17/5/2008 The Loyalties (not) & Men & Gods

Subject	The Loyalties (not) & Men & Gods
PostedDate	5/17/2008 2:03:00 AM
	Another gig clash tonight, but on paper it looked possible to get to both gigs. I'd been told The Loyalties would be onstage at the Intrepid Fox at 9.00 and Men & Gods would be on at the Bull & Gate at 10.00. I knew from experience that The Loyalties would probably only play a 30-40 minute set, and I reckoned I could get from the Intrepid Fox to the Bull & Gate in about 20 minutes... So I arrive at the Intrepid Fox for the second time this week and find there is a support band playing as well - meaning the Loyalties stage time has been pushed back to about 9.30. The support band are The Dead City Stereo and they aren't bad. Their look is strongly influenced by the 1950's, but they sound more like The Clash. They aren't bad actually, and their songs certainly seem above average although the singer isn't great. By about 9.35 they have finished and there is still no sign of the Loyalties so I have to rush off to Kentish Town. as I'd promised to go and see Men & Gods... I arrive at the Bull & Gate during the band's first song. There is quite a reasonable crowd there and a few familiar faces as expected. Men & Gods are on good form and the sound in the Bull & Gate is surprisingly good tonight. My camera batteries run out very quickly. Normally I have spare batteries in my jacket, but tonight I'm wearing a different jacket and I forgot to put them my pocket. Consequently, I have to deploy my cameraphone for the rest of the show - so apologies for the poor picture quality.  Fortunately the poor quality of my pictures is compensated for by the band's performance - definitely one of their best that I've seen. One amusing factor was the random crazy guy found at most gigs - not the same guy, but regular gig goers will know there's usually one. This guy was probably in his thirties and was about as non-rock 'n' roll looking as you could imagine - he just looked so out of place! He also appeared to be very drunk!  He was sort of sprawled over the front of the stage most of the time - beating his hand on the stage in time to to the music while trying to grab the leg of any band member who came within range. He was having a great time though - and providing us with much entertainment too so it was all good!  I had no idea who the headline band was beforehand, but the drum kit and varous other props on stage gave the game away - it was Spit Like This. Their lineup has changed since I last saw them and the now appear to have an 'emo' guitarist!  The random drunk music fan was loving this band too, and continuing to provide us with more entertainment - at one point the singer was using him as a footrest. He also grabbed bass player Vikki's ankle and held on to it for a while - she doesn't seem the type to take shit from anyone so I'm surprised he didn't get her boot in his face! I had planned to leave as soon as Men & Gods had finished and head back to the Intrepid Fox - however, random drunk man was continuing to provide us with entertainment while Spit Like This played, and I knew I'd probably have still missed the Loyalties anyway. Some of us did go to the Intrepid Fox after the final band but everything was packed up by them and I didn't get a chance to buy the new album I was hoping to get - the show was their album release party. So after one drink we headed off round the corner to Decadence - the rest was a bit of a blur and I don't remember much apart from bumping into a TotalRock DJ. I finally got home around 5.30 and didn't wake up until about two the following afternoon.

PS: The Intrepid Fox in St Giles High Street shut at the beginning of April 2014, and the famous Bull & Gate is also now shut as a live music venue.