22/2/2013 Dogs D'Amour @ The Borderline & Deadcuts @ Some Weird Sin

Subject	Dogs D'Amour @ The Borderline & Deadcuts @ Some Weird Sin
DateCreated	2/24/2013 3:46:00 PM
PostedDate	3/2/2013 12:58:00 AM
	Gigs can be like buses sometimes - none for ages, and then three come along at once! It's been a quiet year for gigs so far, but tonight there are three I want to go to... So I head down to the Borderline. Things don't get off to a good start. I badly underestimate how early Dogs D'Amour will be going on stage. It says on my ticket 'Plus guests' but in fact there is no support band. I'm aiming to get to the venue by 8.30, but my train is late. Again. I eventually arrive at The Borderline around 8.40 to find a sign outside saying the band started at 8.15! The show sold out ages ago so naturally the place is packed. I head down the stairs but realise the room is so full there is little chance of being able to see much - so I decide to stay near the bottom of the stairs until security move me on. They don't, so I stay there and enjoy a much better view than most people. These few shows have been keenly anticipated by many. Tyla has managed to reform the 'classic' lineup of the band with Steve James, Jo Dog, and Bam to play some shows in aid of early Dogs drummer Paul Hornby who has been ill recently. Although Dogs D'Amour have been around in one form or another for many years this lineup hasn't been together since around 1990 when the band first split. That makes these shows rather special. The version of the band which played in London last year was completely different, apart from singer/guitarist/songwriter Tyla - and of course the songs themselves. Last year's show was terrific, partly because Tyla had put a good band together, but also because the band have such a fantastic catalogue of songs. I don't think anyone ever expected to see this lineup of the band back together - even for just a little while. To see this version of the band play all those great songs really is something special and the atmosphere in the Borderline is electric! The band really are on fine form, although there is the odd fluffed intro - but you'd expect nothing else from the old version of the band anyway. They play for getting on for two hours, and you can be pretty sure that whatever your favourite Dogs songs are they got played tonight. That's one of the great strengths of this band - whoever is in the band, they just have so many fantastic songs. They have catchy singalong hooks, and Tyla's lyrics are great poetry in their own right - whatever his faults the man really does have special talent for songwriting and is possibly the last true romantic rock 'n' roll songwriter. Apart from 'Last Bandit' (which was almost certainly played before my shoddy arrival) I get to hear virtually all my favourite Dogs D'Amour songs tonight - 'Drunk Like Me', 'The Prettiest Girl In The World', 'How Come It Never Rains', 'Ballad of Jack', etc. They even play some new stuff as they have just recorded a fresh EP. I'm expecting an early finish as the venue has a 10.30 curfew, but I am still surprised when the band leave the stage at five past ten and we are informed they won't be coming back. Who want's to go home this early on a Friday night? However, I have other plans.... I jump on the tube and head over to Islington for my second gig of the night. I always knew I was going to miss the first band at the Some Weird Sin club at Buffalo Bar, but I still manage to catch the last part of the Deadcuts set. This is a new band formed by ex-Senseless Things and Wildhearts (for 5 minutes) man Mark Keds. They are rather good - certainly worth checking out if you like poppy sounds with a certain punk edge to them. I didn't really hear enough to make up my mind about the songs but I'm sure I'll be seeing them again to check them out properly. By the time the Deadcuts finish the midnight hour is rapidly approaching - I've been to two gigs and I haven't even had a drink all night - neither venue bar appealed: The Borderline because of the prices, and Buffalo Bar doesn't stock anything I actually want to drink regardless of price. I nip into the Wetherspoons round the corner to quickly put that right and consider my options. I was thinking about heading over to The Barfly to catch the late set by The Loyalties as they launch their new album. However, it's around midnight and it's trying to snow. A multiple night bus journey home from Camden in the small hours and waiting at bus stops in sub-zero temperatures really does not appeal. I get the train home instead and am back home cosy in the warm by 1AM.