MrBen

According to my accounts I've spent best part of two grand on black cab fares in past few years- mostly back to SE22 from all round town. So I now know the patterns pretty well and always give them a bit of stick about this when it comes up in cab banter. They know the score. A lot is down to your attitude - state firmly ED, look them in the eye then quickly go to open the door. Whilst I like Seany Macs hold em up at camera-point plan - in truth its unlikely to go down that well! Their basic gripe is that they don't get a fare back into town after a drop in ED compared to say Camden or Clapham but that's a short term view. Financial averages mostly work out over time. Most cabbies agree that the job is about taking the rough with the smooth. I've been refused at the rank at London Bridge and they are then obliged to leave quickly. Then the cabbie behind me accepts, asks why I was refused and usually calls the guy in front a few choice names as it gives the decent guys a bad rep. But these drivers do still exist so give as good as you get Gordon Ramsey style if they say no and start to drive off. Timing is also relevant - try getting a fare from Soho at about 4pm on a Wednesday and you'll get a few moans as its taking them out the west end at peak pick up time. Its an equation in their head as to the perfect revenue generating day - but it's daft thinking as they cant fully control the variables. Overall its way better than even 4 years ago (as gentrification HAS meant more black cab fares back, especially from the city). ED is now firmly on the black cab map. And like the quidster says, I honestly rarely get any problems now. There are several cabbies living in ED (Bawdale and Whately road) but I never seem to get them on their last ride home!

Yesterdays dilemma. The Rye for forum drinks. Or free backstage access at Hyde Park sipping cocktails on a white leather sofa with The Phenomenal Handclap Band Hope you'll forgive me.

MrBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Business angle: > > Spare a thought (but not too much) for Randy > Phillips, chief exec of AEG Live the promoters for > the 50 night run at the O2. > > "We were unable to get insurance beyond his first > 10 nights so are prepared to self insure the > remaining 40". "It's a small price to pay to > return the King of Pop back to his fans" said > Phillips in a previous Guardian interview > > The 40 night run would have cost AEG about $220M > to cover internally - a whopping exposure for > which they have basically taken a gamble on as > potential returns were so high. My first thought > is that this is sufficient to make them > insolvent. > > Nice work Randy! Quick update on 200M dollar loser Randy - as expected he now wants to turn the 50 night run into a tribute concert as "its the best thing to do for the family and the fans". Randy. Wake up. It's over.

Ah. I've also played this game. It's not nerdy at all. No really. My best was 23 minutes from London Bridge to Landells Road. Train to ED then again it's all about luckily timing the P13 aka the "Magic Bus". It doesn't come often but when it does and you time it right its like travelling through time itself.

I'd be rather worried if everyone on here loved Springsteen. It would almost be like everyone in ED buying the same paper - oh wait - they do! I'm not a massive life long fan but I appreciate what they're about and have the Boss within my general spectrum of appreciation. The Who were hilarious at Glasto in 2007 - no eye contact, separate dressing rooms, no hands held at the end - they clearly dislike each other intensely now and were only there for the cash. The Boss looked like he wouldn't rather be anywhere else. Nice to see once in a while. Enjoyed Faith No More last month too! Must get out to more gigs this summer...any other biggies coming along?

Review?! It was every bit as good as I?d hoped for. Good vibe, great gig , nice crowd well up for it and dry and sunny. His set was longer than Glasto ? he came onto a sunny stage early at 7.10pm and by my watch hit his last note at 10.02pm - almost 3 hours and in that time I didn?t see him leave the stage. Not many bands who can do that. They're stupidly tight they look like they like each other and enjoying themselves. Unlike The Who for example. In the tradition of the very best bar bands (where they started) they can turn on a sixpence. Great to watch for the musicianship alone but he?s got some great lyrics and is a storyteller ? that?s really what Springsteen is about for me. And as Carnell says ? he's almost Dylanesque in that respect. Performance wise, it ranked up there with seeing Bowie play a legendary set at Glastonbury or seeing Paul McCartney?s band. A great performer and funny at times ? he?s just very comfortable in front of 50,000 people. e.g. After tripping on one of his many sprints up the stairs , he lay on the stage on his back screaming ?Get me an elevator, I?m f**king 60!? which, if you saw it at the time, was hilarious. And all before jumping perfectly back into the groove. The Boss opened with London Calling , a nice touch and finished with Dancing in the Dark.... A tip for future ? they actually still had about 150 tickets for sale at the Box Office in the park for ?45 ? seems they always hold a few back for on the day sales. Another plus was the most efficient bar I have ever seen at a large outdoor gig ? no wait time at any point , organised, lanes directing people in and about 30 staff serving in each one. Full marks for that! :)-D

