Tuesday 11-11 - Dodos by the River

I woke up earlier than usual. Karen, Aiden and I hopped the train to the outer zones to visit my great aunt. It can be a bot of a trek to get out there, especially with the pram. But I hadn´t seen her in a while and my London clock was rapidly ticking. The tube stop nearest to her is above ground. It 2 sets of stairs and two down, with no lift and no one around to help life a pram. Which is kind of annoying. But off we went.

It was nice seeing her again. In true Jewish style, she was anxious to feed her guests. I was so full by the end of the visit. She was delighted to see Aiden. We all chatted and caught up on the comings and goings of the family.

We stood on platform 3, waiting for the next train to London. The speaker told us that the next train would leave from platform 1 instead. So up the stairs we carry the pram and down the other set. A few minutes later we are told that the next train will in fact be leaving from platform 3 after all. Gah. Up the stairs, down the stairs. And all without waking the baby up.

Back in London we stopped off at Corams fields to show him the ducks and the rooster. I liked the autumn leaves now covering the ground.



The flat was filled with people all there for different reasons. We got some take out salads to tide us over. Josh arrived just in time for the gig. The three of us set out for Shepherds Bush to see Okkervil River and The Dodos. The new station there was finally open and very impressive. We waited for Maria and Eva to meet us outside the club. While we waited we chatted to the Dodos´ street team. It was getting cold, so we moved inside to wait.



We found a place near the front of the stage with short people. Eva and Maria turned up and we all waited for the Dodos. I got excited when I saw their trash can drums set up.



They were just like I remembered them from Belgium - full of energy and inspiringly good. I smiled along as they played my favourites Red and Purple and Jodie. Wow,his voice is just fantastic.



Okkervil River. Wow they were amazing. So much more energy than last time. His voice was great and everyone was in full swing. He played four or five songs off the new album. They played almost everything off The Stage Names, including Girl In Port as encore.



They played Stone off Black Sheep Boy to a tearful crowd. I lost all my breath when the lights beamed down onto Will Sheff as he started a perfect rendition of my favourite track, The War Criminal Rises and Speaks.



At the end of the night my ears were ringing and I was happy.