Rock and Load!

Saturday saw the Flea accompany Messrs Daffodil, Bodger, Chamone and the Shiny One to the monthly vintage rock clubnight known as Heavy Load (downstairs at The Phoenix pub near Oxford Circus). A truly rocking night out with tunes from luminaries such as Led Zep, The Stones, The Doors, Black Crowes etc with the odd country rock track and more obscure bands thrown into the mix for good measure by a DJ couple clearly enjoying themselves.

It attracts a good crowd, some of whom arrive for the occasion with 60s-70s rock and roll style to the fore amongst other fashion elements from the period, but what really matters is the music.

Classic rock guitar riffs and frenetic drumming had everybody bouncing about with energetic abandon, several air guitar experts on show plus a few rock moves on the dancefloor (including an unlikely exponent of the Elvis kung fu kick - a portly character who startled all around him with this sudden explosion of energy). The cross-over country rock tracks thrown in gave interludes from carrying the heavy load, allowing revellers brief respite from all the fret-fingering frenzy before the load was inevitably picked up again. Being London, the crowd was also quite cosmopolitan which is always nice to see.

So how can you go wrong with an evening of great music in a nice intimate setting, with a decent crowd of friendly people incorporating ladies from all corners of the world? Frankly you can't, but the bar is quite short at this venue which means that there's quite a queue most of the time, so don't wait till everybody's had their last drop before sending the lucky person whose turn it is for the next round/heavy load.


The Unsteady Load (Chamone, the Daffodil & the Shiny One)