9/8/2010 Brijitte West & The Desperate Hopefuls + Radio Dead Ones @ The Gaff

Subject	Brijitte West & The Desperate Hopefuls + Radio Dead Ones @ The Gaff
PostedDate	8/9/2010
	It's back to The Gaff again. Although this is one of my favourite venues, it's depressing to be confronted by disused real ale pumps on each visit these days, and the less said about the state of the toilet the better...  Tonight the bands are a bit less punk and more rock 'n' roll - apart from the opening act who I miss - unfortunately I couldn't get there in time for punk legend Charlie Harper's solo set - which by all accounts was an interesting mixture of covers and UK Subs numbers. The first band I actually see is Italian punkers Reazione. To be honest they just sound like a pub band and play very generic punk.  Next up is ex-New York Loose frontgal Brijitte West with her new band the Desperate Hopefuls. If you think some of these guys look familiar it's because they also play in Kitty Hudson, and Keef also fronts Dead Identities - if you haven't seen those bands then I recommend you check them out. Brijitte and the boys play catchy pop/punk style numbers - they have just put their debut album out and it's rather good.  The band's spirited set features the album heavily, and after a halt while a broken snare drum is swapped they finish with the old New York Loose song 'Bitch'. It's definitely the best set of songs by any of the bands I see tonight. The evening finishes with German punks Radio Dead Ones. They play well, but it takes me a while to warm to them. They throw in some odd snatches of unexpected covers by bands like Madness and I start to enjoy their set more. Maybe I was taking them too seriously, but by the end of their set I am starting to enjoy it. Of course, the few bottles of Newcastle Brown that I've necked by then has absolutely nothing to do with it!  A pretty good value for money night's entertainment for only £4.

PS: This venue is now shut.