Every song's a killer, making for a consistently great set that captivated the audience (800 strong – their first Surrey gig supporting Spike's All Stars) for the whole duration, and generating more and more applause as the night progressed. I caught up with the guys after the show to learn they had people queueing to join their mailing list and had sold out of CDs – so remember, if you find yourself at a Fraser gig, get in early to avoid disappointment!

This band are set for big things, so check them out here for more information. Their single 'Lay It On The Line' (a personal highlight during their set) is out on the 25^th of January 2010, and right before that they're playing at the Boilerroom in Guildford on the 21^st. So click that link right now and enjoy their tunes!

After a string of no-shows, the question is Will He Be Here? But with his bail conditions lifted for one-night only allowing him to play until midnight, there’s talk of this being the new Libertines at the Forum (a must-see for anyone who doesn’t know.)

The crowd buzzes, as members trade stories about meetings with Pete, shows they’ve seen and the general rumour that tonight’s the night there will be an emotional on-stage reunion between Pete and his former Libertines’ band-mate and best friend, Carl Barât. Having queued longer for merchandise that we did to get in and brandishing our newly purchased PETE IS INNOCENT (and so is Alan Wass) tees, we headed into the academy.

The crowd is Camden’s chicest, plus public school-boys and media-savvy gurus, all eager to see Grot n Roll’s hottest property. The first band on are the Paddingtons. Looking like a cross between the Vines’ Craig Nicholls with the mannerisms of Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, they storm the stage, proving they are worthy of the headline spot.

Front man, Tom Atkins, is a classic rock n roll cliché. With his crack-head hair cut, swagger and cigarettes between his lips between songs, their blunt punkism quickly wins over an audience, who, let’s face it, are going to be hostile to anything that standing in the way of them and their hero. Best song is whatever the one that goes “I’m a loser if you say so (say so honey)”.

Halfway through the next support act, we decide to venture to the front. The crowd are growing impatient, screaming when Pete appears briefly tantalisingly onstage before the third act, confirming at least for those in the crowd who have come from as far away as Wales, that he will perform tonight.

Former Clash star and Libertines producer Mick Jones introduces Babyshambles, hinting the band are about to hit the recording studios to begin work on their anticipated debut album, put on hold after Pete’s run in with the law, and drummer Gemma Clarke’s departure.

Killamangiro is the opener – the crowd erupts. This is the band’s most well known song to date, a single just denting the top 20. With an eclectic audience of hardcore Pete fanatics and people curious about the hype, it’s a clever choice. All hell breaks lose three songs in, when the band are forced to stop after things at the front get chaotic. Being crushed between a pile of people twice your size and the mixture of sweat and beer on the floor is not fun, as we soon discover.

While some kind souls attempt to pull us from the wreckage, other more opportunists among the crowd seize the chance to get closer to Pete. This is Pete’s big chance to prove to all those who ever called him a skag-head that he’s more than just Kate Moss’ junkie bit of rough, and he’s not going to let a little bit of over excited crushing stop him. He carries on with strong songs, such as The Man Who Came To Stay, Fuck Forever, and Gang of Gin, which is interrupted when his angry guitarist, Patrick Walden, swings a fist at him, resulting in a brief punch up.

Song of the night is definitely Fuck Forever, and Pete’s obsessive Englishness comes to the fore with the polite lyric “Fuck Forever… if you don’t mind.” The set finishing at 11 0’clock on the dot, ensuring Pete is safely home in accordance with his midnight curfew. The night ended on a high, proving that if the band can keep it together long enough, the future of the British music scene could well belong to Babyshambles.

We were quite lucky to get on one of the bands coaches to take us there and leave in the early hours.  As we arrived, there was a small local band playing, which unfortunately we didn't really catch as we headed through to the main room whilst The Logues were playing their fantastic Irish folk music which was great fun to watch and be a part of.  They were a 5 piece band and were expertly keeping the whole audience entertained.  They performed a couple of familiar numbers, but generally played all their own music.

