At the risk of repeating myself, London did it again last night, astonishing me with it’s coolness (and indeed it was cold enough for jumpers). We went to see Katherine Arniello’s ‘Dinner Party Revisited’ at the southbank: I must confess I did not know what to expect, Lyn having proposed and organised the trip, so I did not quite know whether we were going to a piece of dance, theatre, or what. Although we got there rather late, having had to come back once for my bag, as soon as we entered the space, however, I was instantly taken with what I found. Mind you, it is quite difficult to describe: Araniello is a wheelchair user with quite a severe disability; she was doing a one person show, with help from a PA serving the drinks. It was based at a dinner party, with the guests, played by Araniello, all appearing on screens at the back of shot. It was all being filmed live somewhere else – i’m not sure where – and shown in the purcell room. It struck me as quite innovative, slightly weird, and very funny. It was, I suppose, a truly postmodern piece, very ad-hoc, very made-up-as-they-went. However, not having seen the performance from the beginning, and not having been able to make out all of what was being said, I am unable to review it fully, so I think I’ll now see what Google turns up on it.

The performance ended at about nine, but our night was far from over: the city had another treat in store! Dominik proposed going to see Jamie MacDowell and Tom Thum, a beatboxer and guitar player, an Australian duo performing nearby, Again, I didn’t quite know what to expect, but as soon as their gig started, my jaw hit the floor. MacDowell is a fine guitarist, but as soon as Thum started beatboxing, my jaw hit the floor: the sounds coming out of the man’s mouth were astounding. Check this out, for example. I caught myself thinking, ”How the fuck is this humanly possible?” He sounded like a synth; the range of control he had over his mouth was beyond belief. I almost could not believe it. On top of that, they put on a show that was witty and funny and highly original. I was instantly taken with them. Funnily enough, it transpired that they, like the Cat Empire, come from Melbourne, and indeed something in their accent reminded me of my favourite band. I’ll certainly have to look into them, too: I’m now itching to see more of that beatboxing, and indeed more beatboxing in general.

After such awesomeness it was time to come home of course, the roads surprisingly clear as our friend rudi drove us in his wheelchair-accessible car. London had done it again, surprising ad thrilling me in a way that just makes me feel so alive.