Ham Sandwich play one-day residency at Whelans

Its indicative of how few venues there are really in this country that a band like Ham Sandwich have to play two gigs in a day in one place in order to just get out there and play. Its indicative of how indifferent the country is to its own music scene that fuck all people turn up to the afternoon show. This could be down to a couple of reasons not least of which is the fact that most people are probably hungover to fuck still or more likely they might as well wait until the evening show because then they can stay out drinking afterwards. Come to think of it I probably should have done the same thing.

Emergency in Transit look like the type of band who either saved up all their pocket money very hard to pay for their equipment or have rich daddy's. Their sound is very tight but perhaps a little suspiciously tight for their age, which is about 16 (pun intended). Most of their songs have an opening riff that completely rips of "Helicopters" by Bloc Party which baffles me completely how nobodies pointed that out to them yet. Still they're not the worst thing I've ever seen and once they gain a few years and realise that their haircuts look fucking retarded then they might have something.

Ham Sandwich have quietly made a totally decent name for themselves over the last three years since the first time I saw them at HWCH in 2005. In fact they've gone and released one of my albums of the year in "Carry the Meek". They're stage banter is loose and their sound is full even when playing to only about 30-40 people like at this gig (most of them well underage including a couple or 2-5 year olds who run around wearing day-glo earmuffs). I start to wish, about 4 songs in that I had gone to the evening show instead as a crowd is clearly what they need although all the underages knacker drinking in the small crowd do get into it.

Their stage dynamic is impressive and now that Niamh has popped out the sprog she's got her frame into a more waif-like physique (with nice boobs). And of course one of the recurring questions that one must ask when attending a Ham Sandwich gig is "What outfit will Podge wear?" Clearly something stolen from his older sisters wardrobe in this case but of course he pulls it off.

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