Kenelis were the real reason behind us attending this gig (much thanks to them for everything by the way), and were on next with a standing out set of pure anger, aggression and rage... which went down suprisingly well overall considering the audience were mostly after the Irish styles and awaiting Shane's never appearing appearance!

Mel, the gorgeous lead singer of Kenelis, was fantastic - and never letting the fact that she feels her voice is going will actually stop her from going louder and louder by the song!  Their songs are very well written, with different moods being incorportad, superb melodies and pure emotions (NOT EMO may I add...) to bring everything to frontline and performed so well to make this one of the best gigs I've seen in a while, especially when making the crowd scream for their video blog!

As the night progressed on, there were more variations on styles of bands, with some 'Travis' / 'ColdPlay' stylings, a few Reggae and swing feels throughout.  In the room where we first entered, the band had been packed up and there was a club theme running through this - with everyone dancing with eachother and a great atmosphere with the large number of strangers becoming good friends (if only for the evening!).  It was a superb night in general.

The last band on were another Irish Folk..with an underlying punk rock background to it..even though these guys (and girls) were from England! The Roughneck Riot are a crazy 6 peice band with truly rock and roll banjo and accordian skills supplied by the two girls of the group and the skills supplied by the guitarist, bassist, drummer and mondolin are truly awesome.

The mentalism of the show is also a great pleasure to watch and to be a part of that atmosphere.  The night played out with DJ sets after this spectacular headlining act.  Check out what you either witnessed or missed out on by looking at more photos of the night, thanks to DPG Photography!

As I glance around the place, I’m transported back to the early 70s at the Tommy White club in Shepherds Bush, waiting for my Suedehead crush to appear, only for him to fawn over the local Queen Bee in her tonic dress and Shelley loafers. I’d hopelessly stomp to the sounds of ‘Double Barrel’ in a failed attempt to lure him. I soon became a glam rocker and with a shake of a feather boa and a tilt of my pill-box hat; I left the waft of Brut-scented, Ben Sherman dreams behind me.

I’m suddenly brought back to the present by a Liverpudlian who asks if I’m ‘That bird who used to be in Eastenders’. I have no idea which bird he is on about until he walks back to his mates and I overhear the name ‘Cindy Beale’ as he gives me the thumbs up and spills beer down his jumper.

The venue fills up at a quickening pace and I sense there are old friends reuniting as I hear screams of ‘It’s been years!’…..indeed, there’s magic in the air….

Around 9.00pm, Department S takes to the stage, smartly dressed and raring to go. There’s no hint of these guys trying to recapture the 80s. That was then and this is now.

We’re presented with revamped favourites including ‘Clap Now’, ‘Monte Carlo or Bust’, ‘Going Left-Right’, ‘I Want’…all packed with an electrical charged depth and sincerity as they lead us into the new and infectious ‘Wonderful Day’. They play with a passion and a vintage which has matured with time and is full of surprises.

The crowd sing along, wave their arms and some think they are too cool for school, but I see their feet tapping like the clappers. This is serious stuff, these boys can play.

Mizon attacks the drums as if his life depends on it; Taylor plays bass with ease yet it pumps like a desperate heartbeat; Burnett teases his nimble fingers across his guitar like a devoted lover and Herbage presents an effortless masterclass in rock guitaring, you sense his fevered energy of which there is no bounds, and, as Roxy informed us after a spellbinding ‘Bage’ guitar solo, ‘’Sometimes we just let it go on and on’’. Roxy has big spats to fill and he does it beautifully, bantering with us and singing with an attitude the songs command while dropping to softer tones and evoking an emotional wallop with the new version of ‘Ode to Koln’.

The opening chords to ‘Is Vic There?’ send the crowd into a rocking crescendo; they know every line as if they had written the song themselves, they shout the chorus and punch the air with delight.

Yes, Vic is back, and about bloody time!

The late-Vaughn Toulouse watches over the proceedings from a framed picture on stage….like Dorian Grey, forever young.

But its over all too soon, the applause is deafening as we selfishly demand more. The band leaves the stage, sweaty and smiling, in the secure knowledge they did good.

