Monto Water Rats
Info
Train: Kings Cross (6 mins)
Tube: Kings Cross (7 mins)
Capacity: 200
Reviewed Events
The Czars, The Wave Room, Tram at London Monto Water Rats, Mon 25 Sep
It was billed as a "fanzine friendly" night and the lineup didn't disappoint. The Wave room (tonight at least consisting of Hamish Mackintosh, main man at the Czars' Bella Union label, an acoustic guitar and a CD player) kicked the evening off with a brief warm-up set. Some dreamy acoustic and ever-so-slightly slushy s»
Autumn, Pusha, Twist at London Monto Water Rats, Tue 03 Oct
See... because Twist are girls, the automatic thing say is they sound like Hole/L7/Kim Gordon/Bikini Kill [delete as applicable], yet, if I was to compare them to anyone it would be early Nirvana. Good tunes but never simple formulaic songs, powerful without ever being turgid, in a laid back devil-may-care betwe»
Venus In Furs at London Monto Water Rats, Sat 13 Jan
For those of you not familiar with the Water Rats Theatre it is one of the few venues that actually encourages eardrum-exploding volumes. Appropriately enough singer/guitarist Becky Stefani’s visually loud but lovely and glittery guitar means that we should probably all be wearing sunglasses. The Furs k»
Husk at London Monto Water Rats, Sat 09 Jun
It’s an odd match. Headlining we have Susy Thomas, a defiantly commercial M People lounge music wannabe, with two grrrl powered teen rock bands as support. We are not going to talk about Susy Thomas because, frankly, she does not belong here. Susy Thomas belongs in Simply Red support slots and Jane-from-The-Cruise’s»
The Suffrajets, The James Wright Band at London Monto Water Rats, Wed 25 Jul
The James Wright band play blues tinged rock. In other words proper music using proper instruments. I would give you three guesses as to the appearance of their frontman, but as you can’t answer me I’ll answer it myself: he looked a bit like Paul Weller. Yes my friends this is a Mod band, the bane of my short»
Haven, Tetra Splendour at London Monto Water Rats, Sun 11 Nov
How many bands have you heard of that have moved from Cornwall to Manchester, changed their name and reinvented their set list? Welcome to the world of Haven, mellow indie rockers and hidden metallers. The band of the night were supported by Tetra Splendour, an indie-rock four-piece from Porthcawl in South »
Candyheads at London Monto Water Rats, Sun 27 Jan
The Candy Heads look like and sound like a band who belong in the charts. It could be the constant pogoing of their bassist, it could be the way the girl guitarist looks like she belongs in the Dandy Warhols, it could be the way the singer doesn’t stop grinning. Then again, it could be because they play a»
The Warm Jets at London Monto Water Rats, Sat 30 Mar
Cast your minds back to late 1997. At Wembley Arena - Blur were playing. First of all this shy, timid band walked on-stage. No-one takes much notice. They play 30 mins of straight up, fuzzy, indie tunes. Then trudge off. The Warm Jets had arrived! Since then, they released some great singles, '»
God Love You For a Liar (formerly Plastik) at London Monto Water Rats, Wed 04 Sep
First on a Wednesday bill at the Wate Rats is always going to be tough. Plastik shrug off the frustration of playing to ten people hiding at the back with consumate professionalism though. A set of new material awaits, less hysteric, smoother, and in places more than a little reminiscent of Muse. The o»
(Review of nothing)
Here placed before us, are three unassuming, polite young men from Kingston.
And that's where the problem ultimately lies.
Unless you have a forceful, crunching, way round a yoof anthem ala Hundred
Reasons, or a giant white-hot ball of fury pent up inside of you, forcing
its way out ala
Homescience, Of Montreal, Aerospace at London Monto Water Rats, Wed 08 Jan
OK, that's it, I'm moving to Sweden. They've got a socialist monarchy, they've got Ikea and they've got Aerospace, five unfeasibly attractive blonds here to bring us snow and an Illustrated History of Jangle-Pop. And yes, I mean delightful, gorgeous, floppy-haired C86-style jangle-pop, not this Axis of Tweevi»
The Mighty 590 at London Monto Water Rats, Fri 07 Feb
It must be a nightmare if you’ve just started your own band and you’re trying to make a name for yourselves, especially if London’s the place where you wanna make it happen. Why? Because there are gonna be literally thousands of likeminded souls in the same boat, and only those who can offer something very»
Republic of Loose at London Monto Water Rats, Wed 19 Feb
If they haven’t already, ROL's live performances are set to become legendary. Having already developed something of a frenzied dedication within their ever-growing following, they splurge the tiny Water Rats stage, rapping, swamped in blues and tickled by funk.»
