20/10/2018 Warner E Hodges Band @ the Hope & Anchor

Out to gigs 3 nights in a row - 4 gigs in 6 days. This used to be nothing unusual, but it's taking me a while to get back into the swing of things. Maybe there aren't so many shows happening these days that I want to go to? I think more gigs are slipping under my radar unseen these days - MySpace used to be great for keeping track of things before Tom sold it and it was ruined after being taken over. Twitter is of limited use, and Facebook is shit There are certainly less venues - partly thanks to CrossRail. However, there are certain small venues that seem to survive through everything and the Hope & Anchor seems to have been around forever. The small room downstairs where the bands play has changed dramatically though - with the bar and stage now in completely different places! About the only thing that hasn't changed much is the toilets, although they are even more disgusting now. However, it's easy (for me) to get to, a reasonable price on the door, and the ales on tap on the ground floor aren't too outrageously priced - it's a good place to visit with a nice vibe and a rich musical heritage. U2 played their first London show here - to 7 people! There are a lot more people than that here tonight....

It's good to see the return of the Darrel  Bath Band after the guitarist playing solo gigs for a couple of years or so. The rhythm section are good and solid. Darrel has a great feel for the guitar and is one of the most natural players I've ever seen, but to be honest this isn't one of his better nights - I think he may have been slightly 'over-refreshed' on this occasion.

 

Darrel has a rich back catalogue to draw from, both from his solo albums as well as bands he's been in such as the Crybabys and Dogs D'Amour - plus the odd blues standard. There is no reference tonight to his punk past in bands like UK Subs and The Vibrators though.

The place is absolutely rammed for tonight's headliner - hence the lack of pictures - there just wasn't room to wield a camera! Jason and The Scorchers guitarist Warner E Hodges has once again assembled a mighty fine band to back him on his European tour. Not only is he sharing the stage with another Jason - this time Jason Knight on bass - once of Lick That, Planet Of Women, and more recently The Haunting AD and Binge Drinking. but also on second guitar is a new and very capable addition in the form of Ben Marsden from The Main Grains. Put together this lot make a shit hot rock 'n' roll band!

Although Warner is known for his country-rock background, with his solo act he takes things right back to his ROCK roots. He is a huge AC/DC fan and one of their songs opens the set. Along with a bunch of his own songs we also get some unexpected covers by Black Sabbath (War Pigs) and Queen (Tie Your Mother Down).. Also a louder and faster version of John Denver's 'Country Roads' -  It's all pretty rockin'  stuff and enormous fun!

19/10/2018 - Part 2. JoanOvArc @ Big Red

So after hotfooting it from Camden Assembly to Big Red on Holloway Road I find I am actually in plenty of time to catch JoanOvArc doing what they do best - rocking out on front of a live audience. This is something the band absolutely love!

JoanOvArc have played here before and always draw a good crowd. The good thing about this venue is that it's a ROCK bar, and as well as their own existing fans, the regular and random punters here who have no idea who the the band are tend to be quickly won over before the band have finished their first song!

I've seen JoanOvArc many many times over the years, and they are always great - tonight is no exception. Anyone thinking a bunch of girls are going to play lightweight music or a load of soppy ballads are in for a shock - a BIG shock! This band rock hard from their first song. If they weren't so loud you would hear a lot of jaws hitting the floor when people hear how good they are.

Earlier, before the band took to the stage I bumped into a shady but familiar looking character at the bar. Having seen him at one or two previous JoanOvArc shows I guess what was going to happen later, and sure enough it did. Midway though their set the girls were joined on stage by actor John Altman AKA 'Nasty Nick' from Eastenders.

This will have come as no surprise to existing fans of the band as John appeared in a Christmas video singing the old classic rock & roll cover 'Wild One' best known as being sung by Iggy Pop. Mr Altman has previous form in the rock business after taking over from the late Gary Holton as singer with the Heavy Metal Kids - so he knows what fronting a rock band is all about. Sorry for my pictures being so shit - the smoke machine makes it very difficult to to take pictures without using flash and my camera's autofocus is shite in poor light.

