25/10/2007 Idiot3 @ the Old King's Head

Subject	Idiot3 @ the Old King’s Head
PostedDate	10/25/2007
	I've been waiting for a chance to see Idiot3 for a while - this is their first visit to London. I saw the band quite a few times in their earlier incarnation as Rat:Daddy in the days of Five Miles High promoted gigs - they were always fantastic!  They underwent various lineup changes along the way. Unfortunately, they decided to split in 2005. The following year saw them reinvent themselves and make a fresh start as Idiot3 with a new image and a set of brand new songs. This new band has more of a 'pop' edge than they had in their earlier days, although their previous band had a very commercial sound. Their live sound is still very much a rock band, but a very tight and polished one. These guys have been playing together for quite a while - and it shows. This was supposed to be a four band bill at the Old King's Head, but one by one over the last couple of days all the other bands have pulled out.  Unfortunately, Idiot3 were only expecting to play a 30 minute set and have only arrived armed with enough songs rehearsed to play for half an hour or so - so what we get tonight is quality not quantity. The quality is top notch though, and as well as some good songs the band sound great - you know how some bands just seem to have a good sound? Well this is one of them. With two guitars and occasional keyboards there is plenty to fill out the sound, and the songs have obviously had plenty of work put into the arrangements and been well rehearsed. Sometimes you see a band for the first time and immediately think 'This is a class act'. This is one of those bands. To be honest, with these guy's past track record I wasn't expecting anything less - and they certainly didn't disappoint. They promise to be playing plenty of times in London next year, so it's worth keeping an eye open for them...

This pub turned into 'The Gaff' and was the coolest little venue in town for a couple of years. Then it turned into a shortlived Costa coffe joint...

22/10/2007 Warrior Soul, Disarm, Jack Viper & Rise To Addiction @ the Purple Turtle

Subject	Warrior Soul, Disarm, Jack Viper & Rise To Addiction @ the Purple Turtle
PostedDate	10/22/2007
	How do you fill the Purple Turtle on a cold Monday night in October? If you are Pure Rawk Promotions then you put Warrior Soul on there. The only other times I've seen this venue so full have been for Towers Of London and the Quireboys. Disarm open the bill with a tight and powerful set of power punk rock 'n' roll. These boys always turn in a strong performance and tonight is no exception.  Next up are Camden sleaze regulars Jack Viper. I'm surprised to see them so early on the bill, but judging by the lucklustre audience reaction maybe it was the right choice.  Rise To Addiction are on next. They are new to me, and to be honest their music goes in one ear and straight out the other - although maybe there isn't much left to stop it inbetween... They have an energetic frontman though, and he does a good job of grabbing the attention of the audience - which he needs to because the music doesn't. To be fair, they go down better than the previous band - although the venue has filled up more by then. There's no mistaking who the main draw is on tonight's bill. I've never seen Warrior Soul before, although a few of their songs are familiar. I saw Kory Clarke a few months ago when he was fronting Dirty Rig, and I have to say I was impressed even though I didn't know any of that band's songs - he certainly is an excellent frontman. This version of Warrior Soul is really just Kory and a bunch of new guys - but he knows how to pick good people to play with so although this is essentially a new band they sound damn good. Things start to go wrong for me when it's time to go home - what's new?  I look at my watch and see it's exactly midnight - meaning I still have about 15 minutes to chat and finish my drink. A few minutes later I check again to see how much time I have to spare. It's still midnight! WTF? Closer inspection reveals I have somehow switched my watch to stopwatch mode and it's actually reading all the zeroes. The time is now 00.30 and I have missed my train.  I get to Mornington Crescent station and have to settle for another train - which leaves me with a two or three mile walk after getting off at the other end. I could have got the night bus (or buses) almost to my door, but that would have taken an hour or so longer. I eventually get back about 2 AM, and four hours later I'm getting up to go to work - having only got around the same amount of sleep the previous night. I never learn.