Eden Maine at London Monto Water Rats, Sat 31 May
So you're standing in everyone's favourite Kings Cross shithole, and this wild-eyed dude is crawling over the monitors at the front, and it's like he's battling with the noise that surrounds him. He's already broken two microphones - whirling them around with seasoned abandon or just hurling them at the floor, one a»
Koogaphone, Great Bear at London Monto Water Rats, Thu 19 Jun
In deepest, darkest needle-strewn Kings Cross lies the preposterously named Water Rats “Theatre”. I doubt you could fit Punch and Judy in this place, let alone a full blown dramatic troupe – theatregoers rarely have to stand elbow to elbow supping Red Stripe from a plastic beaker and trying to un-stick their feet fr»
Smother at London Monto Water Rats, Mon 03 Nov
Last time DiS glimpsed these tykes, they were entertaining the BBQ-gorged clientele at one of our Brixton alldayers. Back then Smother seemed a bright-eyed bunch with a blast of lively punk sketches. Such promising infancy has given way to a snarling creature with an impending and fearsome set of molars. Smother have grown teeth - and how.»
Redjetson, Amusement Parks On Fire at London Monto Water Rats, Tue 08 Mar
So much emphasis is placed on what music should make you feel like. It's supposed to bludgeon your brain in and make your eyes melt and bleed and suckerpunch you rudely in the gut and make you sh*t yourself. Why? Why is it meant to hurt? Are we really all such masochists?»
Your Vegas at London Monto Water Rats, Wed 27 Jul
There must be covetous glances from Your Vegas when they drive past the Wembley building site. They are a stadium band waiting for a stadium. Though tonight they must settle for a sweaty Water Rats.»
Two Gallants at London Monto Water Rats, Thu 01 Dec
Apparently, the band has good nights and less so, as they still struggle to find consistency; if so, then this can only be a good night, as the Gallants perform one of the most striking, compelling and endearing gigs of the year...»
Club AC30 at London Monto Water Rats, Fri 17 Feb
Amazing gig!!! I saw THE TAMBORINES for the first time that night and fell in love with them.
Great set!
It started with a lovely clean guitar and piano based song and ended with a fuzzy distorted sound. Magic!
I managed to get a c»
Silvery, Blind Jackson, Roland Shanks at London Monto Water Rats, Tue 21 Feb
Silvery were really good last night. Not the usual gimmicks and flowers on stage, but just straight up clown punk, and better for it. Not really bothered by the other bands.»
Heartwear Process at London Monto Water Rats, Sat 01 Apr
The Heartwear Process just shouldn't work, yet the Reading quintet somehow find themselves just weeks away from the release of their debut single.»
dios (malos) at London Monto Water Rats, Mon 10 Apr
It was shite. dios didn't want to be there. Half arsed effort. I've been waiting a couple of years to see them live and I see them and been heavily put off them. They never finished their songs, and rushed through All Said & Done, my personal favou»
WRECK 5 at London Monto Water Rats, Fri 28 Apr
Ah, WRECK.. A regular shindig that's largely a triumph in the world of DIY band-run evenings. The concept of bands putting on bands that they like is a great one, and in this case members of the public actually turning up to watch them. Which is nice.<»
Twin Zero, Yndi Halda, Textures at London Monto Water Rats, Wed 19 Jul
It’s the hottest day of the year both outside and in this sweltering room, but my arms are alive with gooseflesh...»
Stars Of Aviation, Shimura Curves at London Monto Water Rats, Sun 06 Aug
Shuffling awkwardly, between-song banter delivered with a tinge of shyness, the band look, initially, as it they’re about to be totally overpowered by the minority in the house that feel it necessary to talk their way through a set they’ve probably just paid to see...»
