Gaz's Rockin Blues, 22nd May

Gaz's rockin' Blues has somewhat legendary status, having been going for more than 20 years, most of which has been in the dingy caves of the St Moritz club. DJs and live bands play to a drunken crowd a mix of 50s and 60s rock n roll and ska and reggae.

Unfortunately, when I went, it seemed to be very ska-heavy which is not my favourite genre. And the band... well, let's just say the sound was rather unbalanced, with the backing singer louder than the main while also making it pretty obvious why she was only backing vocals.

There were far fewer people who were obviously into the 'scene' than I thought there would be - most of the crowd just seemed to be local workers who had gotten pissed up at the pub and wanted somewhere to carry on drinking. I'm not sure how much the music was actually relevant to their attendance.

I quite liked the club St Moritz - a little warren of rooms allowing you to sit at whatever distance and volume from the music you wanted. Prices weren't as bad as they could be - a Stella Cidre was £4.90. 

I can't really see myself ending up at Gaz's again. Gone (mostly) are the days where I find myself drunk enough on a school night to want to stay out later than the last tube and judging on my night there, this is the only reason I would return to this particular night. A friend who went another time was very surprised at my verdict as she loved it (though I can’t vouch for how drunk she was when she went). To the venue in particular, I would happily return as I do like an underground, slightly skeevy club. Feels authentic.