We Bid Thee Farewell, Astoria

Rock Sound's Chris Shipman was on hand to witness the last night of London's famed Astoria venue...

Posted Thursday, 15 January 2009 by Rock Sound in

Blog

Sam Duckworth is a man that clearly enjoys a challenge. Aside from his own material under the Get.Cape… moniker and taking on the world’s ills as a political activist, he has set himself the unenviable task of organising a final soirée for the legendary London Astoria, featuring a slew of bands attempting to do justice to the venue’s long history that has seen such legends as The Rolling Stones, Radiohead and Nirvana bring down the roof.
Brigade get the evening started with a short set of beefy riffs and delectable hooks. Frontman Will Simpson, clearly humbled, is in his element as he rouses the excitable crowd with cheerful banter.
The King Blues on the other hand, waste no time in helping the waiting demolition team tear down the building. Their politicised, bile-filled, reggae-punk fuelling every single Astoria devotee to bounce as one, the floor shaking as if the building is already at the mercy of multiple bulldozers.
Frank Turner is a man who has played here so frequently he practically pays rent. Earning one of the biggest crowd responses of the evening, Turner’s punk-folk sing-alongs go down a storm, a nostalgic cover of ‘Dancing Queen’ provoking a cacophonous wave of united voices to further rattle the building’s foundations.
Get.Cape… himself quickly follows suit with slinky beats and a smile that could have spanned Tottenham Court Road.
A fraction of the only US act, …Trail Of Dead, showcase an impromptu set of raw art-rock that belies the fact that they took to the stage four members short, while My Vitriol with Paul Draper of Mansun sweep the packed room into a frenzy, riffs dripping with delay and sounding like they could blow the roof off at any second.
Closers The Automatic are an altogether different beast. A party band through and through, they choose a set of newer material showcasing their more leftfield influences, before each band takes to the stage to do a near 10-minute acoustic rendition of Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’, VV Brown proving to be particularly impressive, showing off her amazing lungs and even better improvisational skills.
As 2,000 fans file down the staircases and into the street one last time, a bittersweet fog of nostalgia hangs heavy in the air. A fantastic night has been had by all, but the overwhelming feeling among the assembled music fans is one of remorse and regret. No longer will this cornerstone of London’s music scene show off the best music there is on offer. The jewel in Soho’s crown has been stolen, and we have nothing as valuable with which to replace it. We bid thee a sad farewell Astoria, we will miss you dearly.
CHRIS SHIPMAN

PS. I also managed to borrow some rock 'n' roll memorabilia - check out the picture...