4/11/2012 Altercation, Darrel Bath & London SS @ The Dublin Castle

Subject	Altercation, Darrel Bath & London SS @ The Dublin Castle
DateCreated	11/5/2012 3:25:00 PM
	Sunday night finds me in Camden at The Dublin Castle to see an interesting and varied bill.  The first band I see is the unfortunately named London SS - check out the link to find out more of the band's interesting history. The band first started back in the earliest days of UK punk around the same time as the Damnned, Clash, Sex Pistols, and Stranglers, although in their current incarnation guitarist Brady (on far left with hat) is the only original member. The London SS certainly have an interesting history as future members of The Damned, Generation X, and Chelsea passed through the band in it's early days. Brady refers to this tonight with an offhand comment about another former member the band - a certain Mick Jones who was fired from the London SS and went on to form The Clash - to which Brady simply says tonight "Whatever..." One thing about this rock 'n' roll band that that you will remember is the singer - who seems to spend more time off the stage than on it! This includes running into the front bar mid-song as well as all around the music room. Other members of the band also throw a few shapes and pull some good moves - there is always something going on and you'll never get bored watching this band. This guy is nuts!  Having a crazed frontman certainly makes for an exciting and unpredictable show, although I could have done without the builders style display of arse cleavage... Next up is something a bit less frenetic. Billed as The Darrel Bath Band - all we actually get is two of them! There are some quality songs on offer here as Darrel Bath is a fine songwriter as well as being one the the country's most underrated guitarists - a true natural. You wouldn't think so from the more laid back performance you see tonight, but like the London SS Mr Bath also has fine punk rock credentials - he is a former member of UK Subs as well as also having served time in the less punk and more rock 'n' roll Dogs D'Amour and the Crybabys. Things get a bit more raucous when tonight's final band take to the stage. Altercation feature Healthy Junkies singer Nina - here fronting her previous band. The eagle-eyed might also spot Jimi from Honeykill helping out on drums and looking like he's absolutely loving it! Altercation are a bit heavier than Nina's other band, but this outfit are somewhat lacking in image and stage presence compared to Healthy Junkies - who also have much more memorable songs. Altercation certainly aren't bad or anthing, but the only thing likely to grab your attention is their singer. All in all it's a good night out in Camden for only £6 on the door - and I don't have to sneak off before, during, or after the gig to get a decent and reasonably priced pint - which makes a nice change these days. The Dublin Castle is certainly one of Camden's best music venues and one I always look forward to going to, although they don't have that many bands on who I'm interested in seeing.