The Belgrave Scandal - Proud Galleries, London - Thursday 1st January 2009

Everybody must know that New Years Day is the new New Years Eve, right? You get to go out to bars that aren't completely packed with idiots (and are actually pleased to see you), you avoid being ripped off at every turn, and you can leave before midnight without missing all the fun. So, having done nothing on 31st December, I ventured out on 1st January instead. Not much seemed to be open in London, but one place that pushed the boat out was Proud Galleries. And, The Belgrave Scandal were playing as well, which provided another reason to hotfoot it over to Camden. Whilst waiting for the band to play, we took over a nice stable, which also featured a lovely pole dancing pole in the middle.

After an interesting sounding band that I didn't catch the name of (they also looked like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), the Scandal appeared on stage. The gig room at Proud was furnished with some nice comfy sofas, and there were a decent number of people inside, sheltering from the freezing cold. The band played what has become a fairly standard half hour set - at least from the last couple of times I've seen them. They kicked off with Black Pages and Brighton Away, then showcased a few of their newer songs. These new songs seem to be growing on me, the more I hear them - a slower number with no name (yet) in particular sounds like a corker.

As each song passed, the volume of the applause from the audience seemed to get louder and louder - and the first timers in the crowd seemed to be moving their feet and getting into the set. We finished as usual with Take That Train (still my least favourite Scandal song), and an excellent version of House Of Cards. All in all, it was a really good set - Dave's vocals sounded stronger than ever, and the band seemed to be enjoying the set as well. The new songs increasingly stand out in their set, and they have a couple of even newer songs in the pipeline, which will hopefully carry on the improvement. A good start to 2009 for The Belgrave Scandal, hopefully this will be their year.