9/11/2013 Healthy Junkies & London SS @ The Unicorn

Saturday night and off down to Camden for another free gig at The Unicorn. There are supposed to be four bands on, but one has dropped out - par for the course... Unfortunately I don't get my shit together in time to get there early enough for the opening band. Next is the entertaining but somewhat unfortunately named London SS.

Brady the guitarist is the only original member of this reformed first generation London punk band - some early members went on to join bands that became famous later on like The Clash, The Damned, and Generation X.

Brady reformed the band in 2012 and current singer Jimi is a real livewire - he spends nearly as much time running round the rest of the venue as he does on the stage. He also makes a habit of wearing his very tight trousers rather on the low side - dangerously low at times! I imagine Jim Morrison and Iggy pop are major influences... He certainly keeps the aurdience on their toes as you never know what is going to happen next!

The London SS are certainly an interesting band to watch. Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of decent pictures to illustrate this blog - I was experimenting with taking pictures on my new camera without flash. Most of them are so poor I deleted them at the editing stage - I'd have got better results taking pictures on my phone. On paper the camera is better than my old one, but I'm struggling to get decent results with it....

I always enjoy seeing Healthy Junkies - a band  who have improved greatly in the two or three years since I first saw them.

Their grunge tinged punky rock 'n' roll has plenty of catchy hooks to draw you in and there is plenty of energy on stage. The new rhythm section now has quite a few gigs under it's belt and is bedding in nicely.

Nina the singer is obviously the main focus of attention and is a lively presence on stage. Her vocal style is quite distinctive and unlike many vocalists on the scene she really puts an effort into actually singing instead of screaming and shouting. This makes her a lot more pleasant to listen to and gets the tunes over far better. Yes, Healthy Junkies actually have tunes - other bands on the circuit please take note - this is what makes people actually remember your songs.

There is always plenty happening onstage during this band's shows and each member of the band makes a dynamic contribution.

Nina is definitely developing her own style at time passes - in the band's earlier days there was a noticeable Katie Jane Garside and Queen Adreena influence but these days Nina seems far more Nina than Katie Jane.

As usual at the band's own monthly club nights there is a fair crowd of loyal supporters to see them, and I'm sure some new fans are also won over. These are always enjoyable good value for money nights with free admission to see three or four bands and drinks at pub prices. A nice friendly atmosphere too - which makes a refreshing change from London's more 'corporate' venues.