Narrow and decked out with all sorts of clutter hanging from the walls and ceilings and run by a very demure sweet septuagenarian the Montague Arms is a sparkling jewel in the tatty crown that is New Cross. The location also makes for a very good venue and with a cheap admission charge and a promising line-up of bands, the savvy promoters Wolfgang Bopp are rewarded with a good turn-out of the local boho student crowd.

The best is served up first. The Bridge Gang have been pushed on these pages all year but still seem to have been generally overlooked, presumably because the NME and its shallow kind have been too busy inventing scenes to bundle bands into to notice how good this three piece are. Eschewing the current fads for folk, urchin powerpop or angular punk funk, they are a rock act pure and simple with a fine collection of ass kicking tunes to call upon. Most look to Nirvana and the Pixies for their influence but one amazing effort, Sarah’s Brother, doths a camouflaged helmet to The Clash’s Know Your Rights with its military drumming and Jose’s tubthumping sermon like vocals. If they could further develop their stage presence they’d be fighting off the record industry chequebooks with enormous poo poo sticks.

Having set the bar so high it was inevitable that the following acts would have difficulty hurdling it. Next up, the hapless Roland Shanks, shinned the obstacle badly. Opening with a track that was basically The Cure’s 10:15 Saturday Night with different lyrics, they proceeded to pilfer ideas from all the current indie royalty. So we get a couple of tracks with Futureheads harmonies and jarring riffs, another couple have Bloc Party gloom, others Maximo Park jerky rhythms and they finish with a shambling Rakes-style new wave number. Utterly derivative and uninspired, the world doesn’t need Roland Shanks.

The one thing the Bridge Gang currently lack, self-confidence, young whippersnappers Larrikin Love have in bucketloads. Clearly enjoying themselves with over two hundred eyes watching their shambling antics, they bounce around the stage to an eclectic musical mix. There’s a little ska n blues, a bit of powerpop, a reggae number, some Pigbag-esq funk and courtesy of a violin even an Irish jig. The overall effect is entertaining but realistically probably needs a bit more focus if they want to be taken seriously.

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