Face Of Cheam

New venue for me the Coronet. Next to the Elephant & Castle. Evening hadn't started that great. First of all, I had been nursing a cold since the weekend, secondly after being a cheapskate and buying a return train ticket to E&C rather than a travelcard I was horrified to see that my train was 54 minutes late! Two minutes later this changed to cancelled as there was a broken down train in City Thameslink causing congestion. Fortuanately the Victoria service was also delayed so I had five minutes to decide that getting this train to Clapham and then one onto Vauxhall would get me reasonably near and this I did. Getting out at Vauxhall I saw a sign telling me I was one mile away so decided I had plenty of time to walk and maybe stop at one or two pubs that were showing the European footie that evening. First stop was the White Hart. A gastropub with one telly at the side of the bar. When I got here I noticed it start to rain outside & obviously I had no coat or umbrella! Having made my pint last the first half hour of the game I decided to press on thinking there would be another pub on the way. Of course there wasn't and having found the venue I was fairly soaked. Still got a start time and found out I had about forty minutes before they were on so went to the nearby Wetherspoons (Rockingham Arms) and Elephant & Castle pubs opposite the latter had the second half of Man U Celtic on. Highlight for me was Paul Telfer coming on to change things!
Onto the gig. The Coronet was similar to the Forum in Kentish Town. Bar at the back and a drop down a few stairs to the actual floor area, with raised bits either side. Dirty Pretty Things were introduced by Russel Brand (a man described in that days metro as a tosser!) He wasn't funny and took about 10 minutes in his introduction. DPTs came on and opened with 'You F---ing Love It'. The sound and view were good and 'Deadwood' was an early highlight. For 'Gin And Milk' it was surprise guest time with Paul Weller being dragged out and then disappeearing as soon as the song ended. Three or four new songs were played which sounded ok before ending the first bit before the encore with 'Bang Bang You're Dead' their best song. Now call me a traditionist but bands should only comeback for an encore if there's demand for it. Here, after the band walked off there was no cheering or clapping merely background chat. Obviously no-one was leaving but I wouldn't have blamed the band for calling it a night at this stage, and although there was a cheer when they returned it was hardly a deserved encore. Still, they bought back Weller who introduced a sond he hadn't performed for 26 years. It was the Jam's 'In The City' but the fact Carl Barratt took vocals and Weller stood at the back strumming a guitar that may not even have been plugged in could hardly count as performing. Once again Weller departed after three minutes and DPTs stormed into their only Libertines song and last one of the night 'I Get Along'. Very good it was too and allowed me to get on the penultimute train home. Alas having stopped raining when I got on, as I approached home there was one of the most electric lightning storms I have seen. I got home not as soaked as I could have been using some free newspapers from the train as shelter!