious thumbs up for this joint. £62 for the pleasure? Fair in my eyes. It was shame I couldn't stay for the whole evening as it turns into a club and those who stayed tell me it was a great fun. Would love to come back.
T-Rex cocktail.
Summary of Ping
Name: Ping
Type: Kitchen/Bar/Ping Pong Game Rooms
Date Visited: 22/2/14
Price: Yer fairly decent you know
Rating: 3.25 / 5
Review
As you all know I love a bit of ping pong (see Week 4) and that incorporated into a nightclub/bar where on earth can you go wrong. I had good preparation for this bar with the exquisite (big and clever word) feed from Steam and Rye and I had a nice sleep on the tube enroute to Ping. A group of Italians sitting next to me and opposite seemed to be highly amused by this while my mates kindly stood by and filmed the whole episode.
Passare, we entered Ping paying the £10 entry fee which seems to be standard in London now and we then greeted Lucy (second birthday girl) and the other girls at the bar. Now I'm not one to brag but when my biggest fan, Will, Lefty and I arrived we were welcomed by the girls like One Direction are welcomed when arriving on stage. Drinks were priced well and some weird South Africa fella bought all of us a load of Tequila shots at the bar which helped.
The table tennis was a good laugh too but unlike the Royal Oak there wasn't enough room to operate for the game to be competitive. People kept wanting to join in mid game, this isn't an exhibition sport son.... move on there is a game going on here. Plenty more dancing followed and before we knew it the night was quickly over so it was time for 20 Mcnuggets and a taxi home. No complaints, would come back here.
Poem Advice
Venue to watch a genius
The man Avicii at Earls Court
Fairly hard to seem him
Especially if you're short
Steam and Rye in central
The food is reem
Cocktails in a T-Rex
That's bloody obscene!
Table tennis in a bar?
Ping it must be
Drinking and ping pong
Sounds good to me
Thanks again guys for the read and, if you're asking, the blog has garnered some interest from TimeOut London. To save you some time Caroline McGinn (she's the editor) my email address is jackgravestock@hotmail.com and I would be thoroughly interested in writing a column. Any venues who want to approach me to go their venue (he says wishfully) then do let me know. Who knows it could get you a point.
Anyways I must dash as I am off to Madrid tomorrow. Week 8 is going to be big! More like a journal.
Anyways I must dash as I am off to Madrid tomorrow. Week 8 is going to be big! More like a journal.
See you next week fans
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