Exit Avenue, Thumbelinas, Amy Leeder, Craig Shields.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 12th June 2009.

Tonight, Esquires threw open it's mighty doors to none other than the British Broadcasting Corporation, as BBC Three Counties radio hosted an "Introducing" evening. The presenters of the programme explained that the show goes out live every Friday evening between 7 and 8pm. It features exclusive live sessions and interviews with the best of the young unsigned bands in Beds, Bucks and Herts. It's a great idea and something that should have happened years ago. Hopefully the radio station enjoyed themselves and would look at doing a repeat performance sometime in the future.

Headlining, and very much the radio hosts' favourites, are Hitchin's EXIT AVENUE. They are, of course, no strangers to Esquires. Regular visitors here, the quartet are on quite a high as they are due to play the Download Festival on Sunday. This is a perfect warm up as, although the crowd is not huge, it is very enthusiastic. At times, the mosh pit resembles a junior battlefield as the youngsters thrash around to the electric pop-punksters. This is a band who have matured so much since "Made for the arcade" back in '06. Their stage show is both entertaining and dramatic, even if the music is not really my 'brew of tea'! The young ladies in attendance seem to go especially ecstatic when "Sweet sixteen" is unleashed upon them. As always on their visits, Exit Avenue have their thumb firmly on the merchandise button. Brand new T-shirts are brought in straight from the factory.

Supporting firstly is CRAIG SHIELDS, a young acoustic gentleman new to Esquires. He is at all times extremely confident, but his material doesn't really stand out. A couple do raise my interest. His acoustically gutted out version of an old garage song called "Flowers" is inventive, while "Small town big mouth" is both musically and lyrically enjoyable. This assured Luton lad had on what looks like a freshly ironed white shirt, and is quite tall, but for some reason preferred to sit down throughout, losing some of his presence in the process.

AMY LEEDER has no Integrals to lean on this evening and, oh, she misses them so much. "I need your help" could be a prophetic opener. Amy is struggling as she tells us that she is wearing a new pair of shoes. They pinch and they hurt. Stylish, yes, as high heels are, but comfort is probably best! With her little gripe over, she can "Smile now". Amy is also a touch starstruck as Exit Avenue are playing and I think she is a big fan. "Maybe tonight" has an interesting influence and a nice little riff. "Rainclouds" is the story of a boy who called Amy unattractive. This is the lyrical chance to get her own back, and she does!

The female driven quartet THUMBELINAS rock out the crowd, especially on "Take it out on me". Their intrinsically adult oriented themes contrast well with the rest of the evening and keeps the older attendees interested. It also gives the youngsters a chance to get ready for The Broadcast, who in their own words are ready to "Party, party". It turns out to be a fun-filled thirty minutes in which the keyboard driven band excel. Happy to be here, the crowd show their total appreciation, dancing and jumping around with total abandon. "Stand your ground" might just be a B-side to their single, but it does generate some intense movement. No standing around for these boys!