20/10/2007 The Rezillos @ Islington Academy

Subject	The Rezillos @ Islington Academy
PostedDate	10/20/2007
	Another gig clash - three I wanted to go to tonight. I wanted to go and see Honeykill in Hertford, plus The Rezillos, and the infamous Space Chickens in London. I had to pick The Rezillos as: 1. They are fantastic. 2. I have seen or will get plenty more chances to see the other bands over the next year, while it could well be a year or so before I get another chance to see the Rezillos. I arrive at the venue to find what sounds like a female fronted Cult tribute band playing their last song. This was Darkwater - I was later told by more than one person that they were actually pretty good and the last song was their only cover. I think it's the sixth time I've seen the Rezillos over the years and they have been great every time. Tonight is no exception - they are terrific!  Apologies for the picture quality - I only had my phone with me and I took them with that... They have an excellent back-catalogue to draw on ('Can't Stand The Rezillos' was and still is one of the best albums of it's time) and their newer material is sounding good too. It's good to see the band playing a larger London venue than they have over the last few years - Islington Academy seems close to sold out. Many (most even) older bands who have either reformed or kept going tend to sound a bit tired and look like they are 'going through the motions' to keep a flagging career going  - or just doing it to raise some cash while they still can. (I look forward to the forthcoming Sex Pistols shows with some trepidation) The Rezillos most definitely don't fall into either of those categories - just watching them you can tell they still mean it. What's more, they are obviously enjoying themselves - Fay Fife in particular. And she still looks great!  This band's energetic stage show put's most much younger bands to shame! Most of the band's classic first album is in the setlist, along with a few recent songs - plus a cracking cover of 'River Deep, Mountain High'! A couple of encore songs and the show is over just after 10 - far too early to go home on a Saturday night! Due to the early curfew at Islington Academy I realise that I now have time to possibly catch some of the Space Chickens set at the Old King's Head in Holloway Road. Fortunately, they start late due to the rugby World Cup final on TV in the pub and the band are only a few songs into their first set when I arrive. I used to see this band regularly at the much missed Duke Of Lancaster in New Barnet - I didn't realise they were still going until I saw they there playing at the Old King's Head. The band play a mix of originals and covers and have a very entertaining frontman who is quite mental. I once saw him take off his shoe and pour a pint of Guinness into it mid-song - then he drank it straight out of his shoe. A roll of aluminium kitchen foil is also an integral part of his stage show - indeed there is even a song about tin foil and plastic bags! Other songs involve sniffing after birds on a trip to the seaside , and bent coppers at the infamous Stoke Newington nick - "You ain't got nothing on me!". The covers include some of the usual standards, but also quite a lot of rock and blues - even some Black Sabbath - and not 'Paranoid' or 'War Pigs' either.  Apart from the eccentric frontman's amusing drunken patter, the band are also excellent musicians and have a great sound. Surprisingly for a cover band, this band have a strong following and the pub is pretty full, although it's not your normal 'rock' crowd and it feels a bit odd to me - probably because I don't see cover bands in pubs regularly these days. All the same, it's an enjoyable and entertaining night out even if I hadn't already seen the Rezillos earlier.

The Old King's Head later became 'The Gaff' - a really cool little venue for the couple of years it was open for.

19/10/2007 Fables Last Stand @ The Fly

Subject	Fables Last Stand @ The Fly
PostedDate	10/18/2007
	First band of the night is Echobeat. They are new to me but turn out to be rather good. They look slightly 'emo' but sound rather better than that and have quite a decent frontman. They have a good solid sound, good dynamics, and play very tightly. Certainly worth seeing. Those road warriors Fables Last Stand are back in London for a showcase gig at The Fly. This is a classier venue than most they have played in the capital, and some of the rock press are in attendance to check the band out. The band get to play to a much fuller room tonight than they usually do in London and they rise to the occasion well. As always, they are very well received by the crowd - few of whom can have known who they were. Regardless of fashion and what the music biz tell the kids is 'cool' there are always loads of people at gigs who really appreciate a band who bring an AC/DC, Stones, G'N'R, Aerosmith vibe to a show   - especially if the band actually have some decent songs - that is why this band always goes down well.  In spite of the rock press mafia, there are still a lotof people out there who just want to hear a good rock band with some great songs and a genuine passion and belief for what they do - not just another band trying to play faster/louder/heavier than their peers, and ending up sounding exactly the same as them for that very reason. As Black Rebel Moped Club sang - 'Whatever happened to my rock 'n' roll?' Well guys - it's still out there if you look for it. This sort of good time classic rock never goes out of fashion with real music fans and gig goers - whatever the music press say is or isn't 'in' this year. What do they know anyway? They don't buy CDs or gig tickets and just go to gigs they can blag into for free 'cos there is a record or promotion company putting up the cash... I tend to take far more notice of how a band are received by an audience who have never seen a band before than what is written in the music press - and Fables Last Stand always do very well winning people over as most the people at gigs have gone just to see one of the other bands on the bill and don't give a shit what is supposedly 'in' this month. The next band on the bill also play the retro 'anti-fashion' card. Bungalow Zen are another band who take their influences mostly (if not entirely) from the 1970's. They are excellent musicians, but the warning bells start ringing for me when the singer straps on an acoustic guitar on only the second song.  He's still wearing it on the third song and my interest is dimishing faster than a jazz guitarist's chords. In fact he keeps playing the acoustic for most of the set - even though it's largely inaudible. If nobody can hear it anyway, why not play an electric - then at least you'll look more rock 'n' roll even if you don't sound it. The lead guitarist is actually very good and has a great sound, although he tends to sound a little self indulgent at times and this doesn't help keep my attention - so I adjourn to the upstairs bar for another bottle of Old Speckled Hen...  I don't recall the name of the last band, but they struck me as being more fit to be the opening act on the bill. They were certainly the least tight players and not many people stayed to watch them.  They weren't particularly bad, but noticably not in the same class as the earlier bands. They had a small but obviously devoted following and reminded me of the sort of original band you might see in a local pub - a big fish in a small pond with all their mates in attendance, but not likely to travel much further afield.

