Betty Curse, Love Bites, The Rifts, Love Muscle.

Esquires Bedford Lev 2 27th October 2006.

Four days before Halloween seems the perfect time for a visit from the spooky ‘funeral pop’ antics of new young talent Betty Curse, who is joined tonight by one of Bedford’s hottest new bands, Love Muscle, not to mention Esquires’ favourites The Rifts and up-and-coming London-based quartet, Love Bites.

Bedford-based LOVE MUSCLE seem almost to be a strange choice to start off tonight’s bill; compared with the trashy pop and sleazy rock that is to come, and Love Muscle’s technically precise, incredibly tight performance of heavy, rolling blues riffs, reggae beats, southern rock ‘n’ roll and laid-back classic rock is perhaps a little too classy for tonight’s audience. As Fergus Shipman’s powerful voice explodes out of the darkness at the back of the stage it’s a shame that the drum kit isn’t further forward to really accentuate the novelty of their drumming lead singer, yet guitarist Tom Miller is more than capable of holding the spotlight with some frankly spell-binding lead work. Love Muscle are certainly a rock band with a maturity beyond their years, whose excellent musicianship will see them appealing to a wide range of audiences in the future.

Esquires’ favourites and ex-Days of Worth drummer Andy Green’s new project THE RIFTS are up next, whose blend of rock and indie sounds particularly harsh after the smooth blues rock of Love Muscle as they launch into their catchy, simplistic, and distinctly British-sounding rock that blends catchy harmonies and choruses to create a classic, easily likeable sound that you can’t fail to find yourself dancing to.

As good-looking as they are hard-rocking, all-girl group LOVE BITES really set Esquires alight as they come put swinging, bridging the gap between The Donnas’ classic rock and Slunt’s sleazy, innuendo-driven punk rock. It’s obvious why these ladies have found themselves riding-high recently with new single, ‘He’s Fit’ and a part in the BBC’s Electric Proms in October; bursting with energy and oozing attitude, Love Bites put on a confident and convincing performance in front of a swelling Esquires audience.

Finally, BETTY CURSE graces the Esquires stage. The band were expected to play a headlining show earlier in the year, then later it was hoped they would make an appearance at this year’s Cravenfest, both of which sadly didn’t happen, but as Betty (a.k.a. Megan Burns) takes to the stage, dressed to the nines in full goth-princess regalia, the wait seems all worth while. It seems they’re off to a slightly shaky start, but it isn’t long before she stalks and parades the stage in front of the audience, her pale face and black eyes perfectly complimenting the sugar-coated whine of the vocals, the harsh guitars, catchy choruses and simple, snotty rhymes that make up what Burns herself has dubbed ‘Funeral Pop’. As the reaction from the crowed show, with songs like ‘God This Hurts’, ‘Do You Mind If I Cry’ and ‘Girl With Yellow Hair’ Betty Curse has already began to capture the same anthemic tunes and dedicated fan following as bands like Aiden and My Chemical Romance. Well worth the wait.