Martin Newnham
PJP
Moth
Second Sense
W4
Kensington, London
24 March 2005

As with many of these showcase type gigs it was a mixed bag and the running order did not reflect the quality of the acts one bit. They ranged from the rather good to rather rubbish. First of we had Mr Newnham with his guitar and a mate on violin. This was a pretty mellow set but was impressive with its close harmonies and rather tight playing. This despite Martin having an on-coming flu. It was a bit Sawdoctors-esque and was a great opening for the evening. Highlight was defintely a track called 'Under the Weather,' and not just because it was appropriate on the night.

Next up with had a singer/songwriter in female form who dellvered a truly dire performance save for her last acapella jazz number. It was PJ Harvey-esque but amazingly plodding and tedious. It went down like a lead ballon with the crowd and was pretty rough going. One wag suggested that he was going to nip out to top himself. The mix was too loud, she screeched way too much and we were all very relieved to see the back of her. Yet again NME have proven their taste is pretty dire...her intro bragged that they lauded her. I am being kind here, there were far less complimentary things being said at my table and the ones around.

Fortunately we were saved by the improved Moth, considering how good they were the last time I saw them, that is saying alot. They were far rockier this time out, truly embracing the proggy nature of their music and leaving the folkier side aside. The band were tight as hell and very professional while maintaining a very efforlessly cool jazzy vibe. The band had far more prescence and attitude this time; producing a truly gothy version of their song about 'Witby & Dracula. This lot just get better and better. Catch em' before they start playing far bigger places.

Last, with a tough act to follow such a tight Moth set, was Second Sense. They produced a decent if uninsipiring set of funky reggae influenced rock. It was nothing special but nothing awful either. In an act of bravado or daftness the lead female lead singer introed the band during the first song and plugged their next gig. As with Kill Dorothy, the young lady fronting the band had absolutely no prescence at all, prefering to stare into the rafters rather than engage the audience. As with KD, the bassist had the most stage prescence of the lot of them. Bands like this have got to understand that putting a good looking woman up front does not make up for lack of stage persona and tunes.

To be honest longer sets from the opening act and Moth would have been a much more pleasant evening. Lets hope Moth graduate from this type of gig very soon. That said, it was not a whole horrid night of music in ole' Kensington town. West 14 is a rather good venue it has to be said.