So there I was musing on the fate of the world. No, I wasn't because I'm certain we all know by now how that one is going to work out. I was, however, looking for a something to distract me on a Saturday night. Some music perhaps?
Firstly, let's get one thing clear - I'm no fan of the twee and the fey. I'll grudgingly admit that kind of music can be quite good but in a live environment, you're going to want something that grabs you and won't let go. Rock music should do just that.
The first band to take the test tonight was Brittle Head Girl. Musically they were at the metal reinforced side of rock and there was no doubting their ability to feed power chords to a hungry audience. This would be the kind of music that I would imagine psycho truck driver with a trailer full of aviation fuel listen to on a dead of night dash down the M6 would listen to. No lullabies in their set list and that's a fact.
I was especially looking forward to seeing Storm in a D Cup. After all, they are an all girl rock band from Edinburgh. That is manna from heaven for a battle hardened reviewer and I was sure that the mighty pen of sarcasm would surely run out of ink. But no, Storm in a D Cup were actually quite good. They've only done ten gigs so they were distinctly rough around the edges in terms of their playing but they did have style and some pretty decent songs too. Lead singer Lynette strutted the rock star strut with conviction and, without the slightest hint of sexism of course, the band were distinctly cute as they went through all those onstage cock rock clichés that we all know and love. However, I suspect Storm in a D Cup are smarter than they make themselves out to be and that we will therefore be hearing a lot more from them in the future.
Following an all girl rock band is never going to be the easiest job in the world. The largely male audience will have wandered off to look at the pictures they have taken on their mobile phones for a start and that was pretty much what happened. Catcher, to their credit, didn't let it affect their performance and proved to be solid entertainment. More melodic than the preceding bands, you could easily see that they would appeal to a more discerning and - dare I say it - mature audience.
The final contenders tonight were Preacher. If you are a fan of the three minute single then this band would not be for you. However, if you have a rack full of Rick Wakeman concept albums in your record collection then Preacher would make you a happy man/woman/hamster. As you would expect of a band bringing light to the back alley of seventies' British rock, there was no lack of quality musicianship on show. No lack of poise or confidence either but probably a band best experienced sitting down.
You've all probably worked out who grabbed me tonight. Let's just say that when I got home I emailed Santa as I now know what I want for Christmas (and no, it isn't a pony!).