Cravenfest II 2006.

Esquires Bedford Lev 2 16th September 2006.

After the success last year of the inaugural 'Cravenfest', the 'old metal man' certainly didn't sit on his laurels. This year he thought that Level 2 alone was not enough to sate his appetite and, quite unbelievably, decided to incorporate the whole of Esquires into a 3 venue festival - Level 2, the Level 1 disco and Danny's Bar (the latter featuring the cream of local acoustic talent). A gamble? A foolhardy idea? Well, if the hordes of young music fans (and some old ones) who flooded into today were anything to go by, then I have to say it was a masterstroke by Mr Craven. 22 bands and 7 acoustic acts kept the folks happy for near on 9 hours. Having positioned myself in the usual place on Level 2, this is my account of the unfolding events of the day:

• 2:15pm - Hypo Psycho An American Band who open the day with a blazing set of Green Day like Punk and a lead singer who have the charismatic posturings of a young Iggy Pop!

• 3:00pm - Gain My, how these boys are maturing into a fully fledged rock outfit. It all so effortlessly clicked into gear. 'Rockin' gets the audience warmed up while 'Tommy's Dead' deals the final blow.

• 3:30pm - Mash and Rich Ex-Last Man Standing versus The Delinquents. The boys have a laugh and strum some tunes, including their rendition of 'Perfect'.

• 3:45pm - His and Herpes The 'Herps' seem to be gaining more and more confidence as well as some new songs. Tobi's drumming was superb and there was a guest appearance by Doubting Thomas' vocalist.

• 4:15pm - Liam Vernon Danny's Bar is packed as this hugely populat young man keeps us entertain with his songs of a rich Irish flavour. His massive ovation is very well deserved.

• 4:30pm - Scratchplate Robbie and the lads breeze though a variety of predominantly covers, including an unique take on 'My Generation'.

• 5:15pm - The Smoking Hearts Loud, arrogant, idiosyncratic, don't give a **** - Their fans lapped it up.

• 6:00pm - Delphian Complex Great to see this band back here. Indie Electronica at it's best and a total joy from start to finish.

• 6:45pm - Losing Sun Currently on tour, the performance is heavy and intenst and, with 'Interrogation', they have a great song.

• 7:15pm - Liam Vernon Sadly 'Big Liam' had by this time sunk too many ciders.

• 7:30pm - Henry and the Bleeders My only venture into Level 1 is to catch these boys. Well worth it as The Crew join them on stage and the mosh pit is a slightly hazardous place to be!

• 8:15pm - Hekz The most exciting local young rock act. Presently showcasing their excellent mini-album exodus, as ever it is a great show and fifth Hekzer 'Keef' is there to give some assistance.

• 9:00pm - New Groove Formation Second successfive Cravenfest for this nine piece Ska band who specialised once again in getting maximum audience participation.

• 9:45pm - Juniper Hollow An emotional evening for these four lads, as a headline slot on Level 2 is their final gig. Mischa thanks everybody as they boe out to 'Bulls on Parade' with B.L.B. ringing in their ears.