I’ve had the pleasure of attending many great gigs for over 35 years including the Ziggy Stardust retirement at Hammersmith Odeon, the New York Dolls at Biba and Patti Smith at CBGB. I can proudly add this night to my all-time favourite gigs list.  My only regret is ‘The Speak’ isn’t still open in nearby Margaret Street, who knows who Department S could have jammed with afterwards?

As Malcolm McLaren would say – This band will be the next Bay City Rollers.

We arrived to an array of small acts, who were all great, all presented their own merits - unfortunately most of these acts were unknown to us and I still had been unable to catch some of their names to mention.  There was alot of variation with styles, some reminiscent of 80s punk - aka Sex Pistols, and others presented some very unique moments which has not gone unforgotten.

Like last time, we had gone along to support our friends, Kenelis, who put on a very good show for all with their brand new drummer who has only been playing with them for the last few weeks.  Before they came on though, we managed to catch the last few songs by Gemma Mewse, who had a great sound - the true london accent shined through the vocal line, on some great pop & heavy rock sounds.  She really knew how to keep the crowds active and sent out a really good vibe all round, and hope to see more of her gigs in the near future!

Kenelis' first gig with their new drummer now came on keeping their punch alive.  The old drummer, Sam, had suffered a bad hand injury and has been forced out of drumming, so he helped Kenelis stay alive by mentoring the new drummer, Ollie, who had done spectacularly well from just a small amount band rehearsals.  They played a bunch of ther classics aswell as some new songs, including 'Sick', and they have changed their sound slightly... still in keeping with the heavy feel to the set, they have brought in some more meaningful melodies and taken some of the 'padding' away which has done really well for the music as everyone managed to come across much better.  There were a couple of sound issues, which is to be expected at most gigs - but yet the screamer in the crowd came across nicely!!!  Overall, one of the best sets we have seen, but after more practise with Ollie and geting more settled down, their career should pick up nicely... and we look forward to when they record their new album!

Eventually, Mark Chadwick came on stage to perform his acoustic act - and keeping that suspense going before getting into his songs, he stood on stage for 10 minutes talking to the crowds, and tuning up... as any good folk artist would!   He came across brilliantly with his 12 string and the bassist.  Together they pulled out a great groove and all the crowd was delighted.

So here we are a mild sunny Wednesday night half way down the bath road in Bristol in a lovely little venue called the Thunderbolt, we’re here for the 1^st stage of the Surface Unsigned Act festival 2010 southwest heats.

After hearing this event was happening I was keen to get there early, not that I was over keen don’t get me wrong it was just an excuse to leave work early.But as it happens when we got there the door was locked.

 Once in though I was pleasantly surprised what a little gem of a venue it was, there was a nice little stage one end and a nice little bar directly opposite (Max 4 persons!).

Being the first in we witnessed the wide eyed and unexpected acts arriving in the drones of equipment and family members and after about half hour the 1^st of the 6 acts started to set up. It was an 18 year old by the name of Chloe Cooke who is a welsh singer/songwriter of great talent.

On 1^st impressions though I thought avril lavigne with Chloe being stood there with a white Stratocaster low down over her shoulder, but 4 bars into her 1^st song I immediately changed my mind and continued to do so as she performed.

She seemed to be singing from the heart with this zest of an American adolescent singing about an old boyfriend but doing it with her own sound and style.

I think personally she was great for the opening slot and with only a handful of people there she brought in the crowd with her engaging lyrics.

Next up couldn’t be more different 5 local lads called batsaboutbats, looking at them I could sense what sound to expect but what I didn’t expect was the attitude and performance they where about to show.

Like I thought and hoped, they sounded like a post hardcore punk band with this teenage belief of what they where doing, with each member not looking like the other this added to there appeal and the fact these 17-18 year olds knew there way around a instrument to meant it was a real sight to behold. But I must take my hat to the lead singer Paul collier who at 1^st sight doesn’t look like he sounded but he knew how to entertain, jumping into the crowd of all ten people and screaming out vocal chords which intern got our crowds energy levels up.

