MOTH2

It's my 3rd gig in 6 days which is good going these days. Back at the Moth Club by accident as this gig was originally at the Lexington. I meet Pete Wendy and Jane "at the back" where they have a seating area right next to the merch table. I catch the last song of Low Girl who sound pretty good so shame I missed them. They went down well as a lot of people rush over to the merch stall which is also where they're bringing their kit back to so it's getting a bit crowded. After a catch up chat about all that has passed in the last 6 days the sound goes off in anticipation of October Drift. They start off with the leader singer guitarist having set up in the middle of the room, as in the audience, starting out with just guitar and vocals before the rest of the band gradually come in. It's a great way to start the show and we are soon into an onslaught of heavy grunge guitar riffing. Whilst the obvious comparison is Nirvana, and some of the songs do have a very Nirvana-ish bassline, they lean towards a more choppy groovy vibe. At times they get groovy and remind me of The Charlatans although god knows why as they are far from that swirly Manc dance scene. It just popped into my head. The bassist stands out driving the songs along and all in all they are very entertaining although I don't leave our good view at the back to follow Pete into the crowd. The singer likes getting into the audience and goes walkabout on the tables in the seating bits. The last song is him in the middle again with a big singalong. In fact there is quite a bit of singing along. They seem to be one of those bands who have a small but very dedicated cult following and I'm not sure they'll get a lot bigger. But what do I know. I once refused to pay £25 to a tout to see Nirvana in Bradford partly cos I was tight and partly cos I considered them a heavy rock band. Even worse I was with Ramsay so feel worse for him than for myself. Soz luv. Regrets? I've had a few. And that one I've just mentioned. Anyway back to the 2020's... A great way to end and they have an enthusiastic send off. We finish our drinks then chat for a while outside about life, locks, mudguards and the politics of Glastonbury ticket buying groups. Eventually we part. The Oslo which we blagged into last Saturday has a very long queue of what look like goths and then I remember it's Halloween weekend. Having just missed a train I have to wait a whole 15 minutes for the next and for the whole journey I keep on being surprised by people's outfits. I assume most are Halloween but after 11 on a Friday night in London anything goes on the tube. An enjoyable night out east. Again. Good call Pete.

October Drift

Grunge away