I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, dd attend the gig of Blood Ceremony at Monto The Water Rats, in London, on 10 October, 2011, and hereby bring my report.
The venue is basically the back of a pub, which had the advantage of beer being served in glasses actually made of glass, at least in the first hour. I sat on the comfy sofa and read the Evening Standard until the first band began, led by a young lady in a hat with a large, round brim, which a person more stylish than myself could probably name more accurately. The music was pleasant enough, in a folksy style with a bluesy feel. There was also a synth/computer player, who seemed a bit redundant.
After a break, and dodging the smokers of the tiny pipe in the expedition to find the gents behind the building works, the Blood Ceremony themselves came on stage, the drummer clearly finding the space a little constrained. However, this did not affect the sound quality, which was very similar to the record, which I had thought was excellent (which is quite rare for me). As is commonly said, like Black Sabbath with a flute. Their lead singer does a very neat thing with her head, like a bat. The audience were receptive but not wildly enthusiastic and clearly not very familiar with the band, who I think would have been wildly successful forty years ago, but now? Who can tell, but I, Melachi, have spoken!
