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A Good Dark Night Out At The Gaff

Feb 23, 2010 Uncategorized
Posted by Administrator

If The Crobar , one of London’s smallest but toughest venues – dedicated to beer, whiskey and hard rock – was able to grow up and become a bar big enough to have live bands, then The Gaff MIGHT well be what it would be like.

It certainly WAS dark, as the photo shows – but the candles lighting up the tables, and the skeletons on the door – and I don’t mean that to refer to the people letting you in, gives it a special edge that is somewhere between Quentin Tarantino’s “Dusk til Dawn” bar at the start of the evening (before everyone turns into vampires) mixed with a touch of Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Blues Brothers!!

It is conveniently located only a 5 minute walk up the road from Holloway Road tube on the Picadilly Line – and it sits on the corner of two roads, where there is basically little else after dark. However I am NOT complaining – just setting the scene.

The great thing was the consistency about it. From the music in the breaks with the classic rock of everyone from Led Zep, Queen, Alice Cooper and even Kiss – through to what the bands played themselves.

It was WE ROCK LIKE GIRLS DON’T that came to see – and they do, or rather don’t. Wotever!

Anyhow, the track from Seattle, and the one before it with “the ghost guitarist”, certainly made me think there was more than just two girls in the band. Ros gives little intro or backchat in between tracks, and just gets down to business in playing on most numbers.

In fact, it wasn’t until she had got to the end of the number before the track from Seattle recording – and mentioned that – that I realised she was Scottish.

And I think that the Scottish accent gives the music they do that harder feel -as if to say “Don’t mess with me – I’m singing ta YOU!”.

That and they can play TOO! Yes, boys and all you hard rocker girls, they can. With a sound just a wee tiny bit (just a little) like Kate Bush on the softer numbers – to touches of Pat Benatar or Ani De Franco on the harder ones. However the comparisons are probably unfair – as Ros can play that guitar. Boy/Girl, can she play!! So the singin’ is just an added extra…

It all seemed to go together, including the small but enthusiastic and appreciative crowd. Hey, I even liked the free drink that I got from “the local”, Andy, who said that he had been a bass guitarist earlier in his career. Now if I had a pound for every time some punter told me that at a Blues or Rock gig…

Me? If I ever want to blag it with the best – then I say I’m a drummer (or could have been) – and, as Henry David Thoreau said about the different drummer: “Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away”. So I let Andy step out in his own way in believing that he was, once again, measuring himself up on that stage far away. Just for one night again, and a free whiskey or two…

Certainly it would be great to see Ros and WE ROCK LIKE GIRLS DON’T there again with a bigger turn-out…and maybe catch up again with good old Andy too.