JoanOvArc have built an impressive back catalogue of their own songs over the years, some of which remain live favourites to this day. Last time the band played at Big Red it was to launch their new album Ride Of Your Life - this time they are here to promote their new charity single in aid of the Pink Ribbon Foundation -  Girls Wanna Rock  And to that end they are joined on stage by another special guest - Steph the star of the video who also fronts her own band Flowerpot. Needless to say, JoanOvArc go down a storm at Big Red - effectively playing to their 'home crowd' even though the band originate from Stevenage.

This being a headline spot on a two band bill (Flowerpot were supporting but I missed them as I was otherwise engaged in Camden) JoanOvArc have time to play a longer set than usual. So after playing at least an hour of their own original material they launch into a few covers - not just as 'crowd pleasers' but because the band just love playing a few of their favourite rock classics - no 'Ace Of Spades' this time, but they do play a really good 'Whole Lotta Love', and I get embarrassed by being given a name-check from the stage before the band play 'Freebird' - a song which they play an amazing version off - this is one of the few live bands who can genuinely move me with the pure passion they play their music with. Their version of 'Freebird' is really something special.

JoanOvArc are the perfect end to a night of terrific live music spread over two different North London venues - look out for them playing in Camden in 2019....

19/10/2018 - Part 1. Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts @ Camden Assembly

A busy night - a busy week in fact. Out at a gig last night, and tonight there are two gigs I want to go to. Fortunately they are not too far apart - so if stage times permit....

My first port of call is Camden Assembly - formerly The Barfly, and The Monarch pub before that. The building has seen a massive refurb since it closed as the Barfly. The old painted walls outside have been stripped back to the original ceramic tiling - which is actually very nice! Downstairs has been stripped out and redone with new furniture - and new very expensive beer prices! The days of me drinking at this venue and it being reasonably priced are gone. To be fair, at least there is transparency on the bar pricing with the cost of beers being clearly displayed in large letters over the bar - a great improvement on many music venues - where you can get a very nasty shock when you find out how much the pint you just ordered costs! I head straight upstairs - where I find more changes. A new PA system, and the old Barfly stage backdrop has been replaced with some stupid thing with a wall of hundreds of lights pointing at the crowd! Who dreams all this crap up?

Anyway, I'm not here to marvel at this shiny 'new' venue - I'm here to see the act formerly known as Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors. Now as a result of being signed by a record company they are Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts. Don't worry - it's still the same people in the band and the same songs! Like the venue they just look smarter now. Yes, they are all in suits - they scrub up well though. I've never seen bassist Rob Lane in particular look so smart! The important things are unchanged: Ryan Hamilton is in a very 'up' and optimistic frame of mind with the way things are now heading. He is an excellent and very engaging frontman - funny, very natural, and entertaining. He is a man truly in his element and happy to be playing packed out club shows with a very good band.  The style of music is country tinged rock and Ryan has a very relaxed and easy going manner on stage - his banter with the crowd is very natural and he tells some very funny stories between songs. This is an evening of great entertainment and the atmosphere in the room is wonderful. All too soon the show draws to a close - much too early for both crowd and artist. It's a Friday night in Camden and no one want's to go home this early - I don't think it was even 10.00 but the curfew is kicking in and the venue are kicking us all out to make way for the club night. Mr Hamilton doesn't think much of this, and nor do we - but on this occasion it actually suits me well as I have somewhere else I need to be ASAP....

18/10/2018 Saint Agnes @ The Borderline

I'd been hearing good things about Saint Agnes for a while before I finally managed to see them at Camden Rocks Festival last summer. They were one of the best acts I saw at the festival in 2018 and I knew I had to go and see them again. So I find myself at The Borderline this Thursday night. The venue has changed dramatically since my last visit, and not for the better in my opinion. The old bars and split floor level that allowed for good views even from near the back or side have all been swept away - to be replaced by a long and shiny completely new bar area towards the back. What was once an intimate club venue full of character and atmosphere has been refurbed into a bland and sterile room designed to part punters from their money as quickly and efficiently as possible. Past experience of the venue's once reasonable but in more recent times rapidly inflated beer prices mean I don't go near the bar. I took the precaution of a visit to the ex-Marquee Club Wetherspoons down the road first...

