2/3/2008 Shush & Men & Gods @ Bar Monsta

Subject	Shush/Men & Gods @ Bar Monsta
PostedDate	3/2/2008
	I'm off to Bar Monsta for this one - no fires in Camden tonight and I actually get to the venue this time! Slight improvement on the bar front - cans of bitter available, but it's Tetleys and rather weak. Not as good as Newcastle Brown but it's a step in the right direction...  I didn't find out who the first band were, but they weren't bad - although the drummer was all over the place. They reminded me a bit of Queens Of The Stone Age and finished their set with an unexpected cover of the Beatles 'Hey Bulldog' - a song I've never heard anyone else play. Shush were excellent as usual, and it was good to see Marina back again after her recent trip to Italy. The band played well, but the sound wasn't too good as the PA seemed to be knackered. It was good to see a strong turnout of APRA personel at this show - the best I've seen at a Shush gig to date! Men & Gods are another quality act who I've never seen give a bad performance. Unfortunately they are plagued by technical problems again (the guitar amp packed up at Metro the other day) and tonight the PA is in a poor state - as are the mic stands - all the equipment at this venue seems to be falling apart at the moment. Due to the state of the PA and the lack of monitors this was a noticably less rocking show than Men & Gods normally give. As they couldn't hear anything on stage they played a quieter and more laid back set with a lot of jamming - I guess this was the closest I am likely to experience to the vibe of an improvised Led Zeppelin performance. However, playing under these conditions and still being able to play really well shows what a class act Men & Gods really are. I am guessing keyboard player Nadia is classically trained as she really knows how to play that thing and is a very natural performer. Frontman Marc is also very relaxed and fluid in his performance and these really seem like musicians who have 'paid their dues' and are more than ready to move on to greater things...

PS: I discovered later that the first band were Eight's 'N' Aces. More on them in future blogs... This venue eventually turned in to 'Camden Rocks' and went right downhill.