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