The Belgrave Scandal were on first, and surprised me. Every time I see them after not seeing them for a while, they surprise me with how good they are. They definitely get better all the time; their new songs are increasingly good; and the way they execute them live is also getting tighter and tighter every time I see them (apart from the odd off-day, which surely everybody is allowed!). They started off with my new favourite song of theirs, Black Pages, and played 2 or 3 newer songs that I'd never heard before as well. All sounding very promising, the move to London seems to have been a good thing for them, and you just get the feeling that a bit more hard work will soon see them noticed. The next band were a Japanese band called Day And Buffalo, who were more than a bit strange. Their lead vocalist sat on a bar stool on the floor of the pub, facing the rest of the band on stage. The other vocalist was a Japanese woman who was wrapped up in a big shawl. Lots of low level weirdness, but despite this, they were actually quite good. They had definite influences that were obvious for all to see - The Pixies, Sonic Youth, The Breeders - so if you like those band, you would probably like Day And Buffalo. The Pixies angle was especially strong, given the male and female singers in tandem. There were some very good power rock riffs in there too, something of a throwback to the early 90s, but a very enjoyable set.
Dead Social Club were on next, and by the time they came on stage, the venue was absolutely packed with friends of the band. So, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands from the very beginning. I wasn't sure what to expect from them, especially being their first gig, but I was really, really impressed. They had obviously been practicing, which is cheating! Their sound reminded me at first of Bloc Party, with grinding guitars, atmospheric keyboards, and haunting vocals. However, as the set went on, they started to remind me more of New Order or Joy Division. In fact, after a couple of songs where the bass and keyboards really reminded me of New Order, they then played a New Order cover - a really very good version of Ceremony. All in all, this was a great start for the band - a friendly crowd cheering their every move helped, but the band showed that they are a decent prospect - they have good songs, play them very well, and have a sound that is reminiscent of other good bands, but still something individual to themselves. A very good start, I'll be back for more gigs soon.The final band I saw in the evening were A Quick Minute, who reminded me to some degree of The Darkness. They played amusing cliched rock songs, but also had a funny, really over the top stage presence - like the band was sharing a joke with the audience. Some of their songs were half decent as well, some decent heavy rock riffs, and some good singalong metal-light choruses. A pretty entertaining live show all in all, and it was obvious that the band were having fun in the process.
This was actually a very good evening of live music at the Tower Tavern, I saw four excellent bands. It helped that the venue was packed for the Dead Social Club set, and that set went off really well - so that alone made it a good night. The Belgrave Scandal played an excellent set as well (just a shame that there weren't more people there to see it), and the Pixies influences of Day And Buffalo gave us some decent tunes in between. But tonight was all about Dead Social Club's live debut - and a very promising debut it was too.
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