Since Sonisphere and meeting Terence Warville and Giles Van Lane for the very first time, not a day goes by that I don't have some sort of aural action from Slam Cartel. I've been biding my time, waiting for a gig closer to London and finally, I'm about to get my Slam on! Playing at The Monto Water Rats on a Wednesday night this is my idea of being intimate with 6 musicians - and let's face it neither party is going to have much choice regarding being up close and personal tonight largely due to the size of the venue.

I've seen various bands in this venue over the years and it's always been the same ... the sound is shit, no matter how you dress it up, how good you are, or even how bad you are ... it's definitely a band leveller to say the least. With this in mind, I'm still really excited about tonight as all 6 of Slam Cartel squeeze onto the little stage, check their sound and dim the lights.

Opening with 'Once in a Lifetime' the Talking Heads cover, it's apparent that The Rats still has the same sound issue. Disappointing.  Also as much as I love the band's version of this song, I'm slightly concerned about their use of it as an opener - it's a belter to say the least and it could have been a tactical ploy to entice people in that have never heard Slam Cartel before but the guys have recently had over 120 airtime plays of their powerhouse of a song 'Sundown' here in the UK and I personally would have opened the set with that tune if only to keep their own momentum at full speed. In hindsight though, the engineer, after what seemed like a good talking to from the band's manager, pushed some buttons and pulled some levers and seemed to get a better sound in house by the time 'Wishing Eye' started, so maybe playing the cover did in fact work on many other levels.

Tonight playing as part of a five band line up, Slam Cartel only has half an hour on stage, so 'Hold Me', 'Powerstorm' and 'Sundown' follow in quick succession. And then it's all over. Admittedly, I'm more than gutted that they haven't played 'Breathe'. Of course, it's my favourite SC song but it's also the song in their arsenal of quality tunes that has something for everyone in it. If I could have change anything about tonight, it would have been 'Sundown' as the opener and 'Breathe' as the closer, leaving out the cover completely. That, in my opinion, would have been a true showcase of their diverse capabilities as musicians and songwriters. Also if I were them I would never play a small venue again, Slam Cartel's sound is far too big to be contained.

Overall though this was actually still a great night out, and a great gig by some really great guys!