Omerta, Pedestrian Band and Maya at the 100 Club

With temperatures at 30 C outside, thank goodness for aircon at the 100 Club. It was a toss up between going out to this gig and watching Germany v Ecuador. I plumped for getting out of the house. Sparse crowd so I got perfect spot standing with a pillar behind me dead centre stage.

Then on came the first act and I regretted my choice. Suddenly Ecuadorian football seemed very appealing. Omerta were awful. A punk band but all eight of them seemed intent on doing their own thing. The lead singer mistook mascara and leather trousers for personality, and screaming for singing. They did the worst version of These Boots are Made for Walking that anyone will ever hear. 

To give you a picture, the lead singer came into the crowd towards the end and one of the guitarists dumped his guitar and jumped on him, joined soon after by another of the guitarists. And with three eighths of the band just wrestling on the floor, the band actually didn't sound any worse. 

I had seen the Pedestrian Band before and not been impressed. Here they had the advantage of following Omerta. A bit like going out with an ugly mate to make yourself look good. Trio of ordinary looking lads playing guitar and drums was a distinct relief.

They suffered a bit from the opposite problem to most of the venues I go to. Normally the stage is too small for the band. But the stage at the 100 club is really wide and so a trio, particularly a fairly static one, were rather lost with two guitarists taking opposite ends to play from. I couldn't get them all in my field of vision at the same time.

The drummer also sings some of their stuff, and had the disadvantage that his mic kept falling off its stand. Not much of a problem unless you are also drumming at the same time.

However, with headliners Maya the gig took a definite upturn. They are an energetic five piece with a singer who can sing. (And a drummer who looks like a young Phil Collins). The atmosphere just lifted, a mosh pit formed which didn't feel forced. The band seemed to be having fun. Although the chubby lead singer did seem to be struggling with the heat. This was more like what I came out for

Not sure how keen the guitarist was to be hugged by this shirtless guy fresh out of the sweaty mosh pit at the end but....

He started an encore anyway while the lead vocalist took a well earned rest

 

Evening with Entitled Sons after summer afternoon in the garden

Summer has returned and so am spending many days in my back garden, which is now blooming nicely. My only issue is not, as for many people, the heat. And my garden is nicely overgrown; ok a little bit too much overgrown, but what that offers me in a garden in a terrace is the feeling of not being  overlooked. Instead I am surrounded by shrubs, especially tall buddleias. So I can feel secluded - visually. The catch though is that I am not secluded aurally. And my neighbours have a toddler. I am still working out how many times one can listen to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star floating over the fence before one's head explodes...

Anyway, at least the garden is visually appealing now with my bedding plants coming into their own.

And now that my wisteria is long gone, my clematis Perle d'Azur has taken over on my pergola to give an attractive shot of deep blue

As I say, its a bit overgrown but in a nice way

After a day in the garden I went off to central London to see Entitled Sons, whom a reader of this blog will observe I have seen many times, including a couple of times this year. Their remaining announced gigs this year were all to far away for me, but then up popped this record signing at Rough Trade in Denmark Street. This isn't usually my thing - I often see these events pop up even with bands I like, but they don't generally appeal because (a) I don't really feel the need for signed merchandise and (b) what I like is to see a band headlining and playing a long set, not just a little sample. 

But this mini gig appealed more first because it was so easy for me to get to - just down the Piccadilly Line - and secondly while I have no personal use for a signed copy of their new single, I knew my colleague at work's daughters would love one. Serendipity. So off I went.

Now, for most gigs I go to, I like to arrive early and get to the front, but in one corner or the other. No chance of that here as Entitled Sons' teenage fan base would be in the queue earlier than I would want, and this is a shop, so there were no real corners. The total admission was only 50, but that meant the entire front row would only be about 8 people, So, I was pretty much at the back with other middle aged (and older) folk. I felt safer in my tribe!

So they played a mini set of about five of their slower songs, including their new single, Epitaph. Which is a little tough to fit into their normal set, since their output is usually upbeat and this one is about the suicide of a friend of lead singer Charlie. It is easy to be cynical about bands releasing records, but as Charlie introduced Epitaph he was clearly choking a bit. This was personal, not something churned out at the request of a PR company. And he sang it very well, like he does all their songs. As I have remarked before, he has a terrific rock voice with just a nice level of "gravel" in it, which one doesn't normally associate with such a young man.

So after the little set a Q&A had been advertised, but Charlie just said that seemed too formal so they were just going to mix with the crowd (if fifty people can constitute a crowd) and said we could ask them anything. And of course get their single signed, which I duly managed, making clear it wasn't for me! 

So below is a photo I took just before leaving showing you what a small space it really was. Lead singer Charlie is to the right surrounded by young girls as you would expect. Drummer Laurie is heading towards the camera, being captured by his mum on the left, the television presenter Sarah Beeney. I had a nice chat with both Sarah and her husband (and band bass player) Graham - funny I should gravitate towards the parents!- but also swapped a few words with some of the boys. 

One comparison I would make between this lot and most of the bands I see is that the others might struggle to just mix like this. But I guess these lads have been brought up with the media, so are much more natural about it. Sarah said Charlie is actually a little shy by nature but overcomes it. He certainly overcomes it on stage.

I did make the joking observation to Sarah that it was as if she had bred them for the purpose, like some epic eugenics project. Surely too unlikely a coincidence to produce a keyboardist (Billy), then superb singer Charlie, the obviously highly talented guitarist Raffey and then finish with Laurie on drums who, although slight when they started this (I think he was only twelve), is now the tallest and beefiest member of the group, as befits the drummer, being the most physical of band roles. Foresight. Sarah said the role was foisted upon him at a young age by his brothers.

Sarah also said she had wanted them to become actors, but here they were going in a direction of their own. And quite successfully. Now I am not naive. They are clearly commercially advised. These record shop signings are done for a reason. Its not the money they bring in - I can't recall how much this was but only a little over a tenner I think, which included a copy of the single. But each single therefore adds to their sales, which will no doubt be reflected in some sales chart listing.  But there is only so much "acting" one can do. They all just come across as nice people, and the friendly family vibe they give off on stage seems repeated in mingling. Sometimes rock stars can actually be likeable. Dying young choking on your own vomit after a drugs and alcohol bender isn't actually a sine qua non.😀

Laurie said they had some further dates confirmed for later in the year as yet unannounced, so I may yet get to see them again. They genuinely are worth it.

Next proper gig for me is Two Door Cinema Club later this week which should have a crowd of about 8000, so only 7,950 more. Watch this space....