7/5/2019 Porcelain Hill @ The Monarch

Back to The Monarch in Camden yet again - this small pub venue seems to be hosting some of the best nights in town these days. And tonight it is hosting one of the best live bands you can see in the UK right now, although actually Porcelain Hill hail from California. They seem to like it over here though!

This is an old school power trio, but with a new slightly modern twist  If you can imagine the Jimi Hendrix Experience mixed with Cream then you would be in pretty much the same ball park.

Porcelain Hill play a funky mix of rock and blues, with a little soul mixed in - with the emphasis very much on performance. 

The band have an entertaining and engaging frontman in Darnell Cole, and he's no slouch on the guitar either!

Porcelain Hill seem to be on an almost never ending Tour of Duty across the UK - playing virtually anywhere and everywhere they can get a gig - they must be one of the hardest working bands in the country right now. Catch them while you can before they head back across the pond.

20/4/2019 Eureka Machines @ The Borderline

These days the brilliant Eureka Machines only come down to 'that London' from their native Leeds about once a year, so I'd be mad to miss them. Well maybe mad either way but here I am back at the Borderline - for probably the last time ever. This venue had a massive refurb a couple of years ago which in my view utterly ruined it. The useful raised area near the bar that enabled a good view of the stage was removed, as was the step/raised area of the rear half of the room which also enabled a better view for people in the back half of the room. The bar was moved too - none of these things were an improvement in my opinion - they just made it into a worse music venue, And they moved the toilets too - from the back of the venue where they were easy to get to. Now you have to negotiate a long  and badly signed corridor and corner with stupidly bright and disorientating lighting that should carry a health warning for epileptics or anyone effected by flashing lights like when they warn you about flash photography on the TV news! It's like being in a sci-fi spaceship.  Incredibly stupid, no doubt very expensive, and completely unnecessary! This was a good music venue - now it's like a shit nightclub. What were they thinking? No doubt the already outrageous bar prices have been hiked up even more to pay for it - so I don't even bother trying to get a drink.

The venue might now be dreadful, but at least Eureka Machines are still fantastic!

Their unique take on rock/pop/metal is interesting and highly entertaining. The standard of musicianship is very high and the playing tight.

With a strong following and five excellent albums under their belt, but still almost entirely no media attention and virtually no radio airplay even though they sell this and other venues out every time they play on London - they stubbornly carry on recording new music and playing shows - because they love it. And so do we. The situation I have just described features in the lyrics of some of their songs too: 'The Story Of My Life', 'Do Or Die', The Light At The End Of The Tunnel', 'Champion The Underdog', 'Zero Hero', 'Good Guys Finnish Last', 'Pop Star' (Check out the brilliant video for that song showing the everyday reality of life in a struggling band), the poignant 'Eternal Machines', 'We're Going To The Future', and 'Little Victories' all tell part of the band's story...

Although the music itself is taken very seriously, These guys don't take themselves seriously at all and there is much hilarious banter from frontman Chris Catalyst. The music and the band's performance is enormous fun! I'm sure they have put a lot of work into being this good, and they really are very good indeed - I don't think you'll see a better band anywhere on the UK club circuit.

This has been a terrific night out - just as well as it might be at least a year before Eureka Machines hit London again. And they won't be able to play at The Borderline again as it's closing down this summer - only two years after it's highly expensive and unnecessary refit - what a total waste of money that was! Oh well, this venue might be gone (and it deserves to even though London doesn't deserve to lose any more music venues) but that funny little band from Leeds will carry on....

19/4/2019 Porcelain Hill @ The Amersham Arms

Back south of the river again - for a cheaper gig at the Amersham Arms this time. Well the door price is cheaper than last time, but the ale is still fucking expensive Camden or West End prices so I won't be drinking much. But it's the music I'm here for and that is top quality. After what seemed a never ending toilet tour of the UK last year Porcelain Hill are back. This band from California made a lot of new friends over here last year with their amazing live performances. They seemed to go down an absolute storm everywhere they played, and they must have had a good time too because they are back for more. But, 'It's Porcelain Hill Jim, but not as we know it'. Yes, there has been a change to the lineup in this power trio - a new bass player.

