8/6/2013 Tango Pirates & Healthy Junkies @ The Unicorn

Another Saturday night at The Unicorn - I seem to be finding myself at this Camden watering hole a lot these days. Healthy Junkies have their own monthly club night at this venue and they seem to put on the sort of bands that I like, as well as playing here themselves. They appear to be building their own 'scene' as there are plenty of familiar faces at every show - many of them in bands that play here. It all makes for a cool vibe and I always find these nights worth a trip into town.

Unfortunately I can't make it to the gig early enough to see the first two bands Riot In Paradise and Husband'n'Knives. After leaving my broken camera at home last time to try out the camera in my new phone (with less than good results) I managed to get a few pictures out of my knackered camera tonight before giving it up as a bad job.

Healthy Junkies have built up a following by gigging regularly and they always have people at their shows these days - going to show that hard work can start to pay off if you stick at it. It helps that they are also a good band of course. But changes are afoot in the Healthy Junkies camp and half the band seems to have changed since I last saw them a few weeks ago. That time they had a completely different rhythm section - now the whole rhythm section has changed again! The drummer at this gig is a full on metal drummer and he's really good. Enquiries later reveal he is actually the band's original drummer. New on bass for this gig is Dave Renegade - playing rhythm guitar in the Gasoline Queens until very recently.

This band always seem to get the crowd moving with their punky pop tinged rock 'n' roll. Elements of Glam and Grunge are also thrown into the mix to shake things up. Their songs are a cut above average and this makes you remember them more than most their peers on the Camden scene.

Next up we have a band with a touch of star quality - some of whom may be familiar to you even if you aren't a regular reader of my blog. Fronted by Danny Fury - a man who has 'rock star' written all over him and has played with Lords Of The New Church and Dogs D'Amour among others - and last time I saw him he was playing drums with Healthy Junkies! Bassist Vera Wild can also be seen playing with Jelly while you may recognise rhythm guitarist Dave Tregunna from Sham 69, Lords Of The New Church, Dogs D'Amour or Cherry Bombz among others - although he is normally seen playing bass.

Someone else some may recognise is lead guitarist Timo Kaltio - in the past he has also played with Dogs D'Amour (as has nearly everybody it seems) and the late ex-New York Dolls Arthur Kane and Johnny Thunders. Put all this lot together and you have a dark rock 'n' roll band with a hint of sleaze and decadence about them. They have all been around long enough to know exactly what they are doing, and they do it well. They aren't trying to re-invent the wheel or anything, but there is a natural easy vibe to their performance.

Tango Pirates aren't in this for fame or money - they wouldn't be playing in a Camden boozer otherwise - they are doing this because they love it. Maybe they don't know how to do anything else? All that matters is that they are out there doing it and keeping the flame alive.