The Buffalo Bar, 259 Upper Street, London N1, England; Tel: 020 7359 6191 Email:info(at)buffalobar.co.uk

Diana de Cabarrus
January 17, 2006
View London

Venues like the Buffalo bar are vital to a city's energy. London has a fine tradition of providing venues where a whole spectrum of possibility unfolds, night after night, from motley crowds of punters indulging their mates while they have a strum, to the birth of brave new electric worlds inhabited by sweet and strange music.

It is open to anyone who can find a means of transporting their skill from the attic to an audio format. With the current state of the music business that we all love to hate, with everything from big hair and big smiles to faux adolescence angst all equally prepackaged, it is good that there are platforms for musicians who are real.

The atmosphere is friendly. The bar staff are delightful. It is also a bit studenty, although people are all ages, which is quite endearing, as it means there is a chilled out student feel, without the chundering or loud opinions.

Also in line with student times, the main style statements seem to be follicular (hair is free and will grow back, thus a cheap tool with which to effect noticeable fashion points): lots of facial hair, indie hair, the odd curtains do, sideburns; I even spotted an undercut.

What I like about venues like this is that although they are somewhat exclusive in that people come through word of mouth, once you're in, it's a great leveller-it's not remotely smart or chic, and no-one knows quite what is going to happen next. The delicious possibility of being wonderfully surprised is ever lurking behind the next amplifier.

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