I’m Not Going To Die

I have my physio appointment this morning which allows a bit longer in bed but also forces the necessity of using the car on one of my designated cycling days. Oh well, I suppose I am supposed to be injured. I get in the car and find that somebody has left a CD of Christmas music in the player. Oh hang on, no it isn't, it's just Panda Bear. Yep you heard correctly. There's an artist called that.



Not to be confused with the totally different animal (and band) Grizzly Bear. I don't think they're related. Panda is better known as a member of Animal Collective. His mother didn’t christen him that obviously but she might as well have done, his real name is Noah. So I guess he hadn’t got much credibility to lose by changing it.

Well, apparently I’m not going to die and might possibly be fit for my race next Sunday, if I really push my luck but the physio wouldn’t recommend it. I’ve a slight tear in my calf muscle. Thankfully my tendons are fine. In fact she said I’d got very nice strong tendons but I know she was only buttering me up for my money.

Ideally I need to not run for three weeks, so she knows her stuff and reads the same websites as me. The good news though is that cycling, swimming, hang gliding etc are all fine and should be encouraged, as she says I do need to exercise it. So I should be fit to mosh at the Rabbit on Wednesday.

She also reckons that I over pronate and should think about get some different running shoes to deal with this. So only half a dozen pairs to replace then.

She also wasn’t an evil person like the last physio I went to, she was far gentler, not that I’m adverse to the occasional bit of rough. She did have colder hands than L, which I didn’t think was physically possible. She also didn’t use a rolling pin and I didn’t broach the subject of whether it’s a good idea or not to continue to let L batter me with one. It must have gone ok, as I’m going back next week. Either that or I’m just desperate to get fit for my race.

I was gutted to learn today that The Charlotte music venue in Leicester is due to be demolished to make way for student flats.



Formerly known as The Princess Charlotte, for over two decades it has been a nationally recognised stop off on the small bands circuit, otherwise known as the ‘toilet circuit’. Located on the inner ring road opposite De Montfort University, it has the trade mark dark, slimy walls and the appropriately dingy toilets to match but it had charm. It also had concrete pillars that blocked your view and the sound was so bad that their resident sound engineer became known as Feedback Phil.

Bands though performed in a space the size of your own front room which allowed you to get up close and personal with them. The place always rocked and will sadly missed if it goes.

The place only reopened last month after going into administration and closing back in January. It is currently being leased on a temporary six month contract but the new manager was hoping to get a longer deal.

The Charlotte, more than any other venue in Leicester, put the city on the map. Some of the most famous bands in the country started out there. Oasis played there in 1995, Muse in 1999, Coldplay in 2000, the Arctic Monkeys in 2005 and Leicester's own Kasabian played early gigs there. Among others, Blur, Manic Street Preachers and Pulp have also played there. Legendary Leicester band Diesel Park West were always there. Noel Gallagher in fact once listed it as his second favourite Oasis gig.

It started to go downhill when they demolished the separate bar area and knocked it through into one. Although it was never going to win any good pub awards, people used to go there to meet up and have a drink, then if they liked the sound of what was happening in the small 200 capacity back room, they’d go through for a look.

I took L to The Charlotte once but I don't think she was too impressed. I remember clinging to a wall with a foot on a water pipe to get a good view for Elastica's ill fated comeback in 2000.

Admittedly I haven't been there for a while. Why is that? Probably because nobody seems to play Leicester any more. For years I seemed to be going over there every other week. Where once bands would play in both Nottingham and Leicester because both could pull the crowds with both cities having two universities, now they don’t bother.

This is the bigger problem for Leicester. The city has been committing gig suicide for some years now. Far too many of their music venues have disappeared. Granby Halls went in 1999. The Magazine club probably even before that. Then there was the demise of the old Leicester Poly/De Montfort University student union building. I have such fond members of that place.



The Percy Gee building, as it was known, had a large arena, great viewing and a great atmosphere. It was my all time favourite live venue and incidentally one of the late John Peel's as well. They closed it in 2003. The stupid thing is that the building has been sat there, empty, ever since until finally in May of this year plans for its redevelopment were unveiled. These plans will include a new 1750 capacity venue but obviously it won’t be the same and doesn’t address the need for venues for bands wanting to play to crowds smaller than this.

Where can medium sized bands go without the old Poly Arena and where will the small new bands play without the Charlotte? Well apart from the excellent Musician. Answer: Nottingham.

A city needs the whole range of venues with different capacities so that successful bands can move up the scale, if not the promoters will look elsewhere. If you haven't got the small venues for them to start off in they won't come in the first place. Nottingham seems to have learnt this lesson and has seriously raised its game in the last decade. Leicester has gone the other way and has gone about dismantling the infrastructure required to accommodate bands at different stages of development.

At the moment, apart from the original Leicester University there’s nothing size wise until the De Montfort Hall. Although neither the De Montfort or the Uni seem to get the gigs now. That said, I’m just booking a gig at the Uni and it’ll be good to go back.