The Borderline is packed! I didn't realise the band had already built up such a following - this is a very impressive turnout for a pretty underground band on a Thursday night. The atmosphere is dark and brooding before the band take to the stage - there is menace in the air. Something very dramatic is obviously about to happen. And it does.

The stage set is dark and atmospheric - it matches the band's performance perfectly.

The music is dark and heavy - imagine if Led Zeppelin wrote the soundtrack to a Hammer horror film.

There is definitely a strong blues influence at work here, and you very much get the feeling you are listening to 'the Devil's music'.

Kitty the singer is quite an enigma and somehow seems not quite of this world - like a much darker version of Katie Jane Garside from Queen Adreena. She invites all the girls in the room up for a stage invasion during one song - a risky idea as unless it's the last song you are probably going to want to somehow get them all off the stage again for the rest of the show. However, I get the feeling that Saint Agnes are not a band afraid to take risks.

Kitty's performance is mesmerising and slightly disturbing - this is a band you will definitely remember if you see them live. Saint Agnes don't just play their songs - they give a real performance.

Some bands just get up on stage and play their songs - often very well, but it's all a bit clinical and sterile. There is nothing clinical and sterile about Saint Agnes - they are raw and visceral - dark and disturbing. Not for nothing do they call their fans 'The Coven'. Well would you really expect anything less of a band with a song called 'The Witching Hour'?

All too soon, the band's performance is over. And it's not yet the Witching Hour. It's not closing time either - some ne'er do well suggests we go to the pub. No one cares if it's a 'school night' - we repair to The Angel nearby.....

15/10/2018 The Brutalists (and some Quireboys) @ Mau Mau Bar

Out on a Monday night again - often the best stuff isn't to be found at weekends so people who won't go out on a 'School night' are losing out. Tonight finds me at one of London's coolest and most intimate venues. Mau Mau Bar in Ladbroke Grove is a tiny and very non-corporate venue with a vibe not unlike the much missed 12 Bar Club in Denmark Street, although this is even smaller! Beer and cider is from bottles and cans only, but not as expensive as you might expect for a West London music venue. The reason I'm here is to see ex-Quireboys bassist Nigel Mogg's new band The Brutalists. The band take their name from the Brutalist form of post-war architecture - an ugly utilitarian form of building - punk architecture? Like the architectural form, this band's music is basic, but in a good way. For his new band ex-North Londoner but now LA resident Nigel Mogg has decided to step away from the bass and try his hand fronting a band instead. He seems to have taken to frontman duties like a duck to water.

Nigel has all the moves, and like his former bandmate Spike would appear to have been studying Rod Stewart closely, but more for his moves than his sound. You'd think Phil Mogg's 'young' nephew had been doing this for years - he certainly looks like a natural. His singing ain't bad either.

The rest of the band are all American and include early LA Guns rhythm guitarist Mick Cripps, although their sound is actually more British. The Brutalists sound very much like a 1970's London pub rock band - but a very good one! They remind me a lot of Dr Feelgood. and if you are a fan of that band then you'd probably be into this lot too. Even though they don't actually sound that much like the Canvey Island heroes. they have a similar vibe about them and are a very tight band indeed.

I really enjoyed The Brutalists set. They are on their debut UK tour along with Dirty Strangers on their 'There's Still Room To Rock N Roll' tour as well as promoting the first Brutalists album. This is one of the best new bands I've seen in ages!

Finishing off tonight's show are The Dirty Strangers. This band have gone through many lineup changes since the 1980's and are very well connected - both Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood have played on their albums in the past, and although this band has quite a punky pub rock sound, they have a bit of a Stonesey vibe about them even when playing without any Rolling Stones members. So what's the next nearest sounding thing to having Rolling Stones members in your band? Having Quireboys members in your band! And so we have Guy Griffin from that band helping out on guitar tonight - hidden on the left behind Dirty Strangers mainman Alan Clayton in the picture below.

As if having one Quireboys guitarist wasn't enough - partway through the set they are joined by ex-Quireboy Guy Bailey! And ex-Quireboys bassist Nigel Mogg looks on from only a few feet away looking well into it all. Wow - 3 current/ex-Quireboys all playing on one night in the same tiny West London venue!

