Redemption (2)???

The Ian Sherman Benefit Gig at D-22 last night was a very fine affair.

Well, OK, we didn't get any actual music until 9.30 (I knew that 7pm start they'd been advertising was going to turn out to be a rotten fib; but when I arrived at 8.30 I was earnestly assured that The Gar were about to go on at any minute...... Hmmm.), but that's really not too bad. I've had experiences at that place in the past where the show hasn't got under way much before midnight - and that's a long time to be hanging around twiddling your thumbs in a bar where it's notoriously difficult to get served a drink. 9.30pm is an entirely sensible start time. Ah, well, there had been one 'act' a little earlier than that - a knob-twiddling solo experimentalist who seemed to be curious just how shrill he could make his electronic howls and screeches before somebody lynched him - but the main event kicked off around 9.30.

All the bands in a consistently strong line-up seemed fired up to play their best, and it was a little disappointing that they only got 20 minutes or so each. And I think I liked openers, The Gar, best of all, and would have preferred to have seen them further down the bill. Also, I confess that, having seen quite a bit of them elsewhere recently, I found myself a little too weary to stay on for final band, RandomK(e). A most excellent evening, though.

I hadn't wanted to say anything negative about the event in my notice about it the other day, because it was put on in Ian's honour to help raise money for his cancer treatment - and thus I wouldn't have wanted to discourage anyone from going. However, as is well-known to my regular readers, I have a passionate aversion to the D-22 bar: I have almost never had a good experience there before.

The transformation of the place last night was almost unbelievable. Was I just in a positive frame of mind because of the purpose of the evening, untypically generous of spirit, reining in my critical inclinations for once? No, I don't think so. Everything I used to hate about the place has changed. Everything. It's actually looking as if it might at last have become the tolerably decent bar and premier live music venue it has long pretended to be. Whether this is the result of conscious policy (the management perhaps having finally taken on board the criticisms of myself, and of numerous others?) or just a happy accident, I can't say. The cynic in me suspects that it might have been a bit of a one-off fluke, and that the place will relapse into its former direness before long. But let's hope not. For now, it's off the 'Hate List'. And it might just get on to the 'Favourite Bars' list in time, if they can maintain last night's showing.

I knew something was up as soon as I walked in the door...... and heard Lou Reed greatest hits blasting out of the speakers...... much louder than they usually play the pre-gig music, and yet strangely crisp & clear, the bass not going all muffly. The sound remained consistently good throughout the night (although there were some problems of the vocal levels not always being high enough - difficult to get the balance sorted out when so many different bands are on in quick succession); even at the back of the main room, where the sound gets squelched by the mezzanine balcony above, it wasn't coming over too badly. And there wasn't a single equipment failure all night. Not one. Unheard of! The question is, why could they never manage this before? And will they be able to achieve it again in the future? (My buddy, Nat the Producer, helping out in a nebulous 'behind the scenes' way, claimed that he and a friend had worked some nameless magic on the PA before the show.)

There were other wonders on display last night too. The draft beer was some of the best I've tasted in this town. And it was cold. What's more, despite a fairly strong crowd, there was never any problem getting served. This is a revolution perhaps more important than the remedying of the dreadful sound system. In place of the former crew of 6 or 7 or more hopelessly inert bar staff (mostly, as far as I recall, pretty Chinese girls who were treating the job as an opportunity to snag a foreign boyfriend, or friends of the owner who were treating it as a chance to watch the bands for free), there are now just two permanent barmen - but they're really, really good: courteous, efficient, attentive. Yes, attentive! They actually keep a constant watch on the customers at the bar to see who's got an empty glass, who's trying to order a drink. This is almost unheard of in China!! Wherever did they find these guys? Who trained them?? A miracle indeed.

It is quite inspiring, isn't it, life-affirming in fact, that even the most utterly shite bars can drag themselves out of the mire? Will D-22 be able to keep this up? I do hope so.