25/4/2012 The Transmitters @ Surya

Subject	The Transmitters @ Surya
DateCreated	4/29/2012 2:44:00 PM
	Tonight finds me off to the worlds first Ecological venue to see The Transmitters. Fortunately, unlike last night no one decides to throw themselves under a train on the southern stretch of the Great Northern line and I arrive in time. Downstairs at Surya just before the band start their set there are only a couple of people there besides myself, and one of them is the promoter! However, once the band start playing quite a few more people appear from the (overpriced) bar upstairs. Singer Roxi has settled in well and does a good job fronting this indie pop/rock outfit - the most natural performer of the three I have seen with this band. Only guitarist Matt and bassist Aaron remain from the lineup I first saw play at the Dublin Castle a few years ago when they were called 24 Hour Love. After lineup changes and management troubles in more recent times the band now seems to be settling down with a steady lineup and are starting to get out and gig more often. New material is starting to appear in the band's setlist alongside older numbers like 'Sushi', although tonight's set could have been longer at only around twenty minutes. It's not the most energetic performance I've seen from the band, possibly due to the confines of this venue's small stage. I expect things will improve when they start playing more regularly again, but this is a promising comeback. I don't hang about too long afterwards as the venue's bar doesn't stock anything I actually want to drink - bottles or tins only, and they don't even have any Newcastle Brown or similar. The following band doesn't really float my boat, and unlike many other music venues this outpost in the middle of Pentonville Road doesn't have a nearby Wetherspoons or any other pub to pop into for a decent pint. Bar issues aside, Surya isn't a bad little venue though - it's just unfortunate that a lot of people will probably be put off from visiting it as they are too lazy to walk more than five minutes from a tube station. Actually, at around mid-way between Kings Cross and Angel it's not far to walk from either station. I'm home in well under an hour, which is nice as last night was a bit of a late one and I have to be up at 6 in the morning. Rock 'n' roll huh?