If only all three Quireboys could have all been on the stage at the same time! Never mind, it still feels like quite a special evening and there is a really cool atmosphere in the place. And guess what? It was free to get in!

I had an interesting chat with Nigel Mogg later - I already knew we'd gone to the same school in North London, although we didn't know each other at the time as we were in different years, but as we compared tattoos we discovered we had something else in common - we both have almost identical tattoos on our forearms in tribute to Lemmy.

Mondays may be shit, but Monday nights don't have to be!

23/9/2018 MCN Supersprint @ Alexandra Palace + a rant on current motorcycle design

It's many years since I've been to a motorcycle show, but seeing as I've been a biker again for a few years and this one was virtually on my doorstep it seemed too good to miss. Also, the 'Supersprint' concept seemed like fun! It's several years since I've been to Alexandra Palace - I think the last time was an Alice Cooper show. But this time I'm here in daylight - the distant London skyline has certainly changed a lot since I last stood here...

Alexandra Palace is a spectacular venue for all sorts of events, but the MCN Supersprint is something a bit different - a motorcycle show and a sporting event. Sort of. Arriving after two in the wet afternoon on the Sunday got me in at the discount price of only £10 - great value for money! The motorcycle show side of things is pretty conventional, but the 'Supersprint' turns out to be a lot of fun! It's a very informal type of indoor motorsport, with some celebrity riders from the varied forms of motorcycle sport - from road racing to trials and including some world champions. There were no prizes - this was strictly for fun, although the various 'races' and 'trials' certainly brought out the competitive side to the riders and there was great (but good humoured) rivalry! The various competitions were designed to be fun - and they were! World Superbike Champion and I'm A Celebrity winner Carl Fogarty competed against the likes of World Trials Champion Doug Lampkin, TT ace John McGuinness, and road racers Chris Walker and Jamie Whitham.  The varied 'races' and challenges included slalom, wheelie and other tricks of skill. It was all highly entertaining!

Also appearing on the indoor 'race strip were demonstrations of various exotic machines from vintage racers to more modern sporting machines like this Triumph Speed Triple. I was particularly interested to see and hear this in action as it was very similar (although this is an earlier model) to my bike which came to grief (and me with it, although unlike the bike, I survived) last year. Unfortunately, I didn't see it run, so I guess it was demonstrated earlier in the day or on the Saturday. A shame as these Triumph triples sound fantastic!

I did see/hear some other amazing machines demonstrated though - including a vintage 6 cylinder Honda racer which sounded amazing. Many of these racing bikes have no silencers - so you can imagine how loud this all was indoors. I loved it! There was also a show of custom bikes - many old, new and amazing machines to feast the eyes on. Honda, Kawasaki, and Triumph all had stands showing off their latest machines, and it was interesting to be able to try them for size. There was also other exotic and highly desirable machinery on display - this new but very retro looking Brough Superior SS100 particularly caught my eye! This old British make favoured by Laurence of Arabia has recently been revived. This machine of more of a work of art than a motorcycle, but if you are (very) well minted you can buy a brand new one now to ride on the road. If I won the lottery....

In the background are two of the most desirable bikes of my youth: On the right the 1000cc 6 cylinder Honda CBX, and in the middle a 1000cc Laverda Jota triple. I could only dream of owning superbikes like this back in the day, but my most recent Triumphs would leave either of them for dead now!

I didn't take many pictures as the new bikes  from the major manufacturers as they are well covered in the media and you can easily find them for yourself, but if you want to know more and see some of the Supersprint action check out the MCN page on the event. However, I did have a few thoughts after trying out for size and comfort some of the latest machines.....

