7/8/2011 Trash Monroe @ Nambucca

Subject	Trash Monroe @ Nambucca
DateCreated	8/31/2011
	Off down Holloway Road again tonight. It never seems to cost much on the door at Nambucca and the real ale (London Pride) is back on tonight - although it only seems to be on about half the times I visit this venue.  Still, it's a welcome step in the right direction.  I'm here this time to see Trash Monroe. It must be about two years since I last saw this band and they have evolved since then. Singer Melany now looks less 'Goth' and more punk/metal/rock chick. She has also changed the way she uses her voice - she was a pretty good singer before and used to sing a great Skunk Annansie cover - and you need to be good to do that well. Her style has changed a bit now, and the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned. Both the band's sound and their image seem more commercial now, although their dark side is still very much in evidence. The eagle eyed might spot ex-King Lizard man Sky on the drum stool tonight - if you can see much though the murk from the smoke machine.  I can understand why some venues use smoke machines more since the smoking ban in an effort to create some atmosphere - but if you are trying to take pictures they make things very difficult - the autofocus doesn't a lot of the time as it's trying to focus on the smoke instead of what you are actually trying to photograph. This is why a lot of my pictures (most of which you don't see) end up out of focus - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!  Also the flash just gets reflected off the smoke straight back into the lens - making everything look overexposed. Not all of us can afford fancy 'pro' cameras that can handle 'low light' conditions better and not use flash - but I wouldn't use one anyway as I need something that will fit easily in the pocket of my jeans as I like to travel light. It certainly wouldn't be fair to label Trash Monroe a 'Goth' band - there is more to them than stereotypical cliche.  Sometimes (not often enough) you come away from seeing a band's show and feel you have really seen a performance - played with genuine passion, rather than just a group of people on a stage playing some songs. This is one of those nights. Unfortunately this band from Essex don't play in London very often these days - I'm hoping that will change...

PS: This venue closed in early 2014. For the last time?