The new guy has quite a different look and stage persona, and probably more ego but is a terrific player! His predecessor was also a fantastic player and performer, but in a more Noel Redding meets Geddy Lee style. The new guy is just as good, but in a more modern way.

The main thing is - this is still a terrific band! Hendrix is an obvious inspiration, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan adding a blues influence. The songs are original and the singer/guitarist is a natural showman.

No guitars being ceremoniously set on fire or smashed - they are needed for the next gig! However, this band rock really hard! There is some blues thrown in, and they can get funky too - but this is mainly about the rock. I look forward to seeing more from this lot during the year...

18/4/2019 The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing @ The Black Heart

Needless to say this gig is sold out. The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing sell out most of their hometown shows in advance - and for good reason. This gig is also part of the band's 10th Anniversary Tour so I'm sure they could have sold out a bigger venue than this.  The Black Heart is one of Camden's smaller venues and off the beaten track even though it's only yards from World's End pub. However, virtually any London rock fan will be familiar with this place.  The upstairs room where the bands play is very small, and the bar has now been moved from the back of the room to a much smaller area at the side by the merch stand. Makes no difference to me as I stopped drinking at this venue a while ago when they hiked the ale prices up, and they only serve real ale downstairs anyway. So I'm normally in BrewDog just round the corner instead before and after shows - expensive but more bang for your buck.

The Men... are great fun as usual.- crushingly heavy metal riffs incorporated into catchy sing-a-longs that could have been written by Chas & Dave - what's not to like?

Although this steampunk band's material can be pretty heavy musically, and also quite political at times, there is also a lot of humour and irony involved. If you are a sensitive soul then prepare to be offended, but if you like metal and punk music as well as having a sense of humour then you need to check this band out - the band's guitarist is a comedian as his 'day job', or maybe it's the other way around?

The band's original material is strong and stands up well in it's own right, but they do sometimes throw in the odd cover. Tonight they throw in a great sing-a-long tune that is familiar to most people: Marc the bass player introduces the song by saying that although the song was also covered by The Fall who the band love even though "Mark E Smith was a massive cunt" it was originally by The Kinks - and then they launch into a great version of 'Victoria'. Which of course fits in the the band's fascination with the Victorian era as featured in many of their songs - like 'Steph(v)enson', 'Victorian Grindcore', 'Brunel', 'A Traditional Victorian Genltleman's Boasting Song', 'Zombie Albert' etc.

There is always a great atmosphere at this band's gigs, and this was no exception - always great value for money.

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...

16/2/2019 JoanOvArc @ The Monarch

And here I am at The Monarch yet again. This time to see the always terrific JoanOvArc. However, the band seem to be in a state of flux at the moment and you can't be sure quite who will be playing at any gig. Sam Walker is missing from her usual bass/vox duties - it can now be revealed that she is taking time out from the band to have a baby. Laura is now on lead vocals in addition to her normal role on rhythm guitar. Her voice is very different to Sam's but she is a good singer and takes lead vocal on 'Jane' on the band's 'Ride Of Your Life' debut album. Guesting on bass for this show is (I think) Sam Bolderson from Haxan.

This new (and temporary?) lineup of the band seem to be still finding their feet...

 ...and Ellie Daymond is again keeping the amazing Debbie Wildish's drum stool warm - and doing a very good job of it!

The band still rock pretty hard and have loads of great songs to choose from - including many well established crowd pleasers like 'Live Rock 'n' Roll', 'White Trash', 'Seeds Of Summer' etc.

One constant you can always rely on with this band is Shelley Walker ripping it up on lead guitar - this girl can shred with the best of 'em!

Once again JoanOvArc pull it off, and their version of Free Bird' still puts other bands to shame - although I always try to hide when they dedicate this song to me as they know how much I love to see them play it.

The times they are-a-changing in the JoanOvArc camp, so it will be interesting to see what happens next....