Live Review

Puggy – Powers Bar, Kilburn

• 13th Dec 2007

It was an evening of pleasant surprises. I had walked past Powers Bar many times but with the outside tables bare of seats and all the windows blacked out it never struck me as being open. On the few occasions I had seen the door manned it was always still shut so I was never offered a glimpse of inside. However, on the night in question the door was open to offer a view of the interior and the tables outside were occupied. The doorman was chatty and the bar staff friendly. The interior is cosey but well laid out with a slight cocktail bar feel left over from a previous life. Before that it had been a local pub and the crowd looked to be a mix of people from all its past incarnations.

Puggy, the evening’s main attractions, had been a band I’d heard about, but never had the chance to see live. Their live electric sound was something I’d been looking forward to hearing; for a venue that’s been styling itself as an acoustic bar for such a short time, the set up was well thought out and the sound did the band far better justice than their Myspace tracks. Powers Bar is a venue with great potential.

Many of the crowd seemed to have come especially to see Puggy play and the energetic trio, led by charismatic front man Matthew Irons, soon had the crowd warmed up and dancing. By the end of the set the crowd were clapping to the music and singing along. Puggy are defiantly a band worth seeing live, the atmosphere they create really enhances they music they play. I left the gig having had a great time – they clearly have talent and a fair few fans willing to see them again – Puggy are well worth seeing live and a band for the future.