Thursday 15 February 2024.

Thursday 15 February 2024. NOTHING MORE play Shepherds Bush Empire. Nothing More is an American rock band from San Antonio, Texas. Formed in 2003. They released their sixth album 'Spirits' in 2022. They are playing a full UK & European Tour. ---------- Level 3 is closed and Level 2 is half empty, so maybe 1200 tix sold. It is mainly the under 40s rock crowd tonight. Three bands from different countries on stage. SIAMESE arrived on stage at 7.30pm for their 30 mins set. They come from Denmark and played some nice crunching rock tunes. They had an electric violin player in the band . A dozen photographers are in the pit for the bands tonight. SIM arrived on stage at 8.20pm for their 45 mins set. SIM are from Japan. The singer is tiny , so stands on a raised platform front of stage all the show. A rock band , with hints of ska and reggae in some of the tunes. They dedicated a song to Madness and The Specials. The crowd knew the songs , and there was plenty of moshing. I would say they were my fave band of the night. NOTHING MORE arrived on stage at 9.40pm for their 80 mins set. The singer arrives on stage topless, and has warpaint over his six pack chest. He looks an exact ringer for TV fitness celebrity Joe Wicks. They got the crowd moshing, but the songs felt pretty samey to me. Nice finale of the singer banging Tom Tom drums with the front stalls fans. A pretty average evening overall. ----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- Wednesday 14 February 2024. THE DEAD BOYS + DESPERATE MEASURES play The Underworld, Camden. Opening bands are DEAF DEVILS and MONKISH. New York punk rock legends The Dead Boys play a five date UK tour, at the start of their European Tour. I saw them twice in Nov 1977 with original singer Stiv Bators R.I.P.. when they supported The Damned at The Roundhouse. Original guitarist Cheetah Chrome is still in the band. The original Dead Boys released two studio albums, Young Loud and Snotty, and We Have Come for Your Children....and their best known track is the single Sonic Reducer. Support comes from original NZ punk rockers Desperate Measures who feature Eugene from Vive Le Rock magazine on vocals. Buy tickets for this gig at £30 plus £5 booking fee here. www.theunderworldcamden.co.uk - Visit their website here for a list of upcoming shows at The Underworld. --------- Great to be back at this proper rock music venue. Seen so many gigs here over the years. Hard to believe the first time here was back in 1993 with The Quireboys. I was at that mega Foo Fighters secret gig here in 2006. Last year Motley Crue played here before their Wembley Stadium show. Nice to see several of my punk rockin' chums in the crowd tonight. MONKISH arrived on stage at 7.30pm for their 30 mins. They have three guitarists , and sound good. Brad on vocals is entertaining us with his between song banter. A good set featuring tracks ' Hobosexual' and 'OCDC'. DEAF DEVILS arrived on stage at 8.15pm for their 30 mins set. Deaf Devils come from Valencia , Spain and they were pretty amazing. All arriving on stage wearing braces, including their female singer. Playing uptempo garage rock , that really had the wow factor as band members jumped into the crowd. For the last two songs, three members of the band , including the drummer with his drum kit on the floor of the venue between the fans , ending with a storming ' Kick Out The Jams'. See my Facebook page for a video of this. DESPERATE MEASURES arrived on stage at 9pm for their 30 mins set. Another band playing a really good set. The vocals are much clearer than the chaos of The Deaf Devils. Great tunes like 'Lost Angels' and ' Seven Sisters' went down a treat. THE DEAD BOYS arrived on stage at 9.45pm for their 75 mins set. The Dead Boys arrive on stage , and we are transported back to punks heyday . Members of The Deaf Devils join all the folks jumping around front of stage. They open with their best known track ' Sonic Reducer' which is fantastic. Jake Hout is a great front man , as he jumps in the crowd or gets pulled into the crowd. Other gems followed including 'All This and More', ' What Love Is' , ' Not Anymore' , ' I Wont Look Back' , 'Ain't Nothin' To Do' , ' Down In Flames' and encores including 'Aint It Fun'..... we get shout outs to Stiv Bators and Sylvain Sylvain. A great set, to finish off a fab four band evening at The Underworld.

Posted 15th February 2024