13/4/2013 Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth @ The 100 Club

Subject	Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth @ The 100 Club
DateCreated	4/22/2013 2:39:00 PM
	It's less than two weeks since I saw Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth on their UK tour, but here I am in another small London venue seeing them again. Yes - they are that good. Tickets for these shows are bargain prices too - yet the venues are less than sold out. Which begs the question; Is it wise to book two London shows so close together? I'm not complaining though, as I get to go twice - as do quite a few other people. However - first thing's first. Or thirst. Two real ale pumps on the 100 Club bar, and neither are in use tonight - not impressed. The first act I see tonight is Genna Marabese. She may look more like a pop/indie chick, but she rocks more than you'd expect. OK - not massively, but a bit. In a singer/songwriter style. Nice voice and a good backing band - one of whom I realise later was in the the Quireboys for a while. Which means there are actually two ex-Quireboys in the room as Guy Bailey is also here. Genna Marabese is certainly a decent enough support act and worth checking out if you happen to spot her name on a bill. Next up is Long John Laundry - you may recognise one or two members of his band from earlier... This is more more rockin' stuff than the previous act - very 1950's influenced in-your-face rock 'n' roll and R&B, although they look more like the sort of band you'll find playing covers in your local pub. The Les Paul wielding axeman in black is good - looking like a very young and skinny Billy Gibbons, although not sounding like the Texan tornado himself - but who does?  So - onto the headliners. I guess I could just copy and paste my recent post on the Water Rats gig from just over a week ago as it's the same band/setlist/special guests, but actually it's not quite the same as far as the guests go - and of course I have new pictures. Paul-Ronney Angel of the Urban Voodoo Machine is again guesting on harp/vox for a few songs, but he's wearing a different suit tonight - good thing I had my camera with me huh? Not only but also: In addition tonight we get Jim Jones - also sometime Urban Voodoo Machine member as well as these days fronting the Jim Jones Revue. We again get Tracie Hunter and Phoebe White - who have also found time to go home and change since the last show. The Water Rats gig was a pretty damn good rock 'n' roll show, but if anything, tonight is even better - but without stinky toilets or real ale. Swings and roundabouts... There are excellent performances all round tonight, from both the band and all the guests - it's not often to get to see a pure rock 'n' roll show of this quality. Most of the band's superb album is in the setlist, along with a surprise (unless you were at the last show) cover of Graham Coxon's 'Freakin' Out'. The encore includes a cracking version of the old Bo Diddley number 'Pills' as covered by the New York Dolls. Tonight this small club beneath Oxford Street drips sleazy Big Apple tasting rock 'n' roll as the ex-New York Dolls guitarist lets rip in his own style. There is a new Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth album in the pipeline (no Johnny Thunders pun intended) so hopefully it won't be too long before this lot are back to promote it...