26/5/2012 Sequin Studded Bitch - new club night in Camden

Subject	Sequin Studded Bitch - new club night in Camden
DateCreated	6/10/2012 6:41:00 PM
	Just when you thought it was finally safe to go to back to Camden without encountering glam/sleaze-rock bands trapped in a 1980's timewarp... Tonight see's the opening of a new club at Elixir. It's the Sequin Studded Bitch club and if you like your rock 'n' roll dirty sleazy and glam style then this could be right up your (Eversholt) Street. If you are familiar with Soho's infamous Decadence club then you will probably like this too, as well as see a few familiar faces! The music and the crowd is much the same, but in (IMHO) much better venue than that sleazepit the St Moritz in Wardour Street. Elixir isn't large, but the bar and toilets are far better than the St Moritz - if Decadence moved to Elixir then I would be a far more regular visitor. Not unexpectedly there are no real ales at the bar here, but at least the bar is much bigger, has a variety of beers on draught, and also a variety of quality bottled ales - all of which is an improvement on the St Moritz, and the bar prices are much more reasonable too. The DJ's are spinning not just glam and sleaze rock but also the likes of the Rolling Stones, The Who, G'N'R, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake, and much other classic rock - it's all good. One other major difference to Decadence: Sequin Studded Bitch has bands playing, although to be the the St Moritz is a bit small and is a less than suitable venue for live music. There is no proper stage here, but there is more room so it doesn't matter as much. The first band tonight were supposed to be Gorilla but they are a 'no show'. Instead we get Junction 13. I thought this sort of stuff had died a death round these parts a couple of years ago - you know, all those dodgy sleaze bands with reptile names who used to infest Bar Monsta and the Purple Turtle? Well it looks like these 80's throwbacks aren't quite extinct, and there are still people who want to see bands like this. Juntion 13 can certainly play well enough, even even they aren't the tightest or most original band in the world. However, they lose my respect with the singer's Prima-Donner (sic) bitchy comments when he whines about the poor backline amps provided. If you don't bring your own amps then don't get bitchy about what's been provided - you're lucky there are any amps at all for you to use if you don't bring your own! This seemed to me to be purely down to ego - out front the sound was fine and the guitars were plenty loud enough in this small room. Some people need to fucking grow up. The guitar amps looked like 15 watt practice amps, but were definitely loud enough - especially when mic'd up. I've played at the 12 Bar Club with a similar amp and it sounded great, and my own more recent gigs have been played with a pro quality 15watt valve amp and I was still asked to turn down. If you require amplifiers stacked to the ceiling to match your egos in size (in a small room when you have only brought a handful of people to see you) then bring them yourselves and stop whining! And also, try and match up the look of the individual members so at least you all look like your are in the same band. Next up we have Damn Dice. This lot look and sound better than the previous band. Nothing amazing, but the band look more together and conduct themselves in a noticably more professional manner than Junction 13 - they didn't complain about the amps and they just got on with their job. The venue is filling up noticably by this point and the atmosphere is building nicely. This is all added to by the dancing girls who also form part of the bill, and join the bands for some songs. One or two of the band's songs sound like fairly blatant steals from the likes of Mötley Crüe and none of the others are very original or grab the attention, although their image is more cohesive than the previous band - none of them look like they are playing a pub gig. Although if you look past the image (which apparently a lot of people don't) none of the bands are anything to write home about, this is a very encouraging start for this new club. The venue is pretty decent compared to some - it shits over the likes of Camden Rock for instance, decent bar prices, and ony a bargain £4 on the door for bands and a rock club that going on into the small hours, and only a few minutes walk from Euston or Mornington Crescent tubes. The turnout is very good and the place is nice and full, without being overcrowded. A very promising start for Sequin Studded Bitch, and apparently the club's next night will be in a bigger venue....