31/7/2010 Vice Squad @ The Gaff

Subject	Vice Squad @ The Gaff
PostedDate	7/31/2010
	Vice Squad gigs are always fun and The Gaff is a great little venue (apart from the disgusting state of the gents toilet) so I was looking forward to this gig. There are some other decent bands on before the headliners though. The first one I catch is a female fronted mob who (I think) are the Castaways. A good rock 'n' roll band and worth catching. Next up are Johnny Throttle. I've heard good things about this lot but haven't seen them up til now. This is proper old school 1977 style punk rock - all out rock 'n' roll with an in-your-face attitude, before punk became a tired old cliche of mohicans, studded leather jackets and bands who want to play heavy metal but aren't good enough. This band has one of the best punk frontmen I've seen in a long while - very much in the Iggy/Jimmy Pursey mould. This is good stuff and I'll certainly be looking out for this band again. The previous band got a bit of a pit going, but that was small beer compared to the Vice Squad crowd! This legendary punk band are real troopers and have built up a strong and loyal following - not to mention having a strong back catalogue to draw on. One thing you notice about Vice Squad is that they really care about their crowd and try to draw them into the show by encouraging them to sing. The band (particularly Beki) look like they are enjoying themselves as much as their fans and they really feed off each other's energy - this is the sort of show you can't fail to enjoy. Vice Squad seen to have taken a liking to this venue and now play here on a fairly regular basis - long may it continue.

PS: It didn't continue that long -  The Gaff has since closed...