20/2/2015 Bermondsey Joyriders @ the (new) 12 Bar Club

I've been looking forward to checking out the new 12 Bar Club since it was kicked out of it's historic Denmark Street location last month by greedy property developers. The new venue is in a slightly odd location on Holloway Road, but only a few minutes walk from stations on three different lines. Most regular London gig goers will be familiar with the nearby Holloway Road and Highbury & Islington tube stations, but Drayton Park is actually closer than either at seven or eight minutes walk away. This is excellent for me as I live in North London, but understandably people coming from central or south London are less happy with the new Location. However, the Holloway/Highbury area is somewhere many are used to going to for live music and I suspect the club had very limited options available for finding a new venue at a good location and an affordable price.

So what's the new place like then? Well it's a lot bigger than the much loved Denmark Street venue and is now spread over two floors. There is a balcony - much larger than the old place. Also toilets and bars on two floors. The bogs are bigger and better - not smelly but the floor in the gents was awash and one of the hand driers was broken - still a 'rock 'n' roll toilet' then! Nothing will ever be able to match the intimacy and atmosphere of the tiny Denmark Street venue, but this new place is more comfortable and has a character of it's own - it already feels like an established club. It's easier to get a decent view of the band if the place is busy compared to the old place, although like many music venues there are some inconveniently placed pillars. Overall, I really like this new venue - but I was less than pleased to be charged £4.10 for a bottle of Hobgoblin ale when I can get similar at the nearby Unicorn for around £3.25. The old 12 Bar Club used to be reasonably priced for it's bottled ales so it's a shame this seems to have changed. Consequently my overdraft dictates I only have one drink tonight - many music venues in the area have hiked their bar prices by around 20-30% in the last two or three years while my wages have only increased by 1% in more than 5 years so somethings got to give... That's my only gripe about the new 12 Bar Club though and the door price of only £6 is very reasonable in the 12 Bar tradition.

Anyway, I didn't come here for a night on the piss - I came here to see a band. Tonight's show is the launch party for 12 Bar Records and tonight's headliners have as new vinyl single available on the merch stand to celebrate this. Unfortunately I don't arrive early enough to see punk stalwarts and 12 Bar regulars The Phobics, and I only catch the last part of the set by new band The London Sewage Company.

12 Bar regulars will probably recognise the singer - yes it's 'Barnet Mark' who also sings with punk 'n' roll Elvis covers band Viva Las Vegas. This new band play really well and sound rather like The Clash.

And so on to the headliners. I haven't been able to see the Bermondsey Joyriders for a while but they have lost none of their rough edged charm. Although they look very much like a proper rock & roll band (which they are) this band's punk rock credentials are impeccable as they feature former members of Cock Sparrer and Chelsea plus a drummer who played with Johnny Thunders in his later days. As with the previous bands on tonight's bill the late New York Dolls and Heartbreakers guitarist is an influence - the Bermondsey Joyriders song 'Part Of My Problem' is actually about him.

The Bermondsey Joyriders are an usual mixture of punk rock lyrics and attitude mixed with slide guitar (not in the punk rock rulebook) a very strong and distinctive old school rock 'n' roll image, and proper showmanship.

It's not just about image and attitude with this band - they have loads of great songs too. They have recently released their third album and tonight are promoting their first release on the new '12 Bar Records' label - the song '12 Bar Beat' is available tonight on limited edition 7" orange vinyl. Tonight's setlist is a good mixture of songs from the band's three albums - with some songs from the first album like 'All That Darkness', 'Football', and crowd pleaser/audience participation number 'Who Are Ya'  making a welcome return after all the shows promoting the previous 'Noise & Revolution' album. It makes a nice change to see a proper rock 'n' roll band.

It's been an enjoyable night at the new 12 Bar Club and I look forward to making many more visits over the years - although I doubt I'll be spending much money at the bar...

1/2/2015 Jelly, The Underrunners & Nine Day Decline @ The Dublin Castle

After a good night on Saturday in Camden on Sunday night I'm back again, but at a different venue. Not as cheap as the Unicorn, but if you are on the cheap list it's only a fiver for four bands at the Dublin Castle and £7 otherwise which is still great value for money. The ale on tap is reasonably priced but not as cheap as the bottled stuff at the Unicorn, but the Old Rosie cider has gone up massively in price at the Dublin Castle over the past year and is now heading into BrewDog territory. Which is where is was before the Dublin Castle tonight....

