Face Of Cheam

This was scheduled for the Islaington Academy but cancelled due to the London riotd. A peaceful club in Kingston decided to put them on in the upstairs of the venue for a quid on the door. Did not know much of Cheap Girls (one of the two american indie bands) but was quite impressed by the all male three piece. Lemuria are full of 2 minutes bouncy songs and the only downside was that Sheena the singer is so small, that without a raised stage only teh first two rowsa could see her. Still the lighting was all from behind I doubt you could see her from the back even if everyone in front of you was seated. With Stella only £1.80 a bottle I shall return here in a few weeks when Wheatus play for £4.

Blondie completed the Epsom Racing series of gigs. This was much more busy than Scouting For Girls and they did not disappoint with teir set of greatest hits and four or five new songs. Opening with Union City Blue, Denis and Atomic there was little to fault. One Way or Another was played before the encore of Heart Of Glass. For 66 Debbie Harry displayed as much energy as some of the corwn half her age!

Johnny Warman of the Mods, Four Bills & A Ben and his own Screaming Jets has a new job as vocalist of this Free & Bad Company covers band. Featuring Jeff Rich on drums two they did two fifty minute sets which not only included the obvious, Fire & Water, Bad Company & All Right Now, but also the slow blues of I'm A Mover and Oh I Wept. My Brother Jake was played twice in succession with the audience singing the second version and there were rousing versions of A Little Bit Of Love, The Stealer and set ender The Hunter. Can't complain at all for a tenner.

A gig after evening racing is common these days and Scouting For Girls delivered an entertaing show which included a cover of Ce Lo Green's Forget You as well as their own hits of This Ain't A Love Song. I Wish I Was James Bond, Micheala Strachen and set ender She's So Lovely. Teeny bop it may be but good fun.

So Roger Daltrey tours Tommy. He appeared in good mood, telling the audience before he started that he felt that the record was never captured as it was recorded when played live. Indeed unlike most Who performances the whole of Tommy is played including Sally Simpson. An intriging video accompianed the album made by some students and still a work in progress. After the albums finale of See Me Feel Me, Roger thanked his band and launched into some Who classics, solo and covers. These were either brillant such as Bargain, curious such as the rarely played Blue Red & Grey on the ukelele or occaisionaly painful, such as the Johnny Cash medley (without Ring of Fire). Still you can forgive a legend for one faux pas. We also go Simon Townshend doing a great version of Going Mobile, again a song not played previously by The Who. All in all a top three hours of entertainment.