29/9/2019 Girls Wanna Rock @ The Amersham Arms

 A day of female fronted bands. Some people are now starting to get upset at bands being described as 'female fronted' or 'All girl' bands. The way I see it more people are likely to be interested in seeing bands thus described than are put off from attending - and more punters through the door to see these bands can only be a good thing - right? Girls can rock just as hard as boys and anybody who says otherwise is full of shit. As Lemmy once said to another musician who criticised a girl band: "Fuck off you cunt - they're better than you!". I think Lemmy would have approved of today's bill at the Amersham Arms. If you don't like girls playing rock music then you can fuck off too.

Unfortunately it takes ages to get to New Cross from the extreme northern edge of London so I didn't get there in time to see opening act the grunge duo Miss Kill. Fortunately I did catch the Roz Bruce Infusion.

A new name to me, but I did enjoy this melodic and well crafted hard rock - certainly a name to look out for in the future. Next up was something very different - Yur Mum.

Very in yur face with a ferocious bass sound and grungy vocals - this is about as raw as it gets. Loud and dripping in snotty punk attitude. There is another big shift of sound and style next with Finding Kate.

This is altogether more polished and refined music with roots in rock, but also a commercial pop sheen. Kate seems to have an interesting story to tell and a definite hint of star quality - I think we may well be hearing more from her...

Another big change of sound next with Beth Blade and The Beautiful Disasters.

This lot have been going for a good few years - pounding the circuit with their unapologetic throwback to the glory days of 1970's and 80's classic hard rock.

They ain't messing around! The songwriting is polished enough to make the songs sound like rock classics, but ones that you haven't actually heard before. This is a band who have spent enough years practising their craft to get bloody good at it, and tonight they are taking no prisoners.

This is definitely the heaviest and most professional act of the day so far. Top marks for stage presence, attitude, sound, and the whole band looking like they mean it - no one just making up the numbers in this band.

Beth Blade and The Beautiful Disasters are definitely a band I'd go and see again - although I've been aware of them for a while I'm surprised I've never seen them before.

Next up is Indya. This is an artist I have seen at least a couple of times before and she has confused me each time.

It's like she can't make up her mind whether she wants to be 'pop' or 'rock', but I can't fault her for the sheer energy she puts into her performance - it's verging on desperation. Best bit of the set? The fantastic all out metal guitar solo from the guy in the middle of the picture!

It's good to see the always great JoanOvArc back at the Amersham Arms. However, the band's lineup has changed slightly since last time they were here.

Samantha Walker has departed since becoming a mum and the very capable Keira Kenworthy has left Syteria to take over JoA bass duties, while Laura Ozholl now takes care of lead vocals as well as her previous role on rhythm guitar.

The sound of the band hasn't changed much, but it says a lot about how good Sam Walker is that it takes two people to replace her!

However, I am glad to report the latest lineup of JoanOvArc still really ROCKS!

Sam's sister Shelley still tears it up big time on lead guitar, and Ellie Daymond is a real powerhouse on the drums taking the place of the recently departed and much missed Debbie Wildish.

JoanOvArc remain very much a force to be reckoned with with a strong catalogue of original songs including long established live favourites like 'Live Rock n Roll', 'Seeds Of Summer', 'White Trash', and of course 'Girls Wanna Rock' as well as quality newer offerings from their 'Ride Of Your Life' album and their newer self titled album - not to mention the odd killer hard rock cover - I challenge any band to play a better more dynamic and energetic version of 'Free Bird'. Seriously.

There is new material from the latest lineup of JoanOvArc in the pipeline so it will be interesting to see if the new version of the band takes things in a different direction.

The most recent album from JoanOvArc seemed to be a bit of 'clearing the decks' as Sam left the band - with several songs from the band's earliest days that hadn't been heard live for many years being resurrected. It was interesting to hear polished and highly produced new recordings of some of these old songs which had previously been released by the band themselves on CD, but not on proper 'official' albums. Personally, I think the earlier recordings of the songs were actually better and more energetic than the new versions which have a bit too much commercial sheen for my liking. This makes them seem tamer and more bland than the songs deserve. But what do I know? JoanOvArc have always been a terrific live band, but that has never come close to being captured in the studio. What they need is a producer like Mike Clink to come along who really 'gets' the band and can let them be themselves like he did on that first Guns 'N' Roses album. It will be interesting to see where this band go next...