<rant>

I was pleased to see many of the latest bikes from some of the big manufacturers on display. I was very interested in being able to try out these machines for size and comfort, but was surprised and disappointed in what I found: My last two bikes have been a Triumph Speed Triple and a Triumph 955i Daytona so I was particularly interested in what Triumph had to offer. I was thinking one of the Triumph twins might be more suitable for me these days, as although I love the character and performance of the big triples I have to accept that my reflexes aren't as sharp as they once were for 'on the edge' riding. On examining the newest Triumph twins I noticed something odd about the exhaust pipes leading to the silencers - all was not what it seemed. Part of the 'exhaust pipe' was actually fake and merely a piece of single sided metal trim giving the appearance of a straight pipe leading to the silencer - while the actual exhaust pipes took a sharp diversion into a large metal collector box hidden under the engine before turning back onto course for the silencers. Maybe this goes some way to explaining why all the modern Triumph twins are so heavy - why does an 800cc twin weigh noticeably more than my 955cc triples? Something is wrong here! Even the apparently stripped down 'Bobber' and (ironically named) 'Speedmaster' models are surprisingly heavy for basic 2 cylinder parallel twins. Euro 4 regulations? The new Royal Enfield twins are air cooled and appear to have none of this bullshit and fakery about their exhaust systems, while still meeting Euro 4 - so what has gone wrong at Triumph?

I tried out many of the latest bikes for comfort. Again I was disappointed. Why the silly thin seats that are currently fashionable? - particularly on imitation hardtail 'Bobbers' with the less than comfortable suspension on the UK's shockingly potholed roads. Also, why the silly little petrol tanks on nearly all modern machines? My last two Triumphs both had 21 litre tanks - and even then had a range of well under 200 miles. So why have so many new bikes have tanks of only around 16 litres? The new 'Street Twin' and 'Scrambler' models from Triumph only have 12 litre tanks - absolutely pathetic for 800cc machines! ! I refuse buy a bike with a tank as small as that. Are these new machines designed just for posing round town on - quick sprints between urban petrol stations? I want to actually GO places on my bike - without have to keep stopping for unnecessary fill ups. You should be able to cover distance quicker on a bike, but you won't if you have to make all those extra stops to refuel. On my Speed Triple and Daytona I had a nice comfortable fat tank to grip between my knees. I tried all Triumph's current twins and found nothing to grip with my knees! Stupid little petrol tanks again - before visiting the bike show I really fancied several models in Triumph's twin range, but after sitting on all of them nothing felt 'right' - I just didn't feel comfortable on them at all. Their petrol tanks appear to have recesses for your knees, but these seem just for show as the tanks are so small and narrow I find it not possible to comfortably grip them between my knees - it's as if they are designed for midgets or children! I am 6' tall BTW. I left the show feeling there isn't a twin in Triumphs current range that I'd buy even if I won the lottery. I did like the new Street and Speed triples, although I think they look ugly compared to earlier models. The 1200 Tiger did actually feel comfortable, if very cumbersome and top heavy - I'm not sure I'd want to venture off road on one. I don't think many owners do - it's a two wheeled Range Rover and you never see them with mud on them either!

Sorry if these seems an anti-Triumph rant - I love the two I've owned, but I can't imagine buying any of their current range. Other big manufacturers left me disappointed too - why are most modern bikes so ugly? Kawasaki had some interesting models at the show, and I liked the new Honda Fireblade - it compared well with my 955i Daytona although obviously more modern with even better performance. However, the new Honda CB1000R just looks like a piece of crap! I'm sure it's actually a very good motorcycle underneath, but just fucking look at it! It looks like a joke bike and exhibits what to me are some fashionable but poor design features common to other new bikes: USD forks? Yes, these are basically a good feature and improvement, on the track, but on the road the difference is largely theoretical. Any reduction in unsprung weight is good for handling and roadholding, but then for road use guards have to be added to protect the exposed (now lower) sliders from grit/stones/dirt - thereby adding to unsprung weight, so any advantage is minimal. The reasons for USD forks on road bikes are more fashion/marketing than genuine improvement.Why not just fit fork gaitors instead of these stupid and ugly guards?  Which brings me from front to rear suspension. WTF is going on here? I like single sided swinging arms, but the 'fashionable' rear end on the CB1000R (and other current bikes by other makers) is just fucking stupid from an engineering point of view. Re: my point on reducing unsprung weight to improve roadholding - the effect of adding a light 'hugger' mudguard to the front end of a swinging arm is minimal. But Honda have added a bulky piece of kit on the rear end of the swinging arm that actually extends beyond it and increases unwanted pendulum effect with even more unsprung weight! Adding the totally unnecessary weight of rear lights and number plate onto the end of the swinging arm is just fucking stupid! And how well are the lights/electrics going to stand up to the long term constant hammering they will be subjected too on an unsprung part of the bike? Put the lights and number plate back in a sensible place like they used to be under or behind the seat - surely having these items at higher level increases safety and visibility. I bet the CB1000R's lights look good bouncing up and down with the wheel when you ride at night! There is no need for all this - it just total marketing bullshit as well as poor design. And Honda even describe this bike as 'Neo Sports Cafe' - what utter pretentious Hipster bollocks!

