28/10/2021 Last Great Dreamers + The Vulz + Suicide Notes @ The Black Heart

Camden continues to slowly return to life and I find myself back at the Black Heart yet again - this time to see the full blown return of Last Great Dreamers. However, first band of the night is The Suicide Notes.

They seem  a bit of a throwback to the Camden sleaze rock scene of about 20 years ago - decent enough musicians and a good sound, but the vocals left a bit to be desired. Not bad, but I can't remember any of their songs.

Next up are The Vulz. This is more like my cup of tea - good tunes and punk attitude. I've seen these guys two or three times now and they are good fun.

 And so the the headliners. I saw Slyder's offshoot The Oblivion Kids a few months ago at this same venue. That band are effectively Last Great Dreamers without Marc who was having to take some time out for health reasons. However, I'm glad to say Marc is now back and in good form.

It's great to see the band restored to their full lineup and firing on all cylinders. This isn't a one-off gig either - the band are playing a full tour to promote the re-release of their 1994 debut album Retrosexual.

Needless to say, the album is heavily featured in tonight's set - in fact I think they play the whole thing.

The Oblivion Kids are a good band, but the don't have that special chemistry and charisma that Last Great Dreamers display tonight.

Shapes are thrown and great tunes are blasted out - I don't even think their best songs are on that first album...

...so as well as the good pop/rock/Glam songwriting showcased on 'Retrosexual' we also get some newer bangers like 'White Light (Black Heart)' - well they had to play that song at this venue didn't they?, 'Oblivion Kids' and 'Dope School' as well as a handful of other choice cuts. There is nothing not to like.

An excellent mid-week night out, and on my way out after the show I buy the re-released album on CD - and am pleased that unlike at the Dublin Castle the other night I don't find out later that I already have it at home.!

15/10/2021 Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons + The Electric Shakes @ The Dublin Castle

Camden seems to be slowing coming back to life. So I find my self again at The Dublin Castle to see Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons. But before the headliners I see a band who are new to me.

This is The Electric Shakes - and they are very good! They are what I call a proper rock 'n' roll band, and they even have a saxophone player - something you don't see very often these days.

How come I haven't discovered these guys until now? Pounding driving riffs, and actual tunes - this is the real deal.

The Electric Shakes are definitely a band I want to see again - this is the best new band I've seen in ages! OK, so I haven't seen many bands in the last year or so - especially new ones, but this is a band with a 100% rock 'n' roll attitude and there aren't many of them around now.

However, Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons never fail to deliver the rock 'n' roll goods and are full of snotty attitude.

This band have more of a 50's throwback sound - apart from drummer Filfy Antz throwing in the odd disco beat to shake things up a bit. Dirty Jake on guitar keeps the rockabilly flame alive. Puss Johnson seems to have partly re-invented herself with a slightly more Glam Rock look compared to her earlier Catwoman channeling Tank Girl image, but she still spits and snarls with punky attitude.

After the show Puss is on the merch stall and I buy the band's third album as I already have the first two, but when I get home I find I've already got it - so I really should have bought the fourth one instead! I am an idiot. At least that £10 goes towards the band's fuel money for the trip from their home in Basingstoke.