In the movies...
Nov. 7th, 2015 11:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearI have seen countless movies and TV shows that involve scenes in casinos - but I'd never actually set foot inside one until last night. The Burlesque Idol Final took place in the cabaret theatre inside the Hippodrome Casino, next to Leicester Square tube station, and I was early, so I took a little look around. Somehow, it didn't feel real - I felt like there should be film cameras all over the place and that everyone was an extra. But it was packed out - so evidently there are a fair few people in London who like to gamble of a Friday night. The cocktail bar was ridiculously expensive, but the Heliot Steakhouse surprisingly less so - and the food was *really* good. The burlesque show was really good too, and it was topped and tailed by feeling like I was in a movie, which added something to the experience.
This week, I finished reading The Road Beneath My Feet by Frank Turner, who we're going to see play at Alexandra Palace in a couple of weeks. We got the book at the launch event in Camden a few months ago, where he was interviewed on stage and then did a short acoustic set, including my favourite of all his songs, which he doesn't normally play at gigs. Anyway, I finally got around to reading the book, and I rather enjoyed it. It tells the story of his first few years touring as a solo artist, and is chock full of drugs, alcohol, weird encounters on the road and an overall lifestyle that holds absolutely no appeal for me whatsoever, But it's honest and less arrogant than it might sound, and showed a glimpse of a way of living that a lot of people aspire to, in a way that was grounded and interesting. Eminently readable.
I also finished listening to the next Dresden book - Death Masks. I have to admit that I didn't enjoy it as much as the others, as it felt a lot darker. The stakes were higher, somehow, and some pretty bad things happened to good people in the course of the story. The bad guy got away and Dresden lost the girl, which was all rather depressing. His inappropriate humour was still very much intact, but it felt weird amidst all the carnage. So, while James Marsters did his usual excellent job at narrating, and there were a few moments that stood out from the rest, overall if felt a bit dreary.
This week, I finished reading The Road Beneath My Feet by Frank Turner, who we're going to see play at Alexandra Palace in a couple of weeks. We got the book at the launch event in Camden a few months ago, where he was interviewed on stage and then did a short acoustic set, including my favourite of all his songs, which he doesn't normally play at gigs. Anyway, I finally got around to reading the book, and I rather enjoyed it. It tells the story of his first few years touring as a solo artist, and is chock full of drugs, alcohol, weird encounters on the road and an overall lifestyle that holds absolutely no appeal for me whatsoever, But it's honest and less arrogant than it might sound, and showed a glimpse of a way of living that a lot of people aspire to, in a way that was grounded and interesting. Eminently readable.
I also finished listening to the next Dresden book - Death Masks. I have to admit that I didn't enjoy it as much as the others, as it felt a lot darker. The stakes were higher, somehow, and some pretty bad things happened to good people in the course of the story. The bad guy got away and Dresden lost the girl, which was all rather depressing. His inappropriate humour was still very much intact, but it felt weird amidst all the carnage. So, while James Marsters did his usual excellent job at narrating, and there were a few moments that stood out from the rest, overall if felt a bit dreary.
