Face Of Cheam

I was well enough to drink for this one which was a plus as I really wasn’t looking forward to it having seen TVs festival coverage of them and thinking they were really awful. The build up drinking was not good as the friend I went with left his phone and tickets on the train at Victoria. Thankfully a lady called Eleanor (perhaps surname Rigby – perhaps not) handed them in at Balham station so a quick trip back there meant we could have a pint in the Exhibit and look at the fishes. We then got the Northern Line up to Kentish Town meaning a beer on the tube rather than another pub and got to the Forum just before they come on. Beth Ditto, Gossips lead singer is huge (literally not in the popular sense) and ill advisedly was a spandex outfit! I realise quite quickly what the problem is musically, in that they only have three people in the band and Beth often has to screech away backed up by drums and bass only. They definitely need a guitarist although on some songs a six string was played instead of the bass. ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ is their best song and was played towards the end of the set. The encore featured a cover of ‘Careless Whisper’ which is an awful song in the first place. This version was just about bearable. The gig was better than expected by I certainly don’t see them as a great band musically. Despite her weight Beth though does add some personality to the indie circuit.