7/8/2006 Vicious Cabaret @ the Spread Eagle, Shoreditch

Subject	Vicious Cabaret @ the Spread Eagle, Shoreditch
PostedDate	8/7/2006
	If a band travel all the way down from Leeds just to play in a London pub, then the least I can do is make the effort to jump on the tube to go and see them - especially if I know they are a good band. Vicious Cabaret are a good band so I duly made my way down to London's grimy East End. I arrive at the venue to find a shithole of the sort I thought no longer existed - the phrase 'rock & roll toilet' could have been invented for this place! The Spread Eagle is a small pub which it's clientelle appear to have tried to destroy - a feat the Luftwaffe failed to achieve in the blitz, but the modern day locals seem to be more determined! The interior in painted black in the best traditions of 'toilet' venues, and to say the pub is 'run down' would be an understatement. However, there is a decent stage - not large, but quite high. That said, some of the best gigs I've ever been to have been in small run down venues and I'm happy to go to these places to see my favourite bands and prefer this sort of gig to seeing big bands in large souless venues - which are often pretty run down anyway in spite of the inflated ticket prices.  Tonight it's only ?3 on the door and there are three bands playing - much better value for money than my local pub venue! Not that many people have ventured out to this obscure East London venue on this Monday night, but there are a few familiar faces - including nearly all of Vicious Cabaret frontman Steve Maloney's old band Johnny Zhivago. Only drummer Neil Roberts is missing - this is the second occasion in the last few months that all but one of Johnny Zhivago have all been in the same room together - the other time being at a Zen Motel gig at the Purple Turtle in Camden when only Steve was missing. In spite of the decrepit state of the venue, the sound from the house PA is actually very good. Once again, I go and see a band in a small pub venue using a PA that probably only cost a few hundred pounds and the sound quality puts many of London's biggest and best known venues to shame.  Places like the Garage, Mean Fiddler, Astoria, Brixton Academy, and Hammersmith Odeon boast PA systems that cost tens of thousands of pounds, if not more - so why is the sound quality at these venues so often shite when they have a 'professional' sound engineer behind the mixing desk?  This is the first time I have seen the new slimmed down three piece lineup of Vicious Cabaret. I was very impressed on the previous occasions when I saw the twin guitar version of this band, although a little surprised Steve didn't play more lead guitar like he did in Johnny Zhivago - now he has to carry off all lead and rhythm duties himself - something he proves he is more than capable of doing tonight. Another surprise is not to see Steve smartly dressed in a suit as he usually is - I guess he thought tonight's more traditional rock 'n' roll attire of black leather jacket, T-shirt and jeans was more appropriate for this venue. Steve and the boys play like they mean it - you have to in a venue like this. They get a good reception from the punters - not just those of us who are there just to see this band. All three songs which are currently being featured on the band's MySpace page got an airing, but I was a little disappointed not to hear anything from the excellent 'Twilight Of The Idols' EP. That aside, it was a good performance by the band and well worth the trip out on a Monday night to see them - I hope it's not too long before Vicious Cabaret play in London again. It was nice to see Steve and his former Johnny Zhivago bandmate Lee Wray having a good chat afterwards - as I left they were even discussing the idea of both their current bands playing a gig together sometime - and mentioning that they could still probably remember the old songs... An interesting prospect for the future? Maybe it will never happen, but I'm sure I know a few people who would be very pleased if it did...