Got in about 12.30 am after a night of music with the most orangey lit weirdest crowd/vibe yet. But that's enough about Boho bar. Turned on the telly and saw The Boss's taught frame LITERALLY SMOKING before quickly switching off and heading for bed. Can't spoil tonight. Was he really on fire at this point or was it the effects my seventh Highland Park?

2 years ago my mate watched the Boss played a sell out 1 night just before Christmas at the O2. By all accounts it was a truely great gig.......until the encore. He went off....the lights went out...what would he finish with? Dancing in the Dark of course! Which made sense as he hadn't played it yet. But no..he came back on with the band in santa hats...turned the lights up full (as if it was over) and played Santa Clause is coming to Town. Badly. I'm really hoping he tries to end on a better note on Sunday (and not on a middling cover of Billie Jean).

And while I'm at it - a weird favourite clip of James Brown, MJ and Prince on stage together. For perhaps the first and only time. It should be great. A meeting of legends. But it's a shambles. MJ starts well with some signature moves and a good vocal. Prince is drunk and carried to the stage on the shoulders of a Hells angel. They don't know what to do. So Prince takes his top off. It's weird, shambolic and yet genius at the same time. Check it out.

Thats a pop up restaurant for you! I blame Macroban. :)

I DONT UNDERSTAND the Elvis thing. I heard my first Elvis record several years after I had built up my collection of old Blues records by Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy and lesser known greats like Guitar Slim, Lightning Hopkins. So to my ears Elvis was rip off merchant - a white sanitized bubble gum version of The Truth. And someone who got the credit for the sound that all the unsung black artists before him made. There is a long, great tradition of showmanship in black music that brings us to where we are today. Guitar Slim for example was one of the first acts to play a distorted guitar (in 1950) with a ground breaking stage act that included playing his guitar with his teeth and behind his head. Buddy Guy picked a lot of his stuff up from that act (he still does it now if you are lucky enough to see him live). But all this was long before Hendrix, the Stones etc picked up their influence. So with that historical context, Jackson took this tradition of showmanship to the mainstream - where previous black acts had largely been marginalised to some extent. A point some hack was attempting to make on a very tedious Newsnight last night. I'd argue that even the great Godfather of Soul didn't really crossover until his mid 80's Living in America years.... For that alone Jackson's legacy is significant.

Bit of a "moment" right at the end of Neil Young I thought...

Business angle: Spare a thought (but not too much) for Randy Phillips, chief exec of AEG Live the promoters for the 50 night run at the O2. "We were unable to get insurance beyond his first 10 nights so are prepared to self insure the remaining 40". "It's a small price to pay to return the King of Pop back to his fans" said Phillips in a previous Guardian interview The 40 night run would have cost AEG about $220M to cover internally - a whopping exposure for which they have basically taken a gamble on as potential returns were so high. My first thought is that this is sufficient to make them insolvent. Nice work Randy!

I'm with Keef's 2nd post above re. his past. Call me naive too. But thats my gut feel. And I find it incredible anyone even contemplated 50 nights at the O2. We all kind of WANTED him to be good /well / bit of the old magic. But it was really about money grabbing fat men in suits and a fragile faded star looking to find himself again. There is real tragedy in that I think. Will not suprise me if it comes to pass that that pressure was just too much. Writing a pop record better than Thriller was in its day (and still now) is not easy. It was arguably the greatest pop record of the 80's and will still be being played on digital radios or whatever in 50 years time....

I have a BB gun that fires plastic .22 balls that can sting at 3 feet. Normally used for cats crapping on my vegetable patch.

The best I have had in ED was at an Irish chums place. Home made. Deep fat fryer from East Dulwich DIY. Fried 3 time in ground nut oil from Sainsburys. Delicious.

