Artists in the Ambulance

Chilling out in London now for a couple of days before the proverbial hop over the pond. Yesterday was unexpectedly eventful: I was sat next to an American from one of the Carolinas on the way down to London. He and his family (his daughter was hot) were on their way home via Heathrow. The polite conversation making ensued, during which I asked him: "So, what brought you over to England for a holiday?" He confers with his wife before turning to me and informing me (with not even a hint of irony) "Uhrm, yeah we came in on a seven forty seven." Luckily it became apparent that this was a 'separated by common language' comment as opposed to a purely idiotic comment. That and he's well into his scotch eggs, a quality I like in a person.

I met Drew at his rehearsal rooms by Old Street tube station straight from the airport. He was playing a gig in Kent that night so I just about had time to get a buttie and dump my bag in his room while the other guys loaded the gear. The van in question was an old F Reg ambulance that had been converted into a splitter with a wheelchair lift that came in handy for getting the heavy cabs in. All was well till we got to the motorway, where at one point the van had a bit of trouble going up a hill. I say a bit of trouble, what I really mean is that on a slope that my car could belt up at 80 the van could only manage 32Mph.
Flat out.
The gig itself was the first time I've seen The Phoenix Drive live and the first time I've seen drew play since October last year. Turns out... They're really fucking good. So good that I was a mix of impressed and intimidated (from the perspective of being in a band and writing songs).
Now I know that Drew's a good friend of mine. And I know that I say nice things about a lot of bands, but they are that damn good.
Right, I'm hungry, so I'm going.