Terminal 5, Smashing Time, Chas & Dave and the Love Me Do Club

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PARSLEY'S COMMLOCK

Travel News: Terminal 5
Sometimes you have to lose a battle to win a war. As peoples' flights are cancelled, and bags are lost on a gargantuan and high profile scale, you might be forgiven for thinking that the fiasco at Terminal 5 has no redeeming aspects. However, it does.

In my professional life I have been responsible for several major projects, including re-launches of big web sites and setting up of disaster recovery systems for when computers go wrong. Inevitably the pressure is on to get the thing done quick or 'on the cheap'. A project manager I know who was responsible for the implementation of a big international financial system had new things dumped on him when there already wasn't enough time. Systems had to be made to go live without getting an 'all clear' from testing.

The calculation organisations make is that the risk of it going wrong is so small that the cost of 'doing it properly' isn't justified. Worse still, if the project manager has 'done it properly' and made sure fiascos didn't happen previously, then their reward is to be told that what they did apparently wasn't necessary and so this time they're going to do without it.

In 4 syllables 'Terminal 5' has become a 'trump card' that project managers can use whenever these pressures to drop the quality come up. Do we really need to do comprehensive testing of the new system? Do we really need to keep the old system going for a while once the new system is switched on? Let me see now… Terminal 5. You tell me.

Concert Review : Smashing Time/Chas & Dave, 100 Club 04/04/08
Enjoyed a splendid birthday knees up, courtesy of Jim Bishop and the Smashing Time boys, at this legendary West End club. It was a fairly early start at 8:30pm, but Smashing Time promptly exploded into action with 'BBC' (from the first Austin Powers film).

The sound here sometimes suffers from the club's shape (long and relatively thin) and some vocals were a little 'muffled', but you couldn't fault the band for their high-energy crowd rousing action, including brass section on several numbers. The Chas & Dave sell out audience immediately got behind them, and the resulting difference from their slot supporting Peter Tork at the same venue was palpable. Songs like 'One Born Every Minute' and 'Sammy Bostik' really came alive with the surging London (pronounced 'Larndon') audience behind them.

Lively audiences can veer towards the aggressive, so I was interested to see how the front of stage action would be. Whilst there was some major pub-style dancing going on, the spirit was actually very good and friendly. Jim Guynan (vocals/guitar) was kind enough to give me a name check because it was my birthday celebration, and I had everyone wishing me all the best for the rest of the night!

The band were promoting their CD 'Make Some Noise', and the samples on their myspace (myspace.com/thebandsmashingtime) reveal it's a corker.

Unlike a lot of bands that have been going for years, Chas & Dave's audience is mostly younger than them. I'm almost choked that the spirit of London pub singalong / music hall that my Nan would have recognised is being preserved through their concerts.

Mick Burt, their drummer, looked ancient twenty or thirty years ago when they had their hits, and he still does, but he still packs a punch on drums, and an occasional flourish that reveals what an accomplished musician he is. Dave Peacock makes bass playing look effortless and natural on his Squier bass. Chas Hodges was rather a long way away on the end of a full size grand piano and I could barely make out a word he said between songs. These days they are averaging 9 or 10 gigs a month so they've got their live act sussed. They went through all their hits from 'Gertcha', 'Sideboard Song', and 'Rabbit' through to 'Snooker Loopy'.

The crowd went away grinning and happy, fully refreshed by their beers and the chirpy London spirits of the evening's entertainment.

Club tip : Love Me Do, Fri/Sat (1am-6am) at Ye Olde Axe, 69 Hackney Road, Shoreditch E2
After my splendid birthday knees up, and some great dancing at the Dirty Water Club, Jim Bishop advised me that Bruce Brand was DJ-ing at this new late night club. The selection of music was absolutely fantastic, and as a result the dancing was almost endless. I danced to Kinks, Lyres, and Spencer Davis Group amongst others - all from original vinyl 45's. There was a really nice friendly vibe, and a cool international audience, along with ample comfy seating when you want to sprawl out and rest for a moment. If you don't want your Friday night to end then you must end up at this excellent club (myspace.com/lovemedoclub).

parsley@gardenrecords.com [www.gardenrecords.com]