Unfortunately I miss the first band the Love Me Tenders. I do catch some of the set by The Underrunners though.

This band are new to me but have an interesting mixture of styles. A rockabilly guitarist playing Goth? Well I guess Billy Duffy was doing that back in the 1980's - which is very much like where this band sound like they are from.

The Underrunners certainly don't look like a Goth band, but they sound more than a little like Sisters Of Mercy. They are good at what they do though, so definitely worth checking out.

Next up is a band much more familiar to me.

This is the first show Jelly have played for a month or so but they are tight, polished and very professional.

Jelly's influences seem to mainly date from the 1970's and 80's but there still seems to be something current and vital about their sound. The the standard of musicianship is very high and you can tell these are people who have been around and 'paid their dues' before this band was formed. They have learned to write a decent song and they have proved with their debut album - work on the second is in progress.

The onstage and off chemistry shows this band are good friends as well as bandmates - they all seem to work so well together.

Although their album 'TroubaDour, WiZard,The QueEn and the MaChine' (intentional capitals although I HAVE been drinking) sounds great with it's production and mix it sounds even more powerful live with Martin beating the living daylights out of the (house) drumkit in Bonham style and the riff from 'Miss Behaviour' sounding really heavy. This is a band I always really enjoying seeing play.

Last on the bill tonight are Nine Day Decline - another band who play well and don't sound how they look. Plenty of Goth influence like one of tonight's earlier band and players who have obviously been around and paid their dues over the years.

31/1/2015 Gasoline Thrill, Pandora Knox & Healthy Junkies @ The Unicorn

Well 2015 is getting off to a slow start as far as gigs go. Fortunately things are looking up a bit this weekend in Camden. Saturday night finds me enjoying a great value for money (Free admission and cheap beer) at The Unicorn. First band were Gasoline Thrill who turned in a good performance of Joan Jet/Brody Dalle influenced punk 'n' roll with singer Samara Kain putting her guitar aside for the last song of two of their set.

I didn't get many pictures and most of them were rubbish so if you want to see some good ones I suggest you go to the talented Svenja Block's Flickr site here.

Next up were a brand new all girl band who have only been together a few weeks - this was the first ever show by Pandora Knox. This was an all cover song set but very enjoyable! The songs ranged from The Runaways to G'N'R, Mötley Crüe and Alice in Chains.

The band had a great sound and good stage presence - I can see them making a stir on the Camden scene in 2015. Although they only played covers tonight they are planning to start writing songs of their own very soon - I'm looking forward to hearing that they come up with as they play really well tonight.

Last band tonight are Unicorn regulars Healthy Junkies. They usually play here once a month at their own club night with other bands, but this month they are having a break and playing someone else's night instead.

This band's show are always enjoyable with their tuneful and catchy pop/punk/grunge songs picked from their two albums released to date. Work on the band's next album has already started and a couple rather sharp new songs making their debut tonight suggest it will be rather good.

The obvious chemistry between the band members makes Healthy Junkies shows good fun and this encourages one of their friends to join them on stage for a song.

A very enjoyable Saturday night in Camden, and much cheaper than you would expect even though I had a good few beers. I was lucky with the train and home within the hour too - result!

24/1/2015 Stereo Juggernaut & Star Scream @ The Silver Bullet

Things are getting off to a slow start for me as far as gigs go this year - it's over a month since I've been to a proper gig at all. This is only partly because things go quiet in the New Year - there were a few things I wanted to go to in December, but I've just been too skint. By coincidence the last gig I went to last year and the first one this year are both in Finsbury Park. The one I'm going to tonight is ridiculously cheap and easy to get to as the venue is directly opposite Finsbury Park station and it's only £3 on the door to see two bands. Instead of the usual stamp on my hand the girl on the door draws a piece of art on my hand with a marker pen. Not sure what it was supposed to be? At first glance I thought it was a Christmas tree? Maybe a wolf's head - which I thought was quite perceptive at first until I remembered I was wearing a Wolfsbane beanie... (I realise later that the girl on the door is actually the bass player from one of the bands)

Unfortunately, the price of a bottle of Spitfire ale is considerably more than the charge on the door so after one I decide to knock the drinking on the head for the night - pity there is no Wetherspoon's nearby. If I had a bit more time I might have popped into the nearby World's End though. In spite of the great location and dirt cheap door price the venue isn't as busy as I'd have expected on a Saturday night - several people I know were supposedly attending don't show - their loss as it was a great value for money bill. The place is probably less than half full, but there are enough people present to provide some atmosphere.

