Upstairs, downstairs, Surya

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did attend the gig of  Martyr Defiled, We Die Tonight, I'll Stay In Memphis, Black Polaris and Beneath The Wake at the Surya Club, near Islington, London, on 22 June, 2013. The stage is downstairs, and the bar upstairs.  The bands themselves were distinctly hardcore but the sound quality was oddly good. A few dozen studenty people were there, who disappeared upstairs after each band. Eventually I followed to see what was going on. No-one seemed to be drinking very much (at £4 a can), in fact, they were mainly staring at mobile phones. A bit bored, I had the bright idea of staring at my own mobile phone. To my surprise (after six years of ownership) I found there were several games on it, including one about owning a nightclub, though I could not understand the rules.

 "We Die Tonight" were my favourite performers, mainly due to the singer, who did the high and the guttural notes well. The Martyr themselves were fearsomely aggressive, and inspired some hardcore dancing (with karate kick moves), though not from me. I took this picture of one of the earlier groups, I'm not sure who, but then ran out of film. Such is the lot of Melachi.