RadiO2head (sans Bends)

Last week, I was lucky enough to get Radiohead tickets at the O2 Arena, Greenwich (thanks EBM). I have known about the band for a number of years - they've been around for as long as I've been alive - but didn't really 'get' them for a long time. I think it was first year of uni, when I started rinsing the Internet and downloading back catalogs on Limewire and BitTorrent,  that the interest really kicked off.

Like many others, before and since, I knew Radiohead for Creep, Karma Police etc., but not much else, and had a similar knee-jerk reaction to others whenever someone mentions the band; haunting, beautiful, but wrist-slittingly depressive music.



The Bends; an incredible album from first song to last

But after the realisation that you could leave your laptop on overnight and download everything a  band had ever done, I quickly became intrigued by their albums OK Computer, and particularly The Bends, which I would have to put in my top ten albums of all time. I did write top five, but after three Led Zep albums there ain't much space left!



Great songs (feels wrong to call them tunes; almost gives them a finite lifespan) such as Fake Plastic Trees, High and Dry, Planet Telex, The Bends and the divine Street Spirit (Fade Out) are now classics. But the band have moved on a lot since 1995, and I've missed out on seven other albums. Naively thinking I'd hear some of The Bends, I skipped to the O2 arena expecting a singalong!

Obviously, that's not how it works - when a band go on tour, they do so to sell records, and they played a lot of stuff from their latest album, King of Limbs, including opening the show with the superb Lotus Flower (the video for which features Tom Yorke acting out what would happen if a scarecrow got tasered - or Tom Harrod dancing).

That set the tone for the rest of the evening; incredible bass, a wild and vibrant lights show, giant TV screens hovering and floating above the band, changing instruments for each song, but above and beyond everything it amazed me how tight they were as a band. Over 20 years at the top of their game really showed. It was a brilliant night listening to some world-class musicians.

An unusually stationary Thom Yorke

Thom Yorke was a fluid entity on stage, leaping around everywhere, microphone in hand, or guitar  slung across him, if not sitting pouring heart and soul into the piano. And I must mention Jonny Greenwood, who was really attacking his guitar on every note. A truly talented musician. But he must have been shattered after the gig!

After seeing such a well put together show, I am happy to say I am now hooked, and am going to be listening to all of their albums in the next few weeks. However, next time I think I'll listen to the band's stuff BEFORE the gig!

I'll leave you now. It's almost time for the pub quiz, but first I'm going to play The Bends really loudly.



The Lamb Brewery, Chiswick

I need glasses. There, I said it. Been putting it off for about two years now, which is about the time I last visited the opticians. And that was only because my sister worked at Boots and got me a free eye test!  My right eye is pretty horrific at long distance, which is really pissing off my left eye, as it has to do almost of the work for anything more than ten feet away. Cheers, right eye!

 

The Lamb Brewery, just off Chiswick High Road

To console myself, and break up visiting every opticians in the borough looking for that awkward first pair of glasses, I went for lunch down in Chiswick last Saturday and visited the new Lamb Brewery.

Operating off the site of the old Barley Mow on Chiswick High Road, a haunt of PJ and Duncan apparently, the Lamb opened its doors a month or so ago, and includes a microbrewery just inside the front door. A sister pub of the well-known Botanist, Kew, the Lamb brews the lagers on site (as they take 'less time than real ale' - I was told from behind the bar!) and the Botanist carries on their good work in cask.

 I have previously visited with a few work colleagues from Fuller's on a bit of a recce, and found that the pub didn't seem ready to be open, so I wanted to give it a real chance. Me and my girlfriend arrived about 1pm and the pub was quite quiet, so we quickly ordered at the bar and chose to sit outside.

There is a really nice, large outdoor seating area at the front of the pub, which is preceded by a big 'vicarage gate' that acts as the official entrance.  I liked the use of beer barrels and dark wood outside, and there is a variety of seating choices outside depending on your occasion and who you are with.

I do love a good brewpub - my hometown of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk has a couple of great ones (the long-standing Old Cannon Brewery and the new Brewshed), but I was a bit concerned to see the equipment so close to the door, which must be affecting the beer with changes in temperature.... Brewers, please tell me otherwise!

Back to the bar, and there was a nice range, including a mixture of LBA and regional brewers, and a fantastic collection of bottled beers on full display behind the bar. But I was only really interested in trying some of the brewpub's own creations. This was lager, but I thought I'd give it a chance to explain itself. The barman was very knowledgeable and suggested the Helles and the Pilsner.

I went for the Helles first, a style of beer I didn't know much about, but was filled in well by the chap behind the bar. It was a pleasant (hmmm), straw coloured beer with a nice citrus nose balanced with a good malty base. Nothing to write home about. It also lost a lot of condition mid-way through my half pint.

I then tried a Pilsner, another style I really don't know much about - I must wangle a trip to Europe with work! This was far better; a delicious, smooth, creamy vanilla-flavoured golden lager, with a hint of spice and a mellow, dry finish. Really nice beer, and a huge cut above the Helles.

Then came the food - very impressive. On the menu there were beer matches and suggestions with each dish, and I chose the Pilsner because it was suggested to go well with the blue cheese and my beefburger.

My burger was really spot on. Great double-cooked chips and a perfect, slightly-rare burger, just how they should be! My girlfriend's shepherds pie was also really good. Obviously freshly cooked, and with some lovely cheesy mash on top and accompanied by some fresh veg (the carrots looked home grown!).

There were some really nice touches in the pub, that really worked in its favour; hops and malts in glass cases inside the tables, tasters of 9 beers for £10 (which will be great once there are enough different beers!), good staff knowledge and really cute 'I'm resting' chalkboards for beers not yet on.

All in all, a young site that I shall certainly be going back to again, when they have a few more weeks and a few more brews under their belt.

But wait, I hear you cry, what was the outcome of the Opticians Predicament? Well you'll be pleased to know I am looking at something really special for my first pair of glasses - black, narrow but with thick frames... And a lime green inlay. That or some 'Deirdre Barlows'....