The 22-20's supported by The Blueskins and Goldigger
Friday 23th May 2003, Bedford Esquires.

I heard a few people who are not in to Indy music in the crowd saying they still thought GOLDIGGER was a really good band, they certainly seem to have a touch of magic about them and recently done well in this years battle of the bands event.
The singing is faultless, with a rich listen able quality and some of their songs have a cool dark edge to them.

The crowd wasn’t as large as their previous appearances to begin with, but they still performed well. The front man’s sartorial appearance suits the style but I cant be doing with the tie wearing image which doesn’t suit the other members of the band.

Didn’t the drummer loose one of his sticks during the set? He had to carry on with just one stick for a while and still managed to pull off a good percussive performance – ‘that shows skill!’ The band didn’t even notice, so big up respect for the drummer and hey, - keep a few sticks spare close by next time!

Never heard of The Blueskins before, and probably never will – they never showed up.
Apart from Goldigger being a really good band to see, the main reason for coming to the gig in Bedford was the description of THE 22-20’S, I’ve never heard any of their stuff but in magazines and journals they are described as ‘Jazzy Blues’ which sounds different, innovative, interesting and are an up and coming band that have been getting airplay and new found fame whilst being compared with The White Stripes.
That’s their description out of the way, now lets tear that all up and start again. I have to say that I was disappointed with the band as they seem to defy that description, they were more like your everyday rock band – don’t get me wrong, they had an extremely good, well played sound and demonstrated that they were good at what they do, it’s just that I didn’t think that they were as Jazzy, Bluesy, or different than how I imagined them to be, and when the band finished I just hadn’t realised I had been watching the 22-20’s thinking they were the middle band who hadn’t turn up.
I thought the bass player played particularly well and moved around on stage holding the guitar in a very similar way to Angus Young from AC/DC.

It’s rare to see vinal, instead of C.D.’s for sale but they had a two track 45” single available. The first track:- Such A Fool (3.51) is a basic song with a slight blues riff influence and an old fashioned feel, with clear vocals and some nifty guitar licks. On the B side:- Baby Your Not In Love (2.43) has a distinctive country/western feel, it’s a slow, easy listening track it’s o.k. but more in line with something your dad might listen to.



Jamie Mc.Jay Bedford Metal.