DMS and the Kraze, Bowfinger, Sean from Culture, Jess from Stranger, Dave Spencer.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 28th November 2008.

A self-indulgent birthday gig by Stuart of Modern World Promotions is tonight's menu here on level 2. Although headlined by Essex boys DMS And The Kraze, it's the blistering performance by regular Esquires favourites BOWFINGER that warms me up on this bitterly cold evening. Reverting to their original line up of Barry (drums), Ed (vocals, guitar), Iain (guitar, vocals), and Dave (bass), they are the perfect party guests. From start to finish the entertainment is first class. Seeing that the room is not too busy, Iain quips that “astonishingly we've played to less!”

The fast and explosive ‘All you know’ is the perfect start for Luton's premier ska-mod new-wavers. All of course delivered in a pleasing pop veneer. The banter between the people that are here and the cheeky quartet borders on the comical as, once more, Iain, sensing that Bowfinger are one of the few performers without a Hammond organ to accompany them states wryly "Who needs an organ?!" The "ska la la la" strains of ‘Wishing’ certainly gets my feet tapping, while the deep bass intro to ‘Bad tomorrow’ is just the vehicle for this sharp mod tune that everybody shines to. The set also includes a new one entitled ‘Think about it’, while ‘Action girl’ closes to rich applause from this intimate gathering of friends. It is a superb set by these irrepressible lads whose cheeky nature allied to "dead-pan" Dave's straight man makes for one of Bowfinger's best Esquires performances. A shame so few witnessed it. Oh and yes of course, they played the perennial favourite ‘Everything is easy’! Headlining, but tonight blown away by Bowfinger's exploits, are DMS AND THE KRAZE. The quartet boosted by organ and brass rather ran out of steam due to the distinct lack of atmosphere. A cover of ‘Higher and higher’ is about as good as it got.

Unusually, the evening begins with three solo performers. The first, and probably the best, features SEAN from The Culture. His pleasant and confident manner is impressive. He introduces each song in a quiet and efficient way and makes for an enjoyable twenty minutes. ‘Streets of Amsterdam’ is one of the early compositions, while ‘Shes your last’ is totally self-penned, and a first chance for Sean to play it live. Its riff does however owe a slight nod to Lennon and McCartney! Sean admits that some of the songs have been knocking around for a while and that he has had to relearn them. ‘Chase’ was put together some 2 years ago and is a band favourite. ‘Thinking a lot’ is new, but ‘Everybody's talking’ is his songwriting "jewel in the crown", his finest composition so far.

Tonight is a welcome back to JESS (from Stranger). It is, however, an inauspicious start as the young lady accidentally drops her guitar prior to starting. Thankfully her composure is not shaken as she performs ‘Better than that’, ‘Frustrated’, and ‘Boy oh boy’, which she intorms us with a grin "It's all about boys!". A couple of other songs draw note. ‘Waste my time’ is a slow ballad written in Plymouth, of which Jess tells us "is a horrible place"! A new one ‘Do what you want’ is a slow and unusual choice to end with. Jess reveals that it is about "broken hearts and stuff".

Lastly, and unexpectedly for him, DAVE SPENCER performs a short set at his Hammond XK1 organ. As he tunes up, a wag in the crowd shouts out ‘This is not going to be a sermon is it?’. Well, of course Esquires used to be a church and Dave does later play on a song called ‘Hallelujah’!