A Thursday night in London: Piney Gir in Shoreditch and Allo Darlin’ in St Pancras -

I had a splendid night out in London town last night, checking out both Piney Gir and Allo Darlin’ in two venues across town.

The Piney Gir gig was in an old shop turned art gallery in shudderful Shoreditch.

Getting there was a stressful experience because that whole ‘let’s copy Brooklyn circa 2007 down to every single detail’ depresses the fuck out of me, but thankfully the music more than made up for the trauma.

Before Piney came on this lady did a short, sharp and wonderfully odd piece about heart surgery.

The venue was tiny and the sound diabolical, but the band sounded fantastic

I really enjoyed the set. I’ve seen Piney perform a few times in the past, and despite the PA sounding like it was pleading for its life, this was the best show I’ve seen her play.

Full of energy, enthusiasm and fun, this would go down a treat at Offline in Brixton (*strokes chin).

Next stop was across town to the St Pancras Old Church (which has the famous Hardy Tree in its graveyard) to see indie-popsters Allo Darlin’ perform a well crafted set.

Dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, the Victorian church stands on what is thought to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England. It’s a stunning building to see a band.