This venue later became 'The Bowery' and has now shut.

18/10/2007 Metro Riots & Johnny Panic @ the 100 Club

Subject	Metro Riots & Johnny Panic @ the 100 Club
PostedDate	10/18/2007
	As the headline band had been recieving some Rock Show airplay on Xfm recently and also just had a session broadcast on the station I was expecting the 100 Club to be quite full tonight. Wrong.  The club seemed nearly empty when I arrived. Johnny Panic were the opening act, and I expected them to draw a reasonable crowd on their own as I have seen them play to a packed Barfly and they have released a great album since then. I remember seeing them play to a handful of people at the Dublin Castle several years ago, and now they seem to have almost slipped back to that level again.  I'm not sure how this has happened as they are an excellent band with a strong identity of their own, backed up by some really great songs. Although they are very much a rock band, with influences including the Sex Pistols, Guns 'N' Roses, and The Clash (although they sound like none of these bands) they seem to have been marketed almost as a pop band, maybe because they are a good looking band which makes them attractive to teenage girls. Maybe this has worked against them and the more hardcore music fans have drifted away a bit thinking the band lack 'rock' credibility as there tend to be a lot of young girls at their gigs - suggesting they are more of a 'pop/punk' band? Musically they are certainly nothing of the sort, and lyrically they are fiercely intelligent with challenging and thought provoking songs - a million miles away from most 'pop' or 'punk' bands these days. Oh, and they have some really good tunes too. I certainly enjoyed this show more than when I saw them at Dingwalls a few months as they played more songs from their debut album 'The Violent Dazzling' - I haven't heard the newer songs enough to really get into them yet. Fortunately the place fills up a bit as the band play, but I think they suffered from being on so early, and quite possibly with a published stage time of 8.00 some of their fans stayed away as they didn't think they could get there that early. It's a shame as the band put on an excellent show tonight and deserved better. I was only expecting two acts on the bill tonight - both bands that have been working for several years to establish themselves and that I was looking forward to seeing again. So I was quite surprised to find another band I've never even heard of sandwiched inbetween them. At first I thought half of Metro Riots hadn't turned up when just two people got onto the stage and started playing - this turned out to be The Sea. Like the White Stripes or Winnebago Deal, guitar and drums is all you get. They manage to not sound like either of those bands, although they are lighter than the latter band and are more indie/rock sounding. I really think they would be much more impressive if they added a bass player and maybe a second guitarist to fill out the sound. They don't seem to have any particularly memorable songs although they certainly play well enough - the drummer is terrific. I don't really see how they justify their place on the bill after Johnny Panic though?  It's a couple of years or so since I last saw Metro Riots - at the TMF festival I think. I've also seen them once or twice at the Dublin Castle and Metro or somewhere and been quite impressed. With their first album now out and a fair bit of recent exposure on Xfm I was expecting to see a noticably improved band. The new stuff of theirs I've heard on the radio sounds dirtier and heavier, but this doesn't come across in the 100 Club tonight at all. If anything, they seem aless exciting band than the Metro Riots I have seen in the past. Maybe they are just having an off night, but they certainly don't set the place on fire. The club has filled up a bit by the time they take to the stage, but it's still not much more than half full - not what I was expecting for a band who've had the amount of exposure they've had recently. They weren't bad or anything, but just seemed a bit lacklustre for a headline band at this well known venue. I'd been looking forward to this gig, but the night turned into a bit of an anti-climax and in my opinion all three bands were in the wrong spot on the bill - Johnny Panic were certainly the best band of the night and deserved to have been headlining.

