A Day Out at the BBC

I haven't posted for a while. Things have been pretty quiet, just getting on with life.  Just how I like it really.

Yesterday, however, we did something a little different.  OH managed to secure us some free tickets to see one of BBC Radio 6's live music sessions, which were being filmed at Maida Vale studios in West London at lunchtime.

We have previously been to other BBC studios in Portland Place, to see a couple of radio shows being recorded, way back in the days before LB came along, but we'd never actually been to see any live music at the BBC, and we'd never been to Maida Vale, so it was quite exciting.

Apparently, every year Radio 6 arranges a week of live music sessions, which you can apply for tickets to attend.  OH applied for tickets to all five sessions and we got tickets to see The Staves, an indie/folk band, (I hope this is a correct description of their music) made up of three sisters from Watford, who performed at Glastonbury this year and recently supported Florence and the Machine.

Before heading off, I took a look on YouTube to familiarise myself with their music and also I watched a bit of the other live sessions that had been recorded this week on the BBC website, to get some idea of what to expect.  Bloc Party and Leftfield performed on Monday and Tuesday, respectively and New Order are due to perform on Friday.  Both looked good, so I was looking forward to going.

I couldn't actually take any photos, as my phone has just about given up the ghost at the moment. Not sure what's happening with it and as it is my only camera these days, I was a bit stuck.  You can however, check out the session on the BBC website for the next month.  It was put on the website last night.  Here's the link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p034lr5p

The sound and the performance by the band in the studio were amazing and with just 150 or so people in the audience, there was a great, almost intimate atmosphere.  The producer of their new album Justin Vernon came on stage and with them for one track on which he had worked with them, which was an added bonus.

Hosted by the lovely Lauren Laverne and Sean Keaveney from Radio 6, it was a great event to attend.   We definitely felt priviledged to be there and to watch such a great gig. The fact that it cost us nothing but our tube fares, was an even bigger plus. We'll definitely be applying for tickets next year.

We really enjoyed our day out and it was reassuring to be reminded of what a great organisation the BBC is, and how they do what they do so well and it felt good to take advantage of some of the great things there are to do in the capital on shoe string.