If it's not one thing then it's another. The sun shines and then it doesn't. You make plans to go out and they fall through. So there was time for a review. Passed Rufus T Firefly and spotted members of the bands reviewed last night. A sign from the divine to move along. Next stop? Cosmopol.
It seems they have a six band bill tonight but patience was never a virtue of mine so the middle three found themselves before the floppy eared firing squad. Ready, aim, fire!
Salute Mary tuned out to be the sort of honest rock band that can often be found playing in the sweat soaked bars and clubs of this once great land. Featuring a drummer who got steadily more naked with each song (unfortunately he was a bald guy…), they sidestepped subtlety and kept it simple by punctuating all their song with power chords. Best enjoyed loud, as they say.
Analog Angel were a somewhat different proposition. Determined to take us on a journey back in time to the early days of synth pop, they managed to accurately duplicate the charisma free stagecraft of those early practitioners. Mind you, I don't suppose there is a lot you can do when everything you play is pretty much canned but I have to say I was impressed when they covered some synth pop hit and decided to do the 12" version leaving the three guys plenty of time to walk about the stage, sip their lager and chat to each other.
Andropov were of the same genre as Analog Angel only a bit more digital. They had an impressive amount of kit on stage and would have reason to invest in a roadie or two to speed up their setup. A pint later Andropov started their set. Their music was quite atmospheric but, given its robotic nature, didn't gain much from being live. They also had a faint whiff of geography teacher's sideline exuding from them. Following an audience killer did them no favours of course, so perhaps they would impress on a better day?
Figuring the omens were bad, I cut my losses and departed in the direction of fried food.