Made the pilgrimage down to the Windmill in Brixton to see four bands who I had not heard of before. The Windmill being the venue that it is means that the quality of all bands was really high.
If you have never been then it’s a bucket list venue. Small and shabby it’s a very safe space where bands mingle with punters and you can start a conversation without feeling that the recipient thinks you must have some malignant intent.
The first band to hit the stage was “Black Bordello”. Led by a really good female vocalist they mix many genres and sounds to my ear. Sometimes a bit “Roxy Music” ,sometimes a bit Amanda Palmer in the “Dresden Dolls “ era and then all sorts of other influences they flipped between rockier numbers and ballads with a cabaret feel running through the songs. That is of course my opinion and others ears may have picked out other aspects. Need to hear more and I will look out for them as they were a bit different and thoughtful songs throughout. Not sure how long they have been around but certainly seem to have a future if luck is on their side.
Next band were called “Malady”. Again a distinctive vocalist the band hand a handful of songs that had a funky edge . They looked comfortable in the space with an audience which were still warming up and indeed still turning up. Like a lot of younger bands its probably fair to say they are still establishing there style and they are operating in a very crowded market place.
Third band of the evening “Rattletooth” ,not to be confused with an earlier hard core punk band of the same name ,started to get the crowd moving with there guitar driven uptempo songs. I have to say by this point a number of lagers had been imbibed and I didn’t concentrate on the band as much as I should have so apologies to them. They were however really competent, delivered a high energy performance and certainly like all the bands on show worth checking out.
Which leaves “Mice on Mars” as headline. Straightforward garage/punk they had the crowd peaking at the right time and I was left at the back of the crowd as people squeezed into the space in front of the stage.I’ve listened to some of their songs on Sound Cloud and they remind me of “Slaves” on some of the bass parts but they do have that garage feel in their guitar sound. Again difficult to know who are the bands to watch here as they were all good. And with a ticket price of just £4 it was a great night out.
Although I did suggest earlier the Windmill is really worth a visit I would urge you to ignore that advice as I’ve just decided on reflection I would far prefer to keep it my indulgent little secret.
fatwhiteoldblokes 