After the come down of batsaboutbats next up it was the Night at the Circus, a 4 piece act for Bristol who where the first older act to perform that night. They or shall I say there singer gave out a feeling of warmth form the start which brought the crowd even closer to the stage. With a good combo of drums and guitar and singer sounding reminiscent of Shirley Manson they produced the direct noise, which was quite enjoyable to hear.

Once the applause died and the compare finished dishing out the numbers we needed to vote three very bubbly looking girls two of which had acoustic guitars hopped on stage, these where the Sound of Cirens.

A three-piece folk/rock act from Exeter, After the mics where set so the tallest was stood in the middle, so it looked like how a child would draw a roof on a house which worked tremendously well form a spectacle point of view they began to play.

Off the bat you got a that k t tunstal sound but somewhat heavier and less generic and with the shortest of the three stamping her feet like sea sick sea on acid it came apparently clear that these girls knew how to but on a show, which if im being truthful helped with some songs.

Even though some songs deluded me overall they were just how I hoped given the different styles of acts before them, they had that “sisters doing if for themselves” kind of vibe which was really good to see.

By this time the place was full with punters like me and my two mates Pete and Adam, members of the bands, there familys, o yeah and a old guy dress in a black suit wearing raybans like something out of the blues brothers! All of which now waited for the next act to blow ours little minds and it couldn’t of come from a better next band, The Alien Stash Tin.

These four guys seemed to be veterans of the local gigging scene and unlike the other acts they came out from behind the stage, which was probably the best way they could of entered.

The lead singer and guitarist who how can I say this politely was a larger man with a Gandalf type white beard who was wearing an all white gown and a headband.

He had appeared and everyone who hadn’t of noticed him in the crowd when he was wearing combats now stood in owe, this dude had presence and I was hoping due to the headband I would be in for maybe some 60s 70s influence sounding stuff. And it’s exactly what I got!

With the second guitarist holding a flying V and the drummer looking like he’d come back from a rodeo these guy’s played catchy riff driven tunes, but what summed it up for me was the way they got the audience involved.A room fall of 50 people shouting “f**k you f**k you!” back and forth is always a highlight in my eyes.

It was just a shame they weren’t last on the bill.

Unfortuanly the last on the bill I don’t want to talk about

So now then the results, after each act the audience where given a number to txt if they wanted an act to go through (X Factor style) and after the last act there was a 20 min intermission where they added up the scores.

And at Precisely at 10:48 the compare jumps on stage and reveals a very deserved winner, The Chloe Cooke Band!

Overall it was a good thought out bill in competition terms and every act held there own and entertained, but I feel the fact that the 18 year old can sing, play and ultimately connect with the audience was the factors in why she was a deserved winner, but you defiantly cant take anything away from the other acts.

GEMMA MEWSE AND HER BAND PLAYED AT THE CRAWL AFTER WINNING 'BEST SONG'  AWARD, ON THE 'EMERGING TALENT AWARDS.THE VENUE 'ICE WHARF' ON THE LOCKE ITSELF, IS A GREAT VENUE AND LARGE.THE WINNERS FROM ALL 8 CATAGORIES PLAYED HERE 4 ON SATURDAY AND 4 ON SUNDAY.

MISS MEWSE TOOK TO THE STAGE  AT 3 PM ON SUNDAY AND FOR 30 MINUTES PUT ON A SHOW THAT MOST SEASONED ACTS WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD OF. THE VIBE OF THE WHOLE BAND JUST SENT A SHOCKWAVE THROUGH THE VENUE ! EVEN THOSE THAT WERE SITTING DOWN IN THE LOWER TIERS EATING SUDDENLY GOT MOVING LIKE THOSE NODDING DOGS YOU SEE IN THE BACK OF CAR WINDOWS. THE VOCALS AND BEATS JUST GOT YOU INSTANTLY HOOKED.HER STAGE PRESENCE!!!! WELL IT WAS LIKE SOMEONE HAD TOUCH THE FUSE PAPER OF A 'FIRECRACKER' NOT ONLY DID THE MUSIC GET YOUR ATTENTION SO DID MISS MEWSE, WITH HER EDGY ROCKNESS, BIG BLUE EYES AND BLONDE HAIR!! 'A VERY ATTRACTIVE YOUNG LADY' WHO KNOWS HOW TOO CONNECT WITH THE CROWD.

