Oxjam

This passed weekend my friend Niko's band (MOKSHA) played in Shepherd's Bush at Belushi for Oxjam. Oxjam is a day of music in association with Oxfam. All the proceeds of the event went to Oxfam. You had to pay a 10 pound fee for a wrist band which gave you access to 4 venues. In each venue there was a different line up for the day. 

We arrived there about 5 seconds before MOKSHA started playing. The bar wasn't full, but there were quite a few people that were looking forward to listening to some live music. We ordered beers and took a seat to take in the music without spending the whole time staring at the band. They held their own very well. And the singer (Luke) introduced each song well. 

My favourite part of their performance was a cover of "Ain't No Sunshine" which really impressed me because it was so different from all the other interpretations of the song. When they finished their set the next band started setting up and the organisers went around offering a £1 shot for charity. The mood of the whole event was very relaxed. It was the perfect thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. 

This was the website for the event: http://www.oxjamshepherdsbush.com/

And this is MOKSHA's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mokshamusiclive?fref=ts

Amathus

On the 5th of May before going to Islington we stopped in Soho for a tequila tasting at Amathus. Amathus is a wine shop with several small stores around London, at their Soho store they have enough space to set up a bunch of tables in the middle/back of the shop. On the biggest table at the rear of the shop there were a few employees making margheritas in tiny little shot glasses. They later handed out these glasses to everyone in the store, if you weren't holding anything they gave you one. 

There was also a woman that makes her own queso, which in her case is a specific type of cheese, a younger version of queso manchego. It was really refreshing and taste-y, a really good contrast to the alcohol. She also had a chili spread if you wanted to add more flavour to the cheese. 

The smallest table, closest to the entrance was serving tequila. There are 3 main different types of tequila. White tequila, which is the youngest just taken from the plant, reposado tequila which is slightly aged tequila (reposado means rested) and anejo tequila which is the most aged and darkest tequila. Out of all these tequilas I liked the white one the best because its got the freshest and lightest taste where as the darkest tequila is very similar to whiskey. 

Overall, I really like the musical atmosphere because they had a mariachi band playing and everyone was incredibly happy and friendly. I was really tempted to buy one of their t-shirts that said "tequila is never enough" but they didn't have any left in my size. Maybe I'll have better luck next year. 

Here's their website: http://www.amathusdrinks.com/