| Subject | Lilygun Upstairs @ The Garage |
| DateCreated | 3/4/2012 6:27:00 PM |
| PostedDate | 3/5/2012 8:35:00 PM |
We are now into March and after the expected quiet start to the year gig-wise
things still haven't picked up - cover bands in local pubs aside I haven't been
to a gig for two weeks now. What's going on?
 Still, at least this Saturday night there is something interesting going on
in Islington. I haven't been to a gig 'upstairs' at The Garage since the venue
re-opened a couple of years ago. Not much has changed apart from a lick
of paint - the toilets and bar are still inadequate if the place is full - which it
isn't tonight. At least part of the reason for this is probably that TFL have
decided to close both the Victoria Line and the northern half of the
Northern Line this weekend. Thanks guys.
 This is normally one of the easiest venues for me to get to - on a
weeknight just one train takes me straight there, or two at weekends or on
the way home. There are supposedly 'Rail Replacement' buses laid on to
cover the out of action part of the Victoria Line so my journey should still be
simple enough if slightly longer... So I arrive at Finsbury Park and try to find
the appropriate bus stop. I am given conflicting directions by each of the
uniformed TFL employees I ask - all wrong.
 I spend ages at what I assume is the right bus stop and all the 'Rail
Replacement' buses that arrive are going in the right direction but terminate
at this stop.
 Most the drivers won't even open the doors to let me ask them if I am at
the right stop. None of the drivers I do actually manage to speak to seem to
know anything.
Eventually I give up and jump on a regular bus to Holloway Road - none
of them actually seem to go down Holloway Road itself so I have to get
another bus down it to The Garage. Eventually. The first bus that arrives is
so full the driver won't open the doors and let anyone on, although he lets
quite a few people off.
 My journey to the venue should have taken just over 45 minutes even
allowing for having to take a bus for the last part of the journey - it takes
nearly an hour and a half and I'm pretty pissed off by the time I eventually
get to the gig...
It's an all female fronted rock night Upstairs @ The Garage. The first band
but TFL ensured I missed their entire set even though I had allowed plenty
of extra journey time.
recommended to me in the past I've never managed to catch them until now.
I had been looking forward to seeing this band, but only two girls appeared
on stage and the singer announced "We are part of MAB" - not an
encouraging start. Apparently their guitarist couldn't make it (TFL again?)
and they have to perform as just a guitar/vox/drums duo tonight with their
usual bassist on guitar duties. Actually, they acquit themselves pretty well in
the circumstances, with quite a heavy sound and real proper singing instead
of the screaming and shouty vocals I was expecting.
 MAB are certainly worth checking out with the full band at some future date
- even if the singer committed the cardinal sin of wearing that most
un-rock & roll of garments a cardigan on stage!
 I can't even begin to describe how wrong that is - but if I have to
explain you wouldn't understand...
Next up is The Mariana Hollow. I've seen this band a couple of times before
as well as heard them on the radio, but tonight they don't seem as good as I
remember them. They play well enough, although the vocals are maybe a bit
too low in the mix tonight. Somehow I feel they have lost direction a bit.
 I'm probably in the minority with my opinion and The Mariana Hollow seem
to have brought more people than any other band has managed through the
door tonight.
Headliners Lilygun are the main reason I'm here tonight, and they
don't disappoint.
 The current lineup of the band is probably the heaviest and hardest rocking
one yet, although that's only part of what this band is about.
 Having seen this band a few times now it gets hard to write about them
without repeating myself - how many times can I write about the
'charismatic Anna Christina' and how she 'stalks the stage with cat-like
grace' etc? That all still holds true, and this show is better than their last one
(which was also good) in the cramped confines of the Intrepid Fox. That
gig was fun, but tonight the band have a bit more space to spread their
(bat)wings and fly. When this band rock out it can get pretty intense.
 AJ is again doing a good job standing in on bass duties while the revolving
bassist door continues to rotate... This band is quite a mixture of styles and
influences, both musically and stylistically - from the glam to the anti-glam
- also with a male drummer in Belle who rivals the band's female singer on
the glamour front!
 There is plenty of light and shade in the band's set - matching the name
Lilygun which captures the contrasts - something pretty and also something
which might kill you if you aren't careful!
 As well as the music being good, this is also an intriguing band to watch
- newish guitarist James Ford has brought a much heavier and harder sound
to the band, but also a very technical approach which demands your
attention without seeming to have the usual ego such players tend to bring
with them. Also, he uses very few effects pedals and relies instead on his
varied technique - a player who might not look like a rock star but is
genuinely interesting and lets the music do the talking.
 Ballet and classical music trained Anna Christina has good stage presence
and manages to draw you into her world - well at least as far as she is
willing to at this point in the band's career.
 Lilygun don't play as many gigs as they'd probably like to, so when they hit
the stage Anna Christina in particular is determined to rock out as much as
possible - the band are taking no prisoners tonight.
  As headliners the band get to play a longer set tonight, but it's still over all
too soon. As the venue has a club night after the bands it's all finished by
around 10.15.
It's much too early to go home on a Saturday night, but with Newcastle
Brown now at a record breaking £4.50 a bottle at the bar I'm out of here!
I head off to the Witheredprunes pub round the corner which has varied
and decent ales at nearly £2 a pint cheaper.
 Most of Lilygun andentourage turn up in due course, but I have to leg
it soon after midnight if I'm to bus it to Finsbury Park in time for the last
train. If TFL hadn't decided to shut the Northern Line for the weekend I'd
have been able to get to High Barnet in time to catch my friends in
As it is I get off the train a minute or so too late to catch last orders in
my local instead so it's straight home for me - but at least it didn't take too
long. Unlike the journey to the gig.
|
These Blogs mainly deal with the countless gigs I go to, but there is some other stuff in there too - and the odd rant! I've just finished adding over 900 of my old posts from MySpace on here - everything is now on proper chronological order from 2005 to date - there is a LOT to read. Some of the older links may not work anymore - just click on the highlighted text for links to more info.
No comments:
Post a Comment