Bad news at the Arts Club

Alex lives (lived) in Notting Hill, right across the street from a place called the Notting Hill Arts Club. It sounds like a community center, but it's an uber-hip, alternative nightclub where they play emergent hip-hop artists. Alex says there's always a line in front of it and we've talked about going there someday. But she's in Africa now, and Alicia wanted to go, so I jumped at the opportunity. It was a really cool place and I'd like to go back. The performers were talented and I was really enjoying myself, until one group, in the middle of their set, announced that Michael Jackson had just died. They were visibly shaken, as they clearly saw him as an influence, so they had the dj play some MJ songs. It was so bizarre, no one could believe it and we all got on our cell phones or Blackberries to verify the news. But the weird thing was that people were dancing. I mean, it's hard to deny the urge to dance to a Michael Jackson song, but it didn't feel right. I've never been a big fan of the man, but I couldn't get jiggy to his music immediately after hearing of his death. It didn't seem reverent. I genuinely hope he finds peace in death. It certainly seemed out of his reach during life.