10/5/2012 Ferocity Lights & Badland Bandits @ Boston Arms Music Room

Subject	Ferocity Lights & Badland Bandits @ Boston Arms Music Room
DateCreated	5/13/2012 3:28:00 PM
	This Thursday night finds me making my way to Tufnell Park and the Boston Arms Music Room. Only a fiver on the door for four bands and pub prices at the bar - bargain! Newcastle Brown at only £3.30 a bottle - what other music venue can offer that these days? It's like they actually want you to come back - which certainly isn't the vibe I get from some places. I had wanted to go to two gigs in Tufnell Park tonight, but there was some confusion over the address The Cut Outs were playing at as well as a stage time time clash, so I couldn't make their gig in the end. I find out later that The Cut Outs were playing just over the road at Aces & Eights and I must have walked right past around the time they were actually on stage without realising they were in there. However, even if I'd known and had to pick which gig to go to I would still have been at the Boston Arms due to more welcoming vibe and far better bar - on my previous visit to Aces & Eights the security goon had issues with people wearing hats in this supposed 'rock 'n' roll' dive so I've not felt inclined to return since. Meanwhile, back at the Boston Arms we have bottles of Newcastle Brown in our hands (a beverage not available at Aces & Eights) and are well entertained by Ferocity Lights. Theirs gigs have been like buses in the last year - none for ages and then two come at once! This band's songs are catchy and fun - a mixture of punk and alt-rock/grunge influences, but without the misery. It's nice to see Ferocity Lights on a bigger stage after their recent gig in the 'intimate' confines of the 12 Bar Club - that show was fun too though. There are a few new songs appearing in the set from the band's forthcoming second album - you can download the band's debut 'Window Seat To Hell' for free here. The place isn't exactly packed for this mid-week show, but I think it's fair to say Ferocity Lights got more people in the door than the other bands, and they were certainly the only band who managed to coax the audience down towards the front. Although to be fair I missed the first band who might have been brilliant and brought loads of people - although if they did then all their fans left immediately the band finished playing. The following band put plenty of effort into their performance, but that's about the only good thing about them. Some musicians dream of getting endorsements from guitar and amp makers, but I think this lot are trying to get sponsorship from someone who makes guitar tuners as they seem to spend more time retuning between songs than they do actually playing. They should be forced to watch a video of their own set - they could learn a lot from it. I think they could use a stylist as well... I've never heard of the last band, but they turn out to be a lot of fun! There's virtually no one left in the venue by then apart from some members of the other bands, but this lot are well worth hanging around for. They come across as like a cross between G'N'R and The Ramones. There is nothing remotely original here either musically or visually, but they manage to be entertaining enough in spite of this. The band are Badland Bandits and they have travelled all the way from Plymouth to play to a handful of people in London on a Thursday night. Us few who saw their show enjoyed it though. The band's sound is very 1980's as is their somewhat cliched name, but without the tired old glam/sleaze image that certain bands have continued to pedal. I wouldn't go quite as far as to say Badland Bandits are a breath of fresh air, but their sheer enthusiasm is infectious and they can certainly play well enough too. As I said, nothing very original here and this band's song 'Scream N' Shout' sounds more than a little like Mötley Crüe's 'Shout At The Devil' - and any singer deliberately trying to scream like Vince Neil is not to be encouraged - although he sounds better the rest of the time. This is a band who play with genuine passion and throw everything into their performance - this is always to be applauded and I'd definitely go and see this band again. Certainly worth a mid-week trip out to see two of the bands playing tonight, and it didn't cost much either. Result!