10/10/2010 JOANovARC & Girls On Top @ the Water Rats

Subject	JOANovARC & Girls On Top @ the Water Rats
PostedDate	10/10/2010
	The last night of a busy weekend finds me at the Water Rats to see a couple of bands who have become very familiar to me over the past few years. This isn't a bad little venue, although I think it's toilets are currently the stinkiest in London.  On the plus side - real ale is back at the Water Rats - a welcome return, leading to me sinking a few pints of Spitfire in celebration!  JOANovARC have been making a welcome and long overdue return to the live scene recently. Their enhanced 5 piece lineup is down to 4 tonight as percussionist 'Violet The Cannibal' is off playing elswhere tonight. Some more new songs are appearing in this band's ever evolving setlist, now sounding a little less 'rock' and a bit more commercial - although some old and harder rocking favourites like 'Seeds Of Summer' are still present and correct. New recordings are in the pipeline and should see the light of day in the form of another EP (or maybe even the long awaited album) in the New Year - something to look forward to for sure. After a frightful metal band who should spend less time looking in the mirror and more time trying to write some half decent songs, Girls On Top take to the stage. These Camden sleazesters continue to produce new songs after already releasing 3 albums, but unlike all the Camden scene sleaze rock clone bands, this lot have actually written some catchy and amusing tunes - even if a lot of them do sound rather familiar. Unfortunately, all this means they don't play my favourite 'Mess' from their first album, but you can't have everything I guess.