And so another fine London rock venue bites the dust. The Standard has been a great little venue, steeped in rock history for years now, and has seen some real legendary performances grace it's stage during its time. It's even seen a couple of my own not so great performances! Once again money talks and the rock fan walks - as it closes its doors for the last time in December to make way for another grand money making scheme for the business man - supermarket, offices, flats - whatever it will become it's a crying shame. So tonight I'm mindful of the fact that this will probably be the last time I'm here, but what better way to go out than with the wonderful London legend that is Del Bromham and Stray.

First up tonight though is a band called Good Thinking, who are making their first re-formed performance in over thirty years. They were the band that featured Mark Evans, the drummer who went on to join Warrior Soul, and who was tragically and brutally murdered back in 2005. With Evan's connections with Stray, this was a fitting night for Good Thinking to come back and pay tribute to Mark, as well as announce the release of their new album. It's an enjoyable set of old tunes dating back to their original 70's incarnation, such as the impressive 'Good Thinking' as well as slotting in some new tracks such as the country rock flavoured 'Warrior Soul', dedicated to Mark. The lead guitar work was highly impressive throughout the set, which mixed blues country and rock together well, and at times had more than a slight air of Dire Straits about it.

It may be the fact that this is a great little venue with a decent sized stage, but Stray seem on fire tonight, and of the handful of times I've seen them, this was easily the best. Combining the best of the band's older material from their original 70's incarnation with the highly impressive new material from the recent 'Valhalla' album, this is a set of great British hard rock. Opener 'Come On Over' is a storming slice of prime heavy rock, as are the likes of 'Jericho' and 'Our Song'. 'Time Machine' and 'Only What You Make It' date back to the very first Stray album from 1970 and still sound great. 'I Believe It', from '74's 'Mudanzas', is still a scorching slice of melodic rock with an ultra sing-a-long-able chorus. The new material on offer is also highly impressive, especially the hard rocking 'Move A Mountain' which sounds like a delicious mix of The Who, Humble Pie and AC/DC. The military and war themed '1600 Pennsylvania Avenue' and 'Harry Farr' are quality tunes with extra relevance with today being 11/11.

Of course it's still 'All In Your Mind', Stray's best-known track that dates back to the first album that provides the biggest thrill of the evening. This was the track that Iron Maiden covered (not a patch on the original! If you ask me), and in its original album version is quite a lengthy slice of prime psychedelic rock. In its 2011 live incarnation, it's even longer as Del does his party piece guitar abuse solo to wow the crowd.

As usual, Del Bromham shows why he's still regarded as a guitar legend, having worked with some higher profile figures over the years, most recently Leslie West. His guitar work is simply top notch. He's more than ably supported by powerhouse rhythm section Karl Randall and Stuart Uren, who together with Bromham make Stray in 2011, and beyond, a top class hard rock band that deserve wider recognition and bigger stages than this.