Apparently sales of new bikes are falling drastically. Maybe it's because the major manufacturers are not making the sort of machines that real bikers actually want? Too much bad design, ugly bikes, too many features people don't want or need - and too much fashion-led marketing bullshit? Even if I won the lottery there aren't many new bikes available today that would actually tempt me regardless of price. Manufacturers - if you want better sales - GIVE US THE BIKES WE ACTUALLY WANT!

</rant> Rant over.

I enjoyed my visit to the MCN Supersprint and I hope the event will return in 2019 - in spite of the lowish attendance on the day I went. Maybe the ticket price was a little on the high side for what wasn't a major event? It was a good day out as far as I was concerned though, and I would definitely go again.

PS: The 'rant' section above is an edited version of something I originally wrote for the letters page of Bike magazine, but they didn't use it as it was far too long. I had a lot to say!

3/9/2018 Porcelain Hill & Lord Algae @ The Unicorn

Monday night. In Camden? Yes - it's a 'School night'. Guess what? Getting to bed an hour or so later now and then won't kill you. Yes really - you'd be surprised. Apparently, Monday night is 'Blues Night' at The Unicorn. Which is odd as I'd describe neither of these acts as 'blues bands' - although of course being 'rock' means their music is blues based if you dig down deep enough. I like blues, but that's not why I'm here. A few weeks ago at another band's gig I randomly discovered an amazing but unknown American band who had been hard at work touring the UK's toilet circuit. I told a musician friend of mine about this band as I thought he might like them, particularly as his own band and the US act are both power trios.  So I was quite surprised when a few weeks later both bands turned up on the same bill at one of my favourite Camden venues! Coincidence?

My friend's band were on first. They are called Lord Algae - formerly the 'The Lord Algae Review'. They are a rock covers band, but a very good one. They put their own twist on the songs they cover, and don't play all the same tired old standards that most rock covers acts play. The set is very varied, veering from 1950's rock & roll, to James Brown, and the next minute they could be playing Motörhead!

The standard of musicianship is very high - frontman Max plays bass like Jack Bruce, while singing with a much grittier bluesy voice. Guitarist Jimmy reminds me of the late Gary Moore at his hardest rocking and most bluesy, while the drummer does the best Keith Moon impression I've ever seen - without actually making and effort to look like 'Moon the Loon'. This is a top quality band, and the music is played with a rare and genuine passion for the songs. This band is well worth catching if you see they are playing in a London pub near you

Next up we have a very different power trio, but an amazingly good one! There are only a handful of people there to see the bands in this Camden pup on a Monday night, but Porcelain Hill play this gig as if it's a packed out sweaty club show on a Saturday night!

The energy level is sky high from the moment these guys hit the stage!

From what I have seen so far, this band play every show as if their lives depended on it - even to a handful of people in a pub on a Monday night. This band take no prisoners!

The songs are their own apart from one or two covers, but this band are so good that it doesn't matter if you've never heard their songs before.

Porcelaine Hill put on a show, but they don't need fancy clothes, lights, or stage props - they are the show. The frontman puts a new twist on the old 'playing-guitar-behind-your-head' trick and plays a whole song (including a pretty good guitar solo) with his guitar behind his back. And makes it look easy.

The music is basically ROCK, but with funk, soul, and blues mixed in. If you can imagine the Jimi Hendrix Experience crossed with Cream then you are in the same ball park. The musicianship is electrifying!

These guys play like they mean it.

This is how you play rock 'n' roll!

Go and see this band if they head your way - you won't regret it. They are coming back to the UK in spring 2019.

People who won't go out 'because it's a school night' are missing out BIG TIME!