Record Store Day 2014 - A Tale of Two Cities

The annual vinyl fest that is Record Store Day presented me with a conundrum this year - a new record shop opened up fairly locally a couple of months ago; should I go to that and support the local trader or make my usual trip to London. I had to weigh up the fact that there would be less people in the queue at Southend against the knowledge that they would would have a smaller selection than Rough Trade East in Shoreditch. The solution? Go to both of course!

The alarm was duly set for 4:45 am (!) and I got to Rough Trade just after 6, seconds after my Crocuh End-dwelling shopping companion. A quick tally down the queue showed that there were already about 100 people ahead of us at that ungodly hour. Fortunately MJC had brought a flask of strong java to keep us going. Doors opened bang on 8 am, with the usual well-managed queue meaning that we were inside just after 8:30. The friendly chat while we'd waited had discovered that both I and the guy in front of me were after the LCD Soundsystem box set - he was in the shop ahead of me and kindly grabbed 2 off the shelf, handing me one before I'd even spotted where they were (people who like records are, as a rule, nice people aren't they?). Although some of the rarest stuff had already gone (I missed out on Liars and Damon Albarn) pretty much everything else I wanted was still there. I worked out the total, gulped, put a few of the non-essential items back (standard practice on RSD) but was happy with my final selection.

The Rails of the first leg of their trans-Atlantic journey, London 19/4/14

Although the live music at Rough Trade usually starts later in the day, we got a chance to see The Rails as they were on at 9:30, which was an early-morning treat. The early start was to allow them to play, in true Phil Collins Live Aid style, on both sides of the Atlantic in one day - after their appearance at Rough Trade East they were heading for a flight to New York, where they'll be on at Rough Trade NYC tonight.

Live set watched, I headed round to Liverpool Street Station for the train back to Southend, hopped on and from where I'm currently writing this. Here's a list of what I bought in London:

1. LCD Soundsystem - The Long Goodbye (5 x vinyl lp boxset)
2. William Onyeabor - What?! (2 x 12")
3. Gil Scott-Heron - Nothing New (lp)
4. Various - XFM X-posure Sessions (lp)
5. Clint Mansell - In The Wall OST (brown and red splatter vinyl lp)
6. The Wedding Present - EP4 (clear vinyl 10" - in Welsh!)
7. The Notwist - Run Run Run (double groove 12")
8. Temples / Jagwar Ma - split 12" picture disc
9. The The - Giant (12")
10. Various - The Space Project (6 x 7" boxset)
11. Public Service Broadcasting - Elfstedentocht (white vinyl 7")
12. Villagers - Occupy Your Mind (clear vinyl 7")

An hour later and I'm off the train and walking down Southend High Street to my second store of the day. A much smaller affair than Rough Trade obviously, but it was nice to have a chat with the staff (although I always feel a bit self-conscious looking through the racks when the staff are right bedside you). Luckily they had a couple of bits that I couldn't get in London so it was worth the visit - I grabbed these three:

1. Liars - Mess On A Mission (clear vinyl 12" with wool inside it)
2. Django Django - Porpoise Song (grey vinyl 7")
3. Africa Express - Maison Des Jeunes (double blue vinyl lp)

My purchases for 2014