The Crimea, The Hot Puppies, The Replays, Red Dollar, Portion.

Esquires Bedford Lev 2. Saturday 18th March 2006.

Reviewed by Martin Stapleton / Pictures by Suzy Cook.

Davey MacManus, frontman with THE CRIMEA, is well and truly up for it tonight as halfway through their set he proudly proclaims that the old Emerald Isle had beaten England at Rugby to secure The Triple Crown. He is a proud Irishman and in days come by when he was the lynchpin of Celtic rockers The Crocketts he was a total loose cannon. Needless to say, he liked a drop of the Black Stuff (and more!). His stageshow here on the 5th September 2000, which was televised by Channel 4 as part of their 'Barfly' sessions) was certainly memorable.
But here he is, back old and wiser. However, judging from tonight's performance, a little too dull and boring for my liking. Along with band members ex-Crockett drummer Owen Hopkin, Andy Norton (guitar), Joe Udwin (bass) and Andrew Stafford (keyboards), the set tonight was drawn mainly from their recent album 'Tragedy Rocks'. The Crimea make a grand entrance onto the stage and a haunting picture of a victim of war hangs over the drumkit. They open their set with 'Baby Boom' which has a traditional Irish Folk feel seeping through. 'Bad Vibes' is a maudlin, middle of the road song that is only enlivened by Davey's controlled passion. In fact, during the whole set he veers from Van the Man to Shane Macgowan. 'Seilhi' has a true punk rock ethic which is totally at odds with Andy's Hank Marvinesque guitar solo at the end. The forthcoming single 'White Russian Galaxy' is a class apart, with the lyrics 'Into the jungle, seaching for Tarzan, who might be dead'. 'Miniature Violins' shows MacManus as a true Irish troubadour that even dear old Christy Moore would be proud of.
The Crimea return for an encore, but the dreadful version of Fleetwood Mac's 'Everywhere' that follows would have had Stevie Nicks choking on her fruit smoothies! The set ends with their last single 'Lottery Winners on Acid' which, to their credit, is performed beautifully. It is a love song with a touch of Country about it, but on the whole The Crimea's set did not impress this premium bond winner on Red Stripe!

Kicking off the proceedings tonight were PORTION, and my, how these boys started the evening in style. A rocking set began with 'Morphine' and their hyperactive frontman is on top form as he dances with, and eventually breaks, his mic stand. The rest of the band portray a cool air of decorum while the voice of Portion screams, thumps his head in time with the drumbeat and then starts clambering all over the stage. New song 'Anti-Virus' sees him roll of the stage completely before imitating a dying fly in the mosh pit.

RED DOLLAR follow their gig in Cambridge last week with another high octane and adrenaline fuelled set. Right at the start of their first song, the boys are all pogoing in unison whilst their second track is a superb punk rock thrash. In fact the set does not calm down until the tuneful 'Eon'. Due to a technical problem late on, front man Don is forced to perform without a guitar, a state of affairs he admits to being a bit nervous about, but needless to say he handles it with aplomb.

Due to a problem with their original name, old favourites The Return are now known as THE REPLAYS. They maintain the standard of the evening with their catchy and hook-laden rock and roll. It is a special set and all the more so as their vocalist is feeling (by his own admission) 'rough as f**k'! With familiar tunes 'Secrets' and 'Black and White' as well as new song 'Mind the Gap' (which as a real Artic Monkeys influence about it), it may be a different name but it is still that great old sound.





Welsh boy/girl combo THE HOT PUPPIES calm and slow things down. Opening with current single 'Terry' this St Etienne meets The Long Blondes 5 piece take a little while to grow on me, but eventually they win me over. Older song 'Green Eyeliner' follows but their standout song is 'Love in Practice, Not in Theory', a barbed title for a track about love gone wrong that is stunningly played and sung beautifully by Becky Newman. Full marks must also go to The Hot Puppies for their stage outfits and general stage presence.