So the evil that is having to work caused me to arrive late enough to be able to only review three of the four acts on tonight at the ?Cocks in Kingston town (not Jamaica), but better than nothing. The Fighting Cocks is a strange venue ? completely covered in UV lighting ? so make sure you are not prone to dandruff when you go there.
Anyhow, the lovely L Morgan was the second act on tonight and the first I got to see. She is a solo artiste from the South Coast, equipped with an acoustic guitar and an amazingly strong, loud voice complete with a nice, southern accent. L is well known to the tight fraternity that is the underground DIY acoustic circuit, and this is the first time I?ve seen her playing with full bands, but she sounded great. With a voice as loud as hers (when she sings that is?) it isn?t hard to compete, even sans rhythm section, with them all. Her songs are catchy and her choruses are easily hummable, so always a pleasure. (8/10)
Next up were 7 Years Bad Luck, all the way from Austria. I?m a big fan of the Austrian scene, they have a lot of great bands for a relatively small country. 7YBL are not such a familiar name over here ? yet anyway ? they are a 3 piece, playing pop punk like it was 2001 all over again. I heard they?ve just had a drummer change ? bringing in a mate and training him up, which didn?t do them too many favours. They clearly have decent tunes, but you need to be tighter than?something very tight when you?re a 3 piece, and the execution tonight was a little wayward. Still, decent stuff. (7/10)
Last on were one of Household Name?s newer signing, Milloy. With all the swagger you?d expect from a band from the NW, they are one hell of a band. Going for a fair while now, this is apparently their first London show in a year tonight (yes, yes, Kingston isn?t really London ? fuck off) and they are proud to indulge in a bit of ?southerner baiting? with a bit of polite abuse, but it is their ability to write a fucking good tune which really makes them stand out from most of the bands touring the UK right now, not to mention that they are polished and good to watch. This lot are the UK?s answer to Hot Water Music. But with a rank northern accent. (9/10)
Mike