Perks of the job

At the end of play yesterday one of my colleagues started wandering around the office muttering something about The xx. After missing out on Monday night's gig at the Roundhouse as part of the iTunes Festival (which 3 of my friends attended) I screeched "Me, me, meeeeeeeeee!" and hastily snatched the tickets out of his hands. Two free tickets to see The xx at Somerset House - WIN! Turns out one of the producers had bought the tickets and then couldn't go.

So I had an hour to find someone to go with. Many phone calls ensued with the recipients cursing their friends and families or anyone else who they'd previously made plans with. Turns out that my friend Lucy was about to surprise our friend Gary with tickets that she'd bought him for his birthday so Gary's girlfriend Jade took my extra ticket and the four of us set off to Somerset House (via a drink at The Lyceum).

We lamented our lack of suitable rain protection as we wandered across the road to Somerset House but made our way nonetheless because we weren't going to let a bit of drizzle put us off.

There was a bit of drama getting in as Jade got swept away by a security guard only to reappear and beckon me to join her outside. They started asking me the postcode and the last 4 digits of the card number of the person that purchased the tickets. Ridiculous! But after a while they changed their minds and let us go in anyway (only after I'd called the producers' assistant to see if she knew the details they were after, to which the response was "Errrr...").

We were in! Success! To the bar! I knew it would be expensive in there but a pint of Pimms was £8. £8?! I opted for a pint for Carling at £3.80 (Jade was buying though so maybe I shouldn't have been such a good Samaritan and gone for the Pimms). We headed over towards the stage to find a good vantage point. Rain droplets plopped into my pint as we pondered why none of the support acts had been announced. None of us knew who they were but all agreed that despite looking a bit like students mucking around in their university bedrooms they were quite good.

We watched the clock (literally a massive clock in the courtyard of Somerset House) waiting for The xx to come on stage. Then finally, they did. I won't list out the set list or describe the timbre or any of that shit but here follows a brief summary of my feelings about the gig.

The band were pretty tight, they mentioned they'd been touring for a year and a half and I imagine you get pretty tight after all those gigs so nothing shocking there. Some of my enjoyment of their husky tones and melancholic riffs may have been hampered by the crowd. To my right was a girl who insisted on moving around vigorously (not sure you could call it dancing) when everyone else seemed happy with a gentle sway. To my left was a couple who can only be described as sickly and smug. Although in front of me was an extremely attractive young man, so swings and roundabouts. The music was definitely good, the bassline rumbled through the courtyard and my chest, the staccato guitar riffs pierced the air and their voices harmonized all nice like. The atmosphere was somewhat lacking though. I felt a bit sorry for bassist, Oliver Sim, when he announced that they'd been looking forward to the gig for a long time, in one the sincerest thank you speeches I've ever heard from a band. Maybe it was the rain, maybe it was Boppy McGee elbowing me unnecessarily. But really I reckon the problem was me. I was waiting for it to get a bit more euphoric, for something to drop and for everyone to suddenly go mental. I was waiting for that part of the night when the crowd surges forward and your feet get lifted off the floor. Maybe I've been hanging out in the dance tent too long.

There was a confetti bomb though. Always a winner.



The xx are definitely worth a punt (although apparently they won't be playing in London for a while now) and were a lovely unexpected Tuesday night treat for me.

Read my good friend Amy's review of The xx at the iTunes festival here.