16/12/2008 Girlschool @ The LA2

Subject	Girlschool @ The LA2
PostedDate	12/16/2008
	After seeing a great new up and coming all girl band last night, tonight I get to see the band that started it all 30 years ago and opened so many doors for girls who want to pick up guitars and rock just as hard as the boys. Guess what? Girlschool still rock pretty hard! As usual something goes wrong - it wouldn't be a Girlschool show otherwise. Last time they played at this venue no one had remembered to turn Kim's amp on when the band took to the stage.  This time it's Jackie's turn to find out her guitar isn't working at the beginning of the show, but after a couple of minutes of fiddling with equipment by a roadie Jackie's rig bursts into life. Girlschool shows are always a lot of fun, and this one is no exception. The setlist is a good mixture of the old classics, with plenty from the first three albums and quite a few from the last three as well. There are more songs from the band's current album played tonight than the couple that got played at their 100 Club show earlier this year. The show tonight features a few special guests who the band have worked or played with other the years - including guitarist Doug from Saxon seen behind Jackie below: Another of tonight's guests is Ace from Skunk Anansie -who are apparently reforming for some festival dates in 2009.  Ace has worked as a producer with Girlschool and also done some remixes for them. One of this show's special guests also appears on Girlschool's new album 'Legacy' and for a couple of songs tonight well known bass player Neil Murray takes over bass duties from Enid so she can concentrate on singing lead vocals. One of the popular parts of Girlschool shows is when Jackie pokes the mic stand out into the crowd and invites people to sing along: The band's enthusiasm is infectious and rubs off onto the crowd - who are already well up for it and hardly need any encouragement!  There is plenty of banter from the girls, and they seem more lively than many far younger bands.  Girlschool look like they are loving every minute of their time on stage - particularly Jackie who looks like she's enjoying playing in this band more than ever! Lemmy (who along with Phil Campbell also appears on 'Legacy') is showing no signs of packing in Motörhead in, so lets hope Girlschool have a few more years left in them as well...

This venue has since been demolished to make way for London's 'Crossrail' project.