I see many good bands every month, even every week. Sometimes I see someone who stands out amongst those special bands that I rush to see several nights a week. I saw O.Children at the Windmill a couple of weeks ago and was impressed. Tonight I turn up at the Social at 11 (on my way home from Camden) just as the previous band are finishing. I haven't been to the social before. My immediate impression is of a minute stage with a corridor like room in front of the stage. Overall it is a long narrow cellar. I suppose on a bad night it may draw comparisons with a sewer; I think you will have gathered that my first impressions of the venue are not entirely favourable and that I have some misgivings about what the gig might offer.
These are turned on their head when O.Children actually play. The venue which was previously pokey and cramped becomes intimate and exciting. The drummer is virtually sitting in front of the toilets, but this band transend their surroundings and I am drawn to comparisons with bands I saw many years ago in smallish venues, such as the Clash, Siouxsie, the Slits, the Specials and Madness. These were gigs where I didn't sleep when I got home due to the adrenaline; tonight I go to bed at 3