Los Campesinos! at London Monto Water Rats, Mon 11 Sep
If there's one thing that's going to stifle talent and kill music in this country it's industry scrums before a band has even had time to mature in any way. The blame could lie at the feet of MySpace, message boards or just the immediacy of the internet as a whole, but whatever has led the entire music industry (and its friends) to the Water Rats tonight, it needs taming...»
Aereogramme at London Monto Water Rats, Wed 15 Nov
I’m really not that familiar with the music of Aereogramme: I’ve always been aware of it, but never devoted much time to getti»
Barbarossa, Cats And Cats And Cats, Johnny Flynn at Monto Water Rats, Camden Town, Sun 07 Jan
Immediately, I get the feeling that we have disturbed something that has been pulled together tight over the half-hour or so that preceded our arrival...»
The Long Winters, Scanners, Fortune Drive at London Monto Water Rats, Thu 15 Feb
Writer's note: The Long Winters are great...»
BRNLV CLB at London Monto Water Rats, Fri 09 Mar
These guys were HOTTTTTT. Guitar duals, men in short shorts, and receding hairlines caused men on the dancefloor to crawl on all »
Club Fandango at London Monto Water Rats, Wed 16 May
Somewhere in the cracks on the grimy, beer-splashed and fag-end strewn floor of the Church Of Mother-Fucking Rock And Roll are a ragtag crew of cathartic chaos-bringers, musical magicians with their wands misshapen and their guitars set to kill...»
The Besnard Lakes, Land Of Talk at London Monto Water Rats, Fri 25 May
As befits a group who chose their name from a remote Canadian lake, with the declared purpose of evoking a sense of seclusion, the»
The Ponys at London Monto Water Rats, Thu 07 Jun
The Ponys used to create catchy, guitar-driven pop songs; now they create nightmares. From their pristine pop perfection of previous releases, such as 2005's Celebration Castle, the band has taken the plunge into the darkness of the lock-up garage this year...»
The Thermals, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Underground Railroad at Monto Water Rats, Camden Town, Sun 10 Jun
Summer has, it seems, arrived: following an afternoon on Brighton beach, DiS is sweating again in the company of absolute strangers in the back room of a London theatre pub. We’re sticky and smelly and we’ve not really eaten properly – our bellies are full of seaside chips out of a tray and 99s with flakes – but that’s not stopping us rocking. Initially...»
Asobi Seksu at London Monto Water Rats, Tue 26 Jun
Shoegaze’s influence on modern music, now rehashed as ‘nu-gaze’, is stronger than ever. And now, blazing up the inside like one of those lavish climactic choruses, we have Asobi Seksu...»
DiS End-Of-Summer Party! (headlined by Russian Circles) at Monto Water Rats, Camden Town, Fri 31 Aug
this was ace. thanks, all, for coming.»
Josh T Pearson, DiS DJs, Devastations, Joe Gideon & The Shark, Jack Savoretti at Monto Water Rats, Camden Town, Tue 18 Sep
Immediately upon entering the Water Rats Theatre (I wandered in all cool 'til a security fellow told me I couldn't do that for all the tea in China, consequently making me look a little bit of a dick while my name was ticked off the guestlist) you can see Josh T. Pearson...»
Kylesa, Baroness at London Monto Water Rats, Sat 02 Feb
Since the release of their debut full-length last year, Baroness have been building up quite a head of steam, one which the Water Rats is having difficulties keeping a lid on tonight. Absolutely jammed in, the capacity crowd is completely at the mercy of them and support act Kylesa»
Black Kids at London Monto Water Rats, Wed 06 Feb
Trying to write about Black Kids without taking into account the hype (hype!) currently surrounding them is… well, it’s a bit of an elephant in the room scenario, so let’s be done with it nice and quick. Yes? Yes. Their 30-minute set is impressive; no means perfect, but a small victory»
Pure Reason Revolution, Vessels at London Monto Water Rats, Sat 12 Apr
Your average DIS popkiddy doesn't really understand a band like Pure Reason Revolution and it's not hard to see why. This was th»
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