19/1/2008 Voodoo Six, Men & Gods, and Big Num @ The Purple Turtle

Subject	Voodoo Six, Men & Gods, and Big Num
PostedDate	1/19/2008
	Quite a strong bill at the Purple Turtle this Saturday night. I always look forward to going to this venue, and I think it has probably the best staff of any rock venue in London as well as reasonable bar and door prices.  Big Num are on first, but I've already written about them a few times over the past year and I don't want to start endlessly repeating myself - suffice to say that if you put quality music and a high standard of playing over image and being part of a 'scene' then these boys are well worth checking out - especially if you like your rock along the classic styles of AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Led Zep, etc - think The Darkness without the image and irony.  Seriously, this band are much better than they sound on paper. Look - I've got a Telecaster too - but mine's red! Next up are Men & Gods - another band in the classic rock vein, but probably more Led Zep influenced than the previous band. Nearly every time I've seen this band they have been first on a bill featuring another band I had gone to see, so unfortunately I usually arrived as they were playing the last song of their set. I had actually seen frontman Marc Eden a few times before on vocals with hard rock cover band Rockworkz. Slash (yes that one) said Marc was "One of the greatest rock 'n' roll singers I have ever heard" - and he certainly makes a refreshing change from the screaming and squawking singers in most of the 'sleaze' rock bands seen in Camden these days. Like some of the classic rock bands of the past that have inspired Men & Gods, their music is intricate and interesting as well as being very well performed. Unlike most hard rock bands on the current scene they also have a keyboard player to fill out the sound and add colour instead of a second guitar - this also helps them stand out from the crowd. However, it's the quality of the music that demands you listen rather than just watch and enjoy the show. Final band on the bill tonight, and certainly bringing the largest crowd is Voodoo Six. This band seems to consist mainly of members of the Camden hard rock cover bands Metalworks and Rockworkz - and the crowd is also largely made up of members of these cover bands and their fans. Both these cover bands play virtually the same songs and to be honest watching Voodoo Six is just like watching these cover bands - only without all the good songs. The standard of musicianship is first rate, but the band sound very generic and to me quite forgettable. So who's idea was it to go to Decadence after the gig? Actually, it might have been mine, but I think Andi & Liz were already thinking on the same lines anyway. However, unlike me they had the sense to leave a bit earlier - it was after five in the morning before I staggered out of the club to weave my way home...  As a result I didn't wake up until two the following afternoon - with only a few hours to go before heading back to the Purple Turtle again...