The Brew, The Escape, Albany Down.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 4th July 2009.

Some twenty years ago, Public Enemy famously sang "Don't Believe the Hype". Well last August I did as The Brew arrived at Esquires and, I felt, produced a rather lacklustre performance. Nervously I anticipated their return with some trepidation. The Grimsby trio, who comprise Jason Barwick (bass, vocals), Tim Smith (lead guitar, vocals), and his son Kurtis Smith (drums, vocals), have been tearing up every rock joint and festival, not just in this country, but all around Europe. So popular are they that their touring schedule for the next couple of months sees them visit Spain, Holland, Germany and Poland. Certainly no toilet venues on their agenda.

This just makes it all the stranger why the older bluesy Bedford public who congregate for the Sunday sessions during the winter season, couldn't be bothered to find £10 to support and enjoy such fine blues rock exponents. For the uninitiated, THE BREW are quite simply laced with the blues, imbued with the spirit of the mid to late sixties psychedelic bands while burning with progressive rock fuel. Dipping into tracks from their summer 2008 album "The Joker", "Lies" shows the band firing on all cylinders. Their dynamic stage presentation shows no let up as the sweat drips off them profusely. Although the crowd is small, The Brew seem to sense that they are surrounded by the local 'muso afficianados'. Taking a brief breather, Jason shares some mutual reverence with his audience as he states "It's very cosy in here this evening". They then proceed to launch into "Ket" which as the young vocalist informs us is "short for something we don't have to go into"! Probably the most jaw dropping piece of rock showmanship sees Jason bringing back echoes of The Velvet Underground as he fiddles his guitar as if it is a violin! A powerful and haunting combination as the resultant sound reverberates around the old walls.

Possibly the only disappointing aspect of The Brew's show was at the end when a mammoth and elongated drum solo from Kurtis saw no follow up song emerging. A slightly unsatisfactory ending, I felt, to what was an entertaining ninety minutes.

Support came, firstly, from Bedford's THE ESCAPE who continue to radiate such energy. As The Enemy have built a career on copying The Jam, our local trio have a sizeable ear for the finer points of some sixties sounds. Fittingly they cover 'The Seeker', while their cool hipster hooks lends itself so well to their own compositions. An audience on the whole unfamiliar with their work warm to them with good applause as "Daylight" and "Crapulence" impress.

Indie blues-rockers ALBANY DOWN are based in London and mix their own written songs with a few appropriate covers. A fast and furious beginning as "The Morning After" and "Baby" culminate with the band almost catching "Fire" as they cover a Jimi classic. With everybody needing to recover after such a frenetic start, "Without You" does slow things down a touch. A very bluesy cover of "Mercy" works, as does a rocking "Jonny B Goode". It all gives way to the slow burning "Save Me" which is such an inflammatory end to their set.