So I arrive at The Silver Bullet to find Stereo Juggernaut have just started their set. Only Ben on guitar/vox and Reuben on drums remain of the original band from several years ago. The keyboard/samples/laptop player has been replaced by a second guitarist. As a result the band now sound much harder and heavier - the commercial edge to the sound has gone and these days Stereo Juggernaut are far more of a metal band - although Reuben was always a great metal drummer. I do prefer the more 'live' sound of the band these days.

Bar prices aside this is a nice little venue, but the lighting is terrible and tonight's sound mix leaves something to be desired - the bass and drums thunder away but I can barely hear the guitars. I miss the wall of fake Marshall amps that used to be at the back of the stage at this venue - at least the guitars would have looked loud!

Most  the songs are familiar, although the don't play my favourite and what I consider to be their best song 'Fade Away' - maybe the band don't feel it fits in with their newer heavier direction. The band play well as far as I can tell through the naff sound mix.

The other band tonight is Star Scream. Like the previous band I have seen them before, but that was a few years ago - I'm sure there were more than three people in the band back then and the bass player has changed. Former King Lizard drummer Sky London is now on kit bashing duties at the band. The band are giving their new video 'Death Shower Scene' tonight at the gig and are making an effort to put on a good show for the people who turn up tonight. Some thought has obviously gone into this and the bass player has a fantastic look.

Star Scream put on a good performance and there is some stage presence as well as some catchy cyber/punk/goth songs. Unfortunately, like the previous band they suffer from a less than clear sound mix although it seems to matter less in Star Scream's case as they seem to rely more on a laptop for some of their sound and the guitar and bass aren't loud enough to be able to really hear what's going on.

In spite of the sound issues Star Scream put on an entertaining show and are worth seeing although it was mainly Stereo Juggernaut that I traveled down to see. As no one else I know turned up and I didn't fancy being further ripped off at the bar I headed home after Star Scream finished - unusually good timing on my part as the right train arrived the moment I got over the road to the station and the next one would have been another half hour. I was home in no time, which was just as well as I'd been up for work since just after five in the morning. I got a surprise when I looked in the mirror on Sunday morning - there were green lines all over my cheek! I realised it was ink from the 'stamp' on the back of my hand - I must have been sleeping with my face resting on my hand. Good thing I noticed that before going out later!

20/12/2014 Old school punk bands in Highbury

This is a venue that has only recently come to my attention - The Gunners pub in Highbury. As you may guess from the name, this is a 'football pub' and normally somewhere I would avoid like the plague - regardless of whatever team it might be associated with. However, it has come to my notice that they sometimes have punk bands playing, and as I had played on the same bill with one of tonight's bands earlier in the year I thought it was worth checking the place out - it was only a fiver on the door to see four bands after all. Actually; I was a bit spoiled for choice for punk in the Finsbury Park area tonight as the ex-Boys bassist and current frontman for Duncan Reid & The Big Heads was doing a short acoustic spot at the Silver Bullet bar by the station at the same time.

Unfortunately I didn't make it to the pub early enough to catch The Vulz, and The Stereotypes were playing when I arrived. They were rather good in a catchy 1977 UK punk style. Apparently they were going in 1979 so have a proper old school punk past. Dunno how many original members in the current lineup - some look too young... It took a while to get a drink and they finished their set of originals with a cover of the Ramones classic 'Blitzkrieg Bop' before I could get my camera out.

Checking the pub out between bands The Gunners is actually quite a nice little venue if you ignore the 'football shrine' side of it - it's got a proper stage and P.A. Also, there was a selection of real ales as well as a huge array of the usual fizzy water lagers, etc on tap. Rather to my surprise the ales were reasonably priced too. This was starting to look like a good value for money night out - and so it proved.