AND AFTER SHE FINSHED SHE WAS AWARDED HER PRIZE TWO DAYS RECORDING AT THE 'STRONGROOM STUDIOS' WITH A FINISHED TRACK AND THEN MASTERED AT 'AIR' AND OF COURSE A CASE OF THE SPONSORS 'GAYMERS CIDER' WHICH SHE OPENED RIGHT THERE AND HANDED IT OUT TO THE CROWD!!!! WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR!! SOMEONE SO GOOD AND NOT UP THERE OWN ARSE.

First to the stage, Subgenerets. With a near enough full room to watch these ageing punk rockers I was interested to hear whether there would be angry, politics touting, beer guzzling punks underneath their calm and polite exterior, however I was mildly disappointed.  Good clean riffs and strong vocals lines made for listen-able, safe punk that could excite, however, the performance killer was the polite conversation to family members in the audience between songs. Understandably, for a one off gig (as i understand this was) taking a break from the 'oi oi oi's' to speak solely to the audience members they personally knew, was a bit expected, but sadly left me feeling uninspired. With a quick break bewteen bands to fill my pint up, i headed back up to see whether next act '7th suite' could fare any better.

Apparently big on the punk scene in Bristol, this female fronted band ticked all the right boxes - and then a few more. After some messy initial confusion over whether they were still sound checking or not, 7th Suite, jumped straight into an energetic, snarling, slap bass punk extravaganza. It is rare to find a band where each member has something totally inspiring to offer the audience, especially at unsigned level but all members of 7th Suite brought something to their massively entertaining show - be it double time bass slicks, roaring guitar riffs, chest thumping drums or smoothly snarling vocals, this band owned the stage. Impressive.

Finally headliners, Interroband took the stage. Smooth and tight, this upbeat four piece are a new addition to the Bristol scene. Perhaps an odd choice to headline after two heavy punk bands, these guys brought their own brand of soft pop punk to the evening slightly reminiscent of Ocean Colour Scene to the stage.  Catchy and enjoyable to watch, Interroband provided softcore, sound of the summer style punk that will doubtless be a big hit as the weather improves and the pubs by the river start to fill. 

Overall, a good night for punk in Bristol. 

www.myspace.com/7thsuite

www.myspace.com/interroband

7^th Suite, the whores, obsessive compulsive at the fleece 21/04/10

Right ding-dong, here we are then the fleece. The fleece for those who don’t know is quite a special venue in live music terms, it played host to the likes of Oasis, the killers to name a few and is pretty much the jewel in the live Bristol music scene’s crown.

Tonight me and few others are down here to witness the wonder of three bands. One of which is 7^th suite, they are a 4 piece punk outfit with talent, after being sent their tracks I was really keen to catch them live especially to see the singer and the bassist perform.

From the start you got a sense that these guys have been playing together for a while they had a very tight nit playing style, it was like each member knew they had a job and got on with it.

But this didn’t take away from the chemistry they had on stage. Throughout their set I was looking forward especially to a song called Piranha, the reason being the in your face bass riff that began the song. I haven’t seen anything like it for a while. It was a fast funky/goldfinger type ska fused with punk sounding riff that he not only played with his fingers but which consumed his whole body.

So with this bass combined with a tight sounding drummer and the singer who sounded like a young Alanis morrisette if she’d grown up in punk scene of Seattle in the early 1980’s spitting out these sinful lyric’s, it was a joy to the ears! And with saying that there was a distinct undertone of early nirvana in some songs which punched you in the face.

For anyone who hasn’t seen them I would recommend it and if you haven’t already looked them up they’re playing at the Portcullis on the 15^th may.

