Brijitte West @ The 12 Bar Club, June 20th 2012

A rare acoustic gig for Brijitte and on this showing she should go unplugged more often. Although better known as a raunchy rock’n’roller – first with NY Loose and more recently with her own band the desparate hopefuls – tonight’s short set showcased her more thoughtful compositions which worked well in an acoustic format. Brijitte was ably supported by Keith Gibbs on guitar / vocals and Richie Hudson on bass / vocals. The harmonies were impressive but not too slick and worked in a Parsons / Harris way: fittingly the DJ played Do Right Woman, Do Right Man just before the trio took the stage. Brijitte’s professionalism was tested when her borrowed acoustic shed its strap and had to be gaffered back in place by the sound man but she never missed a note. An increasingly vociferous crowd enjoyed Mess Of Myself, Bleeding Heart and Bitter & Twisted. How To Be Good didn’t miss co-singer Jesse Malin and whilst Pretty Suicide and Hey Papito didn’t quite reach these heights a set closer of Broken ensured calls for an encore.  With three bands on the bill this was not to be but I’d like to see a longer acoustic set from these guys. Headliners the Peckham Cowboys were everything I’d been expecting and less. The tiny stage could not accomodate the whole band, so bass and piano played on the floor. The Peckham Cowboys are ageing nevermadeits who wear great hats and bring their cat Victor to gigs. They have a Flying V and a song called Rock’n’Roll Star that is totally devoid of irony. They should be supporting someone like Slash at Wembley but instead they rocked the 12 Bar with total conviction. The best £6 I’ve spent in a long time.