The next band was Rage DC. Fronted by a very angry man who kicked his Les Paul guitar off the stage (literally) when it wouldn't work at the beginning of the band's set! He bore a most unfortunate resemblance to Nigel Farage in profile when he smiled - but I wouldn't dare say that to his face! The band however, were very good. There was a strong Clash influence, but I was told by the other guitarist later that this wasn't deliberate. They played with fire and passion, but precision too - the best band of the night.

Last band of the night was The Xtraverts - another old school original punk throwback - dating from 1976 apparently.

Not the best band of the night as far as their performance goes, but probably the best written songs.

Like all the bands tonight they were well received by the crowd of mainly middle aged punk rockers - there is quite a good turnout for this night of old school punk bands - especially considering it's nearly Christmas and lots of people are either skint, staying in, or both.

There's a good crowd, but it's not uncomfortably packed. Nice atmosphere.

The Xtraverts are quite entertaining, and seem comfortable doing their own thing while being happy in their status as aging and obscure punk rockers.

One thing I notice all the bands have in common tonight is that they are proper old late 70's style UK punk bands before it all became a Mohicanned studded leather jacket cliche bound up in rules about what was or wasn't 'punk' and all the groups were just bad heavy metal bands. This is far more more what punk means to me. It's turned out quite an enjoyable night, and I certainly wouldn't mind visiting this venue again in spite of it's football associations.

Ginger's Birthday Bash 2014

17/12/2014

Ginger's Birthday Bash is always one of the gig highlights of the year - more of a party than a gig. This year's 'Oh Fuck I'm 50' bash is no exception. These shows seem to get bigger every year, and for 2014 have moved up to The Forum in Kentish Town. Needless to say, the venue is packed and the atmosphere is terrific! It's always fun trying to guess who will be joining Ginger on stage at these events - it's a given that there will be some past or current members of The WiLDHEARTS as well as some or all of the Ginger Wildheart Band. But who else will appear? One of Ginger's first comments concerns current 'gig etiquette', or the lack thereof - he suggests people enjoy the show through their faces instead of their phones , and goes on to suggest what to do if the person in front of you is obstructing your view by holding their phone up...

The basis for tonight's band is Chris Catalyst of the brilliant Eureka Machines on guitar, Jon 'Random' Poole (Wildhearts & Cardiacs) on bass, and Denzel on drums - these guys are the backbone of the 'Ginger Wildheart Band' and play on Ginger's more recent solo records. Victoria from another of Ginger's many projects Hey Hello! is usually on backing vocals for these sort of shows, but tonight we have the excellent Kelli from Obsessive Compulsive instead.

We are treated to a wide selection of songs from most stages of Ginger's post Quireboys career and his many side projects such as Silver Ginger 5, Hey Hello!, Mutation, and his currently running G.A.S.S. thing. Musicians from some of these projects crop up throughout the evening, and also many you might not expect, although I did know about one or two of them in advance. Robin Guy for instance, who has played with... well, nearly everyone. Tonight we get a real treat with Robin playing drums together with Denzel - who is a pretty amazing drummer himself. See picture below.

We also get Robin Guy's bandmate from Rachel Stamp David Ryder Prangley on lead vocals and guitar for the Silver Ginger 5 song 'Girls Are Better Than Boys'. Sorry I didn't get much in the way of pictures, but: 1. I wasn't near enough the front to make it worthwhile. 2. If I was near the front then decent photography would have been virtually impossible due to the tightly packed crowd/jostling/dancing, etc. 3. I knew that there would be far better photographers with much better cameras recording the event and making their pictures available for you to see online. If you want a great photographic record of the entire show I suggest you go look at Trudi Knight's terrific pictures on her own website - there's loads of them!

There is no support act as there is so much to get through - for a full setlist (including who is playing on what) click here.