Since entering the joint I noticed that there was a chap dressed in what I can only describe as a German military hat with white dreadlocks, leather trousers and brasses with his face painted like someone out of the tribe (a short lived show on channel 5), a lot like one of the twins out the matrix if he was a gypsy anyway im digressing.

After clocking him I hoped he was performing, he was.

Introducing The Whores

Right where to start, well after seeing a plastic sheet being layed on the stage prior to them playing I knew we’d be in for a treat.So on entering the stage to the sound of church organs like something out of a funeral with two girls dressed like military Goth prostitutes waving black flags I guessed that this three piece weren’t going to play nice.

Before a note was played I already liked them, with the guitarist looking like how I explained before the drummer sat there with hip length hair and the face of a clown and the female lead singer looking like something out of Mad Max.I was just preying that their sound mirrored their image.

Not only did this band know how to look but they could bring down the place with the noise they produced, It was a mix of psychotic riffs, metal drumming and vocals that were reminiscent of a metal asylum, but what I loved about it was the fact you believed they where as my friend put it “near-furture, post apocalyptic sci-fi cyber Goths” and not just a band who know how to play and put on a good show, kind of harking back to the same way people used to think David Bowie was from space.

Amongst all the theatrics of girls juggling fire (which caused the fire alarm to go and the power to cut out, but made way for a Bonham style metal drum fill for 5 mins) and the simulated sex acts on stage, you couldn’t take away from the fact they could make music that drawled you in.

One to defiantly check out.

The headliners, who go by the name of Obsessive Compulsive.

Who are a four piece from Manchester who would vaguely be described as a grunge punk rock band with a captivating lead singer.

What was good to see straight away from them was that they all seemed to be individuals who’ve come together to smash one into anyone who hears what they got to say.With that being said there music was no different, it was a type of fast punk rock but had some kind of other dimension to it hence why you would vaguely describe it as that , it was heavy enough to mosh too but clear enough to know they were all talented. With the singers voice being harsh but at the same time mesmerizing and the drummer being like a robot that someone’s programmed to be f**king amazing it was clear why they would headline tonight.

With the guitarist and bassist both sides holding the drummer and singer in from exploding it seemed, the four played tight and loose, throughout the whole set it didn’t seem like they missed a beat and with that loud punk feminist attitude of the lead singer they really didn’t disappoint.

So if you like loud, fast, original, punk induced tunes from a band who defiantly need to be heard about and seen you should check them out.

Come the end of the night then i feel the fleece and maybe Bristol has defiantly had it’s punk/goth/rock fill for the week, it was a awesome display of angst and attitude and a definite night for the drummers along with fire, dildo mask’s and pasteurized milk!

www.myspace.com/7thsuite

www.myspace.com/obsessivecompulsive

www.myspace.com/thewhoresuk 

First up were Red Means Go, performing as an acoustic duo instead of their usual full electric band. This was a very professional, tight and personable set showcasing some cool punk-pop style tunes. I'll be looking forward to seeing the full band live in the future, given their knack for penning interesting songs that work just as well in a stripped-down format.

Next we had Rubric, who again turned in a nice professional performance, improving vastly again on their previous performance in Woking, reviewed on this website. An enjoyable performance from all the band members gave the set a great vibe, with some good technical improvements as well, which is always nice. I'm looking forward to seeing how they progress in the future – with their rate of improvement they should be heading onwards and upwards very soon.

Rounding off the evening were Thinking For Tuesday. Yet another professional and well-crafted performance with some cool moments of hard rock showmanship (and showwomanship!) tastefully placed in amongst their gritty hard rock stylings, as well as some awesome vocal harmonies. My only criticism would be that the guitars and bass could have been louder, though I think this was mainly due to technical issues with the PA and mics, and the fact that this was a bar gig, with the volumes limits that apply. However I'm sure I'll get the chance to see them in a proper Rock Venue with amps and PA turned up to 11 – the sooner the better!

Overall, a fun night of cool rock acts – again a big thanks to Gary and Gordon for making it all possible! :)