11/10/2007 JOANovARC (nearly) and a Led Zep tribute band @ the Underworld

Subject	JOANovARC (nearly) and a Led Zep tribute band @ the Underworld
PostedDate	10/11/2007
	JOANovARC supporting a Led Zeppelin tribute band? It should be the other way round.  I knew the girls were going to be on early, but I didn't realisehow early. I rushed to get to the Underworld after work figuring they would be on around 8ish. When I arrived at the venue at 8.15 I thought that I'd still be able to catch at least half of their set. As I walked in the first thing I heard was a round of applause - as JOANovARC finished their last song.  Not a good start to my evening. To make matters worse, I'd just paid £12 on the door - about twice what I was expecting to see a mere tribute band on a Thursday night. And I'd missed the main band I'd come to see.  OK - I didn't get there in time - I'm shit. I need a personal manager of some sort to organise me, as I'm obviously useless at doing it myself. So, I like Led Zeppelin - I've listened to all their albums quite a lot over the past few months after reading Hammer Of The Gods (all long before their London gig was announced) so at least I should enjoy the rest of the evening. The tribute band in question are Letz Zep - top quality pro musicians I would expect after paying £12 to see them. Well they look the part and have made the effort on that side of things - although I can't help thinking 'Jimmy Page' looks far more like Andy McCoy, or even Joe Perry.  They start off with 'We're Gonna Groove' - not one of the most obvious songs, but an interesting choice. 'Percy' looks and sounds the part, as does 'John Paul Jones' - a very good bass player. He also played keyboards on some numbers - particularly 'Kashmir' - a song which didn't really work in this setting. It didn't help that it sounded like he was playing a cheap Casio keyboard which made it sound a bit crap compared to the lush synthesised strings of the original - surely something which would be easy to replicate with a modern keyboard?  Unfortunately, the drums didn't have the 'Bonham' clout, but maybe that was as much due to the mix as anything else. When 'Moby Dick' came round I was praying they would leave out the three minute drum solo - even the original is highly overated in my opinion. To my dismay, they included the drum solo, or an approximation of it - cue another toilet/bar break... Jimmy McCoy/Perry had a fairly decent classic Les Paul/Marshall sound - plus the predictable double necked guitar later on - although I thought he used a bit too much wah or something pedal on the opening number, which should have had a much more raw sound as it was one of their earliest numbers. I was not alone in having serious issues with the setlist - having about four slow blues numbers in the first five songs is not a good thing. Led Zep always had a strong blues influence, but they knew how to pace things and had a strong grasp of dynamics - this band missed that point completely for the first half of their show. Led Zep had plenty of rockers on the first two albums, but the first part of this band's set totally failed to reflect this.  Basically, we were getting really bored. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were short songs - just go for a piss and get back in time for a rocker. This band gave you plenty of time to go for a dump, then go and get a pint upstairs - and when you came back they'dstill be playing the same song. I've only seen one Led Zep tribute band before (Stairway To Zeppelin) and they were much more entertaining than this. If I'd only paid a fiver to see this in a local pub I'd have been satisfied, but for £12 at the Underworld I expect something much better than this - I've seen far better bands for less money than this at the same venue on many occasions. You know when you go and see a band who are obviously competant musicians, but you feel the it's just not 'happening'? Well that's what this was like for me. I'm sure plenty of the people down the front wouldn't agree, but they were probably a lot more pissed up than me and don't get out much. For this money I was expecting top quality musicians who had done their homework and could play the songs note perfect. Actually, as I always thought Jimmy Page was quite a sloppy and loose player (which to me is what made his playing genuinely exciting) I was expecting a guitarist who was technically better than Page as the pro standard is far higher in 2007 than it was in the 60's & 70's. So I was surprised when there were a couple of songs with very distinctive licks that were very obviously not right. I'm not saying I could do better, but for the money I paid I was expecting more than this as they must have been getting paid several times what I'm used to getting paid for playing other people's songs. All that said, most of the songs we were expecting got trotted out, although as I said I had issues with the setlist. It wasn't till over halfway though the show that 'Robert Plant' asked us if we wanted some more 'rockers'? Predictably, the response was 'Yes!' It would have been nice to hear 'Good Times Bad Times', although to be honest I know a cover band who play locally who can knock out more exciting Led Zeppelin covers than Letz Zep. And, inexplicably - they never played 'Communication Breakdown' tonight. WTF!