The guests kept popping up all through the show. We get most of the Hey Hello! live band  (ex-Towers Of London & The Howling) guitarist The Rev, Toshi (Antiproduct) on bass and Ai Sugiyama on drums to join Ginger and Kelli performing Hey Hello! songs. Ginger actually played all the instruments on the album himself in the studio, but obviously he can't do that tonight - although he does play drums or a song or two during the evening.. The guests keep on coming, and include Saffron from Republica, Sami Yaffa from Hanoi Rocks/New York Dolls,  Vix from Fuzzbox, Tom Spencer (Yo-Yo's/Loyalties), Beki Bondage (Vice Squad),  Dom Lawson, Yolanda Quartey (amazing singer), Paul-Ronny Angel, Chris(tmas) McCormack from 3 Colours Red, and many others. A particular highlight is Ginger introducing one of his favourite songs ever - 'White Lies' by Jason and The Scorchers - featuring that band's guitar slinger (literally) Warner E. Hodges and also 'borrowing' my cover band's bass player a certain Jason Knight - who was also 'borrowed' by Warner E. Hodges for a UK tour earlier in the month. For this song the latter day Wildhearts drummer Ritch Battersby takes the drum stool - where he stays for the final half of the set consisting of 15 Wildhearts songs - including some rarities and some songs that might not have ever been played live before. All the many guests end up on stage at the finish of the show as confetti cannons shoot into the air to mark the end.

Ginger winds up an amazing night with the news that 2015 might see The WiLDHEARTS playing their 'P.H.U.Q.' album in full on stage, might see a second Hey Hello! album, and might see a new Wildhearts album! Needless to say, each of these announcements went down very well with the audience. It sounds like we have a lot to look forward to...

13/12/2014 Dragster, Paradise Alley & Healthy Junkies @ The Unicorn

Another Saturday night in Camden - this time at the monthly 'Rock 'N' Roll Rendezvous' club which is always a good night. In my usual disorganised state I don't arrive in time to catch all the opening acts - missing Sarah Pink's set completely, and only catching part of Dirty Habit. The latter are a female fronted three piece from Manchester mixing rock 'n' roll attitude with punk and metal - the metal being provided by the guitarist with his mean looking Dean guitar. Unfortunately by the time I'd got myself a beer (not always quick at this venue) and got my camera out they finished their set. I hope to catch them again sometime and see the whole show...

Next up were recently reformed 1990's Glam/sleazesters Paradise Alley. The band played well and the singer had great boots. The songs aren't bad either.

If you think one of the guitarists looks familiar it might be because Taj also plays with the current lineup of the London SS - see my previous Blog post. Brady from that band is also present in the crowd tonight.

It's the second time I've seen the band in 2014 and they play better than the last time I saw them when they sounded like they could use more rehearsal time.

Next up is the hardest rocking band of the night.This is dragSTER and they mean business!

The singer Fi's hat has been borrowed from London SS/Hollywood Brats guitarist Brady who is down at the front enjoying the show!

Although Dirty Habit had a heavy sound earlier, Dragster have a meaner and more intense vibe.

This band impressed me the previous time I saw them at this venue and they are just as good tonight. They play hard and mean, but they have good songs too - something many of today's heavier bands tend to overlook in their efforts to be heavier and more aggressive than all their peers - who are also doing exactly the same thing and ensuring they all sound the same too. Most those other bands are easily forgettable clones of eachother - but you'll remember this lot.

This is another band featuring a singer with great boots! Dragster definitely have the most animated singer of the night - Fi is a real ball of energy and attitude and the rest of the band really play like they mean it.

As usual at these monthly  'Rock 'N' Roll Rendezvous' nights Healthy Junkies finish off the show with their mixture of punk, pop, and grunge tinged tunes. This band are consistently one of the best performing acts on the circuit - going to show that hard work and just getting out there and playing all the time really can make all the difference to how good a band are.

Of course it helps if a band has good songs too - Healthy Junkies now have two albums out and they have loads of excellent songs to choose from. There are plenty of bands out there who build a reputation from energetic live shows, but nobody remembers their songs - because they aren't actually very good. Healthy Junkies have songs you can remember - especially if you see this band more than once - then they really start getting stuck in your head.

It's been another top value for money night - free admission and cheap beer even by pub standards. It was cool to meet some of the Team Rock Radio crew too. The Unicorn is a venue I always enjoy going back to - unlike some of Camden's much more famous ones.