justin vivian bond

my evening didn’t start off too good…i shuffled down into the little basement theatre…took a front row seat,when the most obnoxious smelly creature sat down beside me.at first i was open and friendly,answering endless questions he kept throwing at me regarding justin’s non specific gender…it got a bit tiresome,so i told him i’m only here cause i like the music and delivery..i’m not too bothered about anyones sexuality.he then lurched forward and said “well i am!!! “…”my boyfriend’s just had his cock chopped off ,and it was a big one”. i thought to myself…oh here goes…THE USUAL… another specimen.. desperate to be a *soho character*…he then starts looking at his brochure and notes how justin had done the carnegie hall,so he quipped that playing in this little london basement was a bit of a comedown…i said it hardly matters..if it’s good,it’s good..who cares if it’s a basement or a famous room.he lurched forward again and said “i do!”….at this point i gently slipped to a table away from the man, where i could be comfortable for the show.

what i love about great performers is how well they gen themselves up on things.

special ones are often born out of their own inbuilt curiosity…

they read loads….

they know the details of how films and records are made…

so when it comes to their own thing,they approach it with a lot of knowledge.

they’ve done the other crucial work outside the actual singing and performing itself.

a neat moment was when justin read from an autobiography soon to be published .

i kid you not..the words were flying off the page,and it it was proper funny.

i’d actually seen justin perform years ago with a different piano player.he was a bit heavy on the keys which rendered the music far too brassy for my liking..but now with a pianist who has lightness of touch,there’s a fresh air of serious sophistication.as the show came to it’s resolve,it dawned on me that i was witnessing one fine songwriter at play.

and here’s justin doing a corking version of ‘you’re so vain’