The Boss is now a true American legend. As Carnell rightly says - a genius storyteller with a repertoire that goes way beyond his 80 synth pop GLORY DAYS. And his band are as tight as gnats chuff Live. Not to mention the Soprano's! I very luckily managed to wangle two freebies from my music journo pals who are all getting muddy and wasted at Glasto. Hyde Park is not my favourite outdoor venue if there's a breeze but unlike Glasto I can get home in 40 mins and have a hot shower. It promises to be a great night - can't wait. All hail The Boss.

Chica - I think you have exhausted the subject but feel free to continue (at risk of boring the rest of us senseless). At the end of the day Sushi in this context is just some bar food on the side. And this is just a bar in a part of south east London so keep your pants on. Better would be to actually visit the place and perhaps post a constructive review on the BAR, perhaps dare I say, something positive which I believe it rightly deserves? Or show the courage to start your own dedicated sushi place! I believe there are few cheap leases about....

I really do think you all need to get over the sushi thing. Lighten up - this is a BAR. It's primary purpose is to serve DRINKS. And I happen to think Boho is a quality little operation put together with some thought, detail and attention to the drinks by an entrepreneurial risk taking mind doing something a little different. In a recession. Why don't you try actually try visiting the place and ordering a DRINK instead of waffling on here about sushi. What a bunch of muppets.

WAIT. I'll take my tongue out my cheek and TA DAAAH...it's a decent post again. And no I didn't try the sushi.

Amazing that this post has had 151 views.

Righto. I guess it falls to me then....but frankly I'm staggered. Just two years ago a new bar would have been a major forum talking point and generated heated Mrs Merton style debate. Why not now? Is it because the average forumite is now 35+ and too busy thinking about IVF/ nappies? Or because Boho is seen as another sushi-band-wagon-jumping filling a gap bar for 18 year old kids. Or have we reached some kind of saturation point and are now wallowing in a deep malaise where we just don't care anymore? Because if so then we are rolling over compadres. And one step from the neutered non-descript gentile blandness that stole Clapham's identity. A shift that saw the Las Vegas stripification of once desirable streets and before you know it Bawdale road will have more vomit and half eaten kebabs tossed into front gardens than you can comfortably count on a Sunday morning. Anyway Boho has opened and I went there tonight....you might not care but here's what I thought: Firstly, they've spent money on the place. A polished granite bar with rolled leather trim. Quality sound system, nicely hidden electrics, well soundproofed. Decor wise it's ahead of rest and depending on your view it's either funky Temple of the Sun God with seating from the USS Enterprise or Dos Amigos gone wrong (and on fire). I really liked it. I only counted about 6 seats and 4 bar stools so expect to stand on a Friday night. Probably with 18 year olds but that's ok. Cocktails were good. And real. Not your watery, coloured, take your hoodie off Adventure Bar, Bon Jovi 3 for 1 efforts. And it has a nice downstairs bar that if you can hire it out would def solve the central ED party space dilemma. Music was kind of Brazilian pop samba diffusion groove. Or rip off Merchant Msrk Ronson Remixed. I cant remember as Mrs Ben fell off her stool and we had to leave. Anyways - whatever forthcoming posts declare - I liked it and will use it as a lively pit stop on my Saturday nights on the lane. Or for a quiet drunken Monday night with a nice girl. And did I mention I had awesome pasta at Il Mirto for less than a Boho Mojito?! Hooray for the new East Dulwich!

Have I missed something? No ED Forum first night reviews of Boho? Anyone been or are you all still hiding in your houses from CRIME?

The Clockhouse first opened as a pub back in 1972 - before that I think it used to be a garage. When it opened all walls were covered in clocks of all kinds giving it the name. A kind of early take on a theme pub concept guess. I was told this by Bill, a sprightly pensioner supping a pint whom I spoke to at the world famous Barry Barry Run last weekend. bill also told me that back then, in the early hours of New Year there would be a race of Irish men from the Irish club on Lordship Lane round Peckham Rye and Nunhead - a distance of 3-4 miles. Bill said that this was a test of prowess and that like the Barry Barry run they all had "beer in their bellies". Interesting stuff....

I've just worked out i can sell my tiny flat in ED and buy a 7 bed mansion with jacuzzi and helipad in Queens Road Peckham - so plan to upsticks to there in 2010.