I am excited again tonight, I haven't seen Death Cigarettes this year (they haven't played this year). First up are Breakneck Static who I know, even though they are from Southend and rarely play in London. Last time I saw them was in a dodgy squat in Manor House. Tommy Flynns is a great improvement; Ben tells me they have been working on the lights and I think the results are pretty impressive. For a venue this size they are really top notch. Breakneck Static have a setlist for their half-hour set with 16 songs on it. Simple arithmetic tells you their songs are short. I think their first song is less than 30secs. They do have one song that extends to more than 2 minutes. They are quite intense and an excellent warm up for death Cigarettes. Hopefully it won't be another 9 months before they get to London again.
I don't think I have photographed Death Cigarettes anywhere so cramped and packed with a good Friday night crowd. I wonder where Maya will perch. At one point the answer is on me. The cramped conditions make it difficult to get far enough away to get a full picture like jumping, but keep the band closer together. Even though the stage lights are good I use flash so that I can get pics when Maya wanders into the audience. It's a tremendous show and I am left exhausted at the end. On another night I would have photographed Widows, the final band, but Death Cigarettes take so much concentration that I just sit at the bar with a drink. Another excellent evening from Ben and Rock and Roll Cabaret

I arrive rather early for this gig. It's an industrial unit between Manor House and Seven Sisters. Strangely it is rather like the Proud Galleries. The main difference is that tonight is cheap and without pretension. First up are Chaps who are short and sharp. Breakneck Static have short songs, but have a lot so they do a normal length set. An enjoyable energetic performance.