The Black Keys at Ally Pally

Last Friday I went to see The Black Keys at Ally Pally.

We arrived in good spirits after a beer and a prosecco +4 and hoped to be in time to see some of Band of Skull's set. Unfortunately we only saw two songs -5 but at least I knew them both and they were great +5.

After a manic mission to the loos -6 and food purchase of cold cheeseburger (not even melted cheese) for £6.50 -11 it was time to return to the auditorium for The Black Keys.

We tactically made our way to the far side and walked towards the front. We thought we had a decent position until the band came on stage and we realised we couldn't really see a thing -8. It got worse when a lame couple in front of us started smooching -5.

They opened with tracks from Brothers , including Howlin' For You, before moving onto El Camino's "Dead and Gone" and current single and my latest addiction "Gold on the Ceiling". The band were brilliant performers from what we could hear +12 and vaguely see (on tip toes) -7.

The crowd seemed to be really enjoying it too, with one fellow behind us screaming "Yazer" at regular intervals. We overheard that it's "a bastardised version of yay" - I'm sure it will catch on.

The Black Keys have a LOT of good songs and they made sure they represented most of their albums, much to the delight of the hardcore fans +4. However, the crowd was quite a random mix, with quite a few oldies and also idiots shouting "Woof Woof" -3.

They reached the end (apart from the mandatory encore) and played Lonely Boy of course which was faaaantastic. Nate was dancing like a crazy fool! +11

As they came back for the encore, the crowd started to thin, which was surprising considering they played Everlasting Light and had some snazzy lights. It was good news for us though, especially as we could see a bit more! +9

The night came to a close and we headed for the train, which we missed by 10 seconds and the following train was delayed, by which point hundreds of people had descended upon the station -14. I won't bore you with the gory details of the torrid journey home but to sum up, the venue and its location let this gig down badly. Lame food, lame toilets, lame transport -19.

The Black Keys rocked but the venue sucked.

A- for The Black Keys, D for Ally Pally

Howler at The Lexington

Last Monday I went to see Howler at The Lexington.

The night started off well with some Kill Your Darlings ale at The Exmouth Arms +1.5 however soon went downhill with some cold fish pie at the usually delightful pub The Easton -3.

We strolled down the road and arrived at The Lexington amidst the Rough Trade pub quiz, so we went straight upstairs after receiving our wristbands to prove we were over 14 and could buy alcohol. My wristband was put on too tight and it hurt -2.

We grabbed a drink and watched support act Man Made. He was a bit creepy and had a scary tshirt of an eye which stared at us eek -4.

We took a seat +5 and waited for Howler to emerge. They came onto stage and after the first song decided to introduce us to their tour manager Wayne. "Wayyyyyyyne you're the worst tour manager ever!" they proclaimed before telling us about Wayne's sexual frustration and asking somebody to go down on him tonight because he was taking out his bad mood on them. "Just flick it, touch the end," they urged. It was a bit crude at such an early stage of the gig and they weren't very likeable -6

They played through the America Give Up album and every song was performed pretty well, particularly Beach Sluts, Told You Once and the highlight, Back of Your Neck +7.

However, the on stage antics were perhaps more memorable than the songs. The lead singer didn't endear himself by telling us he had the sleeps and might puke, before spitting beer at the drummer -9.

The band saved "Back of your Neck" until the end and it is a corker of a tune. It's just a shame that the band are twats.

C

February is not just about Valentine's Day

I'm getting a bit bored of everyone's "Best of 2011" lists so I thought I would look ahead to 2012 as there are some exciting gigs coming up, particularly in February.

Here's my pick of the bunch:

21st January - SBTRKT with Sampha + Thundercat + Michael Kiwanuka @ Koko (sold out)

6th February - Howler + Man Made @ The Lexington

8th February - Lianne La Haves + The Staves + Rae Morris @ Borderline

9th February - Slow Club @ Heaven

9th-11th February - The Black Keys @ Alexandra Palace

22nd-24th February - Alabama Shakes @ Boston Arms

23rd February - Baxter Dury @ XOYO

24th February - Little Dragon @ Forum

If you think I've missed any or would like to join me at any of the above, holler at me.