Enter Shikari, Juniper Hollow, Flood of Red, Losing Sun, Angels Cry.

Esquires Bedford Lev 2 Friday 21st April 2006.

Bedford Esquires has been building up to tonight’s ‘One For The Underground’ for weeks. Tickets have been like gold dust, and as predicted, the club is fit to burst…

Three of this evening’s support bands have travelled far and wide to be here tonight, starting with the Brighton-based six-piece, ANGELS CRY who kick off the evening with their brand of emo-tinged hardcore. They’re punchy and catchy, bursting with melodic guitars and shared sung vocals, which occasionally switch to abrasive screams. Aside from a few slightly off-key harmonies at the start of their set, the band soon settle into a full, textured sound with some huge, emotive melodies, while tracks like ‘The Ocean Waves’ and ‘From Start To Finish’ encapsulate perfectly their mixture of abrasive, driving guitars and almost poppy, uplifting choruses.

Up next, and travelling from even further a field are Cardiff boys LOSING SUN. Esquires is already absolutely heaving in anticipation of headliners Enter Shikari, but Losing Sun certainly succeed in turning some heads and capturing a few new fans. A little bit different to the other acts tonight, and firmly rooted in the rock and metal genres, with influences from the likes of Sepultura, Mudvayne and Disturbed, the four-piece waste no time in lashing out with a mix of pounding drums, dirty bass lines and dark, twisting guitars, while the high-energy front man delivers passionate, anthemic vocals, he spreads his arms wide and appeals to the crowd, ‘come on Bedford, don’t let me down!’ It’s impossible to ignore their far-reaching vocals and not find your head nodding along to their pummelling rhythms and infectious melodies.

It’s a long wait before Glaswegian (covering nearly all of the British Isles tonight!) six-piece FLOOD OF RED finally takes to the stage – but it’s worth the wait. Appropriately bathed a flood of red light, they burst into their up tempo set, throwing themselves around recklessly, and are the first band to really get the crowd in motion and clapping along to their post-hardcore beats. Impassioned, frenzied screams, up-lifting, emotive sung melodies, driving guitars – and not to mention the best feat of gymnastics that Esquires has seen for a long time, as synth and sampler Dale climbs the stack and hangs upside down from the lighting rig, still screaming furiously, to conclude a relentless performance from the Scottish sextet.

Confidently strutting on stage JUNIPER HOLLOW (formerly Bent Like Bob) front man Mischa Finchman wastes no time in requesting more movement from the crowd; tonight’s only local band certainly get it, and they’re met by screams of support from the front row as they breakout into the hard-hitting new song, ‘Check Mate’. Tumbling bass lines and swirling rock guitars are brash and aggressive as cymbals crash, yet, tracks like ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ are still perfectly singable with their eager and emotional choruses. Despite the front man making a big deal of their set being cut short, they still manage to slip in a cheeky cover of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Bulls On Parade’ at the end. Juniper Hollow prove that less can be more and make a big impact tonight.

A sold-out Esquires is right on the edge, with the audience like one giant firework just waiting for ENTER SHIKARI to light their touch-paper... the lights go out the crowd go wild as the band tease them with electro beats and frosty waves of sound. Just when you think you’re about to witness a dance band, the drums pound and vocalist Rou lets loose a huge growl. This is practically a home-coming gig for the Hertfordshire quartet, as every song they announce is met with a bigger cry from the audience and sung passionately back at them. They only formed in 2003 and are still unsigned, yet Enter Shikari seem to attract a huge following wherever they go, thanks to their engaging performance and original sound. There’s something for everyone as the band manage to fuse hardcore screams, catchy choruses, electro dance beats, deep rumbling bass, Van Halen-esque keyboards, dischordant, buzzing guitars, anthemic pop melodies, soaring harmonies and hand-clapped rhythms (not to mention more gymnastics as drummer Rob stripped to the waist turns a summersault whilst hanging from the lighting rig) beautifully into one exciting musical experience. Their song, ‘Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour’ sums up Enter Shikari’s set entirely.

Expectations for tonight’s gig had been big, but all are most certainly met and exceeded by mammoth and memorable performances from all five bands.