Sweet Unrest, Bones Ate Arfa and Her Name Was? at the Troubadour

The Troubadour is one of those music venues to which you often see the epithet "legendary" or "iconic" attached, although I had never previously been there. Its on the Old Brompton Road so a bit of a trek for someone in outer north London like me. It has only got a capacity of 120. But it can claim a whole host of big names to have played there going back to the sixties - Paul Simon, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan.  For me the attraction dragging me across London was not one, but two, of my favourite bands - Sweet Unrest and Bones Ate Arfa.

But opening was Her Name Was? who turned out to be a trio, and very good openers at that. Lead vocalist had a very good voice, and some personality. I particularly liked his admission that "most of you will never have heard of us" which was of course true. Alongside was an unusual addition - a black female guitarist (indie doesn't attract a great number of female instrumentalists and very few black people at all) - who was also very good (although with slightly scary mascara!).

I also liked that they did what I think all bands playing to an audience that have never heard of them should do - throw in a cover version alongside their own material. Here it was a Nirvana cover - worthwhile hearing a Kurt Cobain song but without attempting to do his voice. A cover, not a copy. Liked them.

Then up came Bones Ate Arfa. I really do think these boys are on their way to bigger things, so in a way I feel privileged seeing them in a pub with the "crowd" numbering tens, not hundreds. They do just seem that little bit better each time I see them. Another trio, three young lads from Brighton.

While I got a good view of young (he is a teenager) Herbie on drums  that does't translate to photos because he is obscured by his copious drum kit, especially the cymbals. He (and the cymbals), are constantly in frenetic motion, along with his unruly mop of hair. So very watchable but you have to trust me on this!

They finished on their strongest song, Its All Good. And they are about to embark on an impressive tour with dates not only around England but in Northern France, Germany and Belgium too. As I say, I think they will be big. Would like to see them get some billing at festivals - they have a big, noisy sound that would work on a bigger stage. The Troubadour's stage is physically pretty small even for a trio. Arfa likes to leap about a lot normally but apart from one foray onto Herbie's drum kit (see photo further up this page) he was bit more stationary than normal. But still I feel this was the best performance I have seen/heard from them. So far.

But if the stage is small for a trio, then it is really cramped for a five piece like Sweet Unrest. To the extent that lead vocalist Jack planted the stand for his mic actually off the stage and in the audience. And poor Tom, the third guitarist, lost his normal place at the front to play at rear - just not a wide enough stage for them all.

I felt a slightly more subdued set than normal, possibly just in comparison to Bones Ate Arfa. But they do play an awful lot of gigs. I can't make their next one, but still seeing them again this month at the Dublin Castle.