30/3/2019 The Urban Voodoo Machine @ The Amersham Arms

Finally escaping from gigs in Camden I head south - south of the river in fact. On my ancient map it says 'Here be dragons!' - but I'm strapping my armour on and risking it...

A long train journey from North London finds me at The Amersham Arms in New Cross. Unfortunately I miss the Kult 45s who I'd been looking forward to seeing again. On stage when I arrived were Bad Day Blues Band.

This lot were new to me but certainly worth checking out. Fronted by a bass player - which is unusual for a blues band, they play hard and mean with quite a different take on a genre that can seem stale in the wrong hands. Not with these boys though.

Next up are John E Vistic Rock n' Roll Soundsystem. This bunch are a little weirder. A little like a psyched and amped up version of The Doors - with a frontman who's 'out there' in more ways than one. You can't accuse them of being boring.

Then it's onto the headliners. The Urban Voodoo Machine are a band like no other. This is the first time I've seen them for a while, although I have been to many of their gigs over the years. Tonight's show is a bit of an odd one for them - the turnout is noticeably less than usual for them as their gigs are normally full. Maybe it's a combination of the high ticket price and their usual crowd not wanting to venture south of the river and far from their usual haunts around Stoke Newington and Dalston? You get get a train direct from Dalston Junction to New Cross these days so who know's?

Still, this mob are always highly entertaining and tonight is no exception. There are usually at least nine people in the band so there is always plenty going on - with some people playing more than one instrument during the band's performance. And when I say 'performance' I mean performance. This is not a band who play well but simply 'go through the motions'. Some bands think it's all about how loud you are or how fast you can play - this band make you realise those things are irrelevant. You are unlikely to ever see a more lively band than this.

The Urban Voodoo Machine with their patented blend of 'Bourbon Soaked Gypsy Blues Bop 'n' Stroll' are a band like no other. All excellent musicians in their own right, but when you put them all together you get a unique chemistry that no other band can match. They have been doing this for quite a few years now and have got it down to a fine art.

As always this outfit are loads of fun, but due to the lower than expected turnout the atmosphere isn't as good as it usually is at their shows - and it really is a show - not just a band on stage playing music. A lot of work has gone into this so it's a shame to not see so many people here to enjoy it tonight. I guess every band has nights like this occasionally, and to be fair the venue is far from empty although just a shadow of this act's normal crowd. I hope not to leave it so long next time before seeing The Urban Voodoo Machine again...

2/3/2019 Towers Of London @ The Monarch

Yes, I'm back at The Monarch yet again! It's not a particular favourite venue of mine - honest! It's just that recently loads of bands I want to see have been playing there - it's certainly not a place I would choose to drink at since the quality (no more real ales) went down and the beer prices went up.

Local act Healthy Junkies kick off the evening in fine style. This lot can always bee relied on for a good polished performance of hybrid punk/glam/grunge with catchy tunes.

Although this band are Camden regulars it makes a change seeing them away from their usual home-from-home The Unicorn and playing to a different crowd.

And then it's something no one thought would ever happen.

Last time I saw Towers Of London was at this same venue last year as part of the Camden Rocks Festival. Although they played well enough I was a little underwhelmed by their then current lineup and the new very American sounding pop/rock material they had produced after signing to indie legend Alan McGee's new record label. Since then something totally unexpected has happened

In a move nobody saw coming, the original 'classic' lineup have got back together! How this has happened I have no idea, but it seems as unlikely as The Eagles reuniting for their 'Hell Freezes Over' tour. I don't know what happened over the past year but it's as if the whole Alan McGee album deal thing has been written out of history. What is apparent though is that this time they seems like they mean it. (maaaan)

The band have definitely regained some of their former punk rock attitude - the place is packed and chaos ensues!

It might be a big (but very welcome) surprise to see Rev (lead guitar) and Snell (drums) back in the band, but that makes it much less surprising (although still also welcome) to hear the return of many of the old classics from the first album 'Blood Sweat & Towers'. The less said about second album 'Fizzy Pop' the better....

This is the revitalised lineup's very first show, and although most of the original members now look a little different and the guitars used have changed the old fire is still there and this is already a band firing on all cylinders.

This isn't just a one-off show - there seems to be a plan. New T-shirts are on sale just for this gig with the slogan BREAKUP/MAKEUP/SHAKEUP. Rev tells me later that they are all friends again and getting on well - plus there is a new album in the pipeline, and the band will be supporting  The Wildhearts elsewhere in Camden later in the year....

This gig is certainly a return to form and the atmosphere in this packed out venue is great. At one point Rev is standing on the bar over my head ripping out a solo - situation normal. Things were a bit too crowded and frantic for be to get a picture of that though. Things aren't as wild and extreme as the old days, but they have all grown up now and some of their old fans have moved on or lost touch - one or two are sadly no longer with us.. I do see a few familiar faces from back in the day though. 

It's not all about the old days and the first album though - there are several new songs played tonight and they don't sound bad - certainly more interesting than the bland commercial US style stuff they were churning out a couple of years ago for Alan McGee. It will be interesting to see what the forthcoming album holds...

The new/old  lineup of the band is certainly a much more exciting live proposition too - they look to be genuinely enjoying themselves and being back together again - not just going through the motions.

Towers are definitely back - and with a bang! There now seems to be some real excitement around the band again after the on/off occasional gigs every year or so and lacklustre personnel changes.  This does now seem like a band who are back in business and have a plan for the future.

I look forward to seeing Towers Of London again later in the year. It will be interesting to see what the future holds - let's hope they can keep it together this time...