Jali and Minnie (sixth letter to Lowri)

Monday was mundane but Tuesday was great, full of last minute plans that all worked out very nicely. Jali the kora player was out busking on the hideous brutal concrete concourse of Piccadilly Plaza. I first heard Jali busk with the brilliant drummer Charles Hayward of This Heat at a more unorthodox Fat Out event: an improvised busk in Piccadilly, Manchester. Jali was there with his dancing friend the same time last week and brings much needed beauty to the dreary architecture. I’d love to pull down those big concrete barriers and replace them with trees. The old Piccadilly Gardens was so much nicer, a sunken walkway past flower beds, but old tramps gathered there so they had to be modernised away by the council. At least little kids love splashing about in the fountains when they are actually working, especially in this heatwave. I got a sugar fix as chocolate soya milk was selling for just a pound on the other side of the bus stops. It’s such a shame there are so many homeless people baking in the sun. Even if I gave every one of them money it’d make no difference and I really can’t afford to do that anyway. There was a film about young DIY music promoters at Deaf Institute, and Minnie Mishahi and I took full advantage of the free drink and food. Minnie’s always finds all the free arty events with free booze’n’gnosh! Minnie was one of the seven people who witnessed “True Story” not involved in creating it. She’s a vivacious funny person and it’s always a joy to hang out with her. I wasn’t even bothered by her Italian friends’ expositions on the benefits of meat eating! Downstairs the reds were kicking balls past the yellows, so I got a much more conventional glimpse of world cup action than “True Story.” Well cidered, I jumped on a 43 bus to Piccadilly and rushed to Peer Hat where I’d only missed one band but there were two Scottish emo-punk trios yet to play. I only listened to Carson Wells for the first time that afternoon on youtube and hadn’t heard Please, Believe! before so it was a nice surprise how much I enjoyed the latter. I enjoyed them so much I even shelled out a fiver for a CD. I love hearing a great band for the first time at a gig. Upstairs the regular Peer Hat crowd were celebrating the reds winning. Let’s hope the reds win the next general election and save us from the blues, even though I prefer the greens.