The Barfly is an intimate venue and I was intrigued at how busy this night was going to be. Vains Of Jenna were once the next big thing and seemingly lost their way, so I was definitely not going to miss this evening of entertainment.

Velvet Star opened up proceedings and came out strong with certainly one of their better songs, 'Revolver', and it seems that this Yorkshire band intend to make new friends tonight (if the cock-a-knees could understand a word they're saying!). Sounding heavier than their debut disc and pushing frontman Danny Jones to the fore is an obvious observation but I think that they might be missing a trick by not letting the excellent band members grab some of the limelight. Jones's Weiland/Iggy/Manson persona does him no favours at times - Weiland can do sexy, Manson can do freaky dark weirdo but neither can do the other, so they stick to what works for them and in that, lies the problem when you watch him, a mash up of both that doesn't quite work as well as he'd like/think. Having said that, Velvet Star rocked the small, always building audience and are definitely worth a trip away from the bar if you see them opening for a band near you. 

Up next are Falling Red and I remember thinking that their debut EP was full of hooks and a sprinkling of trashy class. That fell some way short tonight with the vocals low in the mix and the band just seemingly had something missing...'Ain't With The Rock' and 'Come On Down', with its "Fucked up in this town" chorus, stood out as the thickening crowd started to get vocal and join in the fun. On this showing, Falling Red are simply a poor New Generation Superstars - good but not quite good enough to make the leap up to the next level. The fact that they play 'Rock Around The Clock' loses my appreciation, the fact the crowd seem to love it just makes me head to the bar disillusioned.

The place becomes packed (that's not saying much as this place is tiny) and all are here to see Vains Of Jenna. I'm not quite sure where or what VOJ are thinking of their current plight - in 2006+ they were were the new Swedish sensations destined to steal HCSS's crown and ride through the US with Stevie Rachelle's Sludge support. Momentum was building until, never quite making that jump up and getting the big support slots here in Europe, they seemed to stall until finally, lead singer Lizzy Devine left to be replaced within weeks by American Jesse Forte. The fact they released a covers album with a new singer was never going to do them any favours amongst the hardcore fans and I'm getting the impression these fans are here to be impressed and won over.

This version of VOJ are certainly less glam than their original incarnation and Jesse Fonte can certainly hold his own up at the front of the stage, it just instantly seems all a bit of a chore for them - bass player JP White is straddling a very fine line between being ultra cool and not looking like he gives a fuck. Two covers in the set is maybe an indication of how strongly they now believe in their own material. A cover of Cee Lo Green's 'Forget You' - nicely changed to 'Fuck You' - is a cheap crowd pleaser.Lead guitar player Nicki Kin's version of the Nirvana classic 'Territorial Pissings' is an unexpected treat (and yet, that's not even on their covers album??) and raises the bar to a height that they should be hitting. 'Everybody Loves You When You're Dead' and 'Enemy In Me' are two songs that the crowd know and love and go down a treat to the point that no one massively seems to be missing Jesse? They're definitely more American than Swedish these days and if you wanted proof, listen to newish song 'Hey Now' to see where they may be going in the future.

Crowds are a fickle bunch and for every singing fan, there seems to be a yet-to-be-convinced fan next to them. Although after Devine's leaving they decided to carry on instantly, I'm just wondering how much enthusiasm and belief is left in the band on tonight's showing. It's always hard to replace the focal point and voice but if you do, you need to believe fully in what you want and kick down doors to show everyone you mean business and are committed. On tonight's showing, they merely tapped on the door.

Unconvincing.