Grim City, Forever Ends Today, Conflict Theory, Gallows.

Esquires Bedford. Thursday 24th November 2005.

Showcase night gave Bedford's young (and perhaps not so young!) alternative music fans a chance to sample some unknown talent from around the country as well as catch a few bands from a little closer to home.

Tonight a sizeable Thursday crowd decided to give Little Britain a miss and see what Esquires had to offer. For me, it was worth the admission price alone to witness a young band from Watford, the hauntingly titled GALLOWS. Comprising of five young 'herberts' - Frank, Lags, Stu, Paulo, and Lee, they formed (in their own words) specifically to play 'pissed off Rock'n'Roll in the face of all the fake music nowadays'. A splendid adage which they fully lived up to tonight. With a nod of approval to Metal and a doff of the cap to Punk, Gallows gave us an exhilarating journey which had all the pent-up frustration of being skint in a capitalist society. 'Abandon Ship' and 'Will Someone Shoot that F**king Snake' captured both the fire and the spirit of the band.

Luton lads THE CONFLICT THEORY opened tonight and this five piece metal outfit again made a good impression, much like their previous visit to Esquires.

The other bands that completed the line-up were FOREVER ENDS TODAY, a well crafted young post-hardcore band from Birmingham (but don't hold that against them!) and local band GRIM CITY who, to be fair, were playing their first gig tonight. They brought a sizeable crowd with them to give them every encouragement, but this was yet another band who insisted on subjecting us to needless and banal chatter between songs. It had no relevance to their set and was very, very, boring!