Henry and the Bleeders, Angels Cry, Smoking Hearts, Hekz, Wolflaw, Love Muscle, TV Kicks, His and Herpes.

Esquires Bedford Lev 2. Thursday 21st December 2006.

'One for the Underground' head honcho Paul Craven presented, on the shortest day, the longest Thursday. An eight band Christmas party kicked off at the early time of 5pm. Perhaps a wee bit soon form most people. Infact, the first two bands on stage, His and Herpes, and TV Kicks, suffered from this and played in front of just a handful of early arrivals. Special mention must go to TV Kicks' vocalist and guitarist, Ben Elliot, who inspite of thick fog and Christmas traffic, left his home town of Lincoln at 1.30pm and arrived in time for his performance. Although they were dogged by technical problems their corny slice of vice in old Lincoln town was much appreciated by this reviewer, it was wryly amusing and true to life!

LOVE MUSCLE are making good progress at the moment and have been taken under the wing of the Sid Worth Memorial Fund. I'm sure the much missed gentleman would have been impressed with their efforts tonight, especially the rich, bluesy sound of 'Bedford Girls', which ends to a spectacular rock climax.

Another local band to keep an eye on in 2007 are WOLFLAW, with last Sunday's gig thankfully forgotten, their supporters mass in attendance at the front door and are totally up for it. 'Break the Law' brings the house down while guitarist Roy inspires a Wildhearts cover that is fast and loud, much like the rest of this enjoyable set.

The early appearance of HEKZ affords them the courtesy of playing another gig later in the evening. The boys, as usual, enter into the spirit of things as they don their santa hats and decorate their guitars with tinsel. Crowd favourites 'Flight', 'Dead of the Night' etc are lapped up as HeKz's marvellous stage show takes full effect. The familiar sight of guitarist Danny hoisted high on Keith's shoulders whilst strumming away at his guitar is still highly amusing. This talented young band have taken everybody's breath away this year and everything just dovetails together perfectly.

The arrival of THE SMOKING HEARTS tonight is rather akin to unwrapping an unwelcome Christmas present, a bottle of cheap aftershave, when an XBox was on Santa's list. It's repetitive, boorish and uninspiring. The Smoking Hearts? More like the Christmas Turkey. Even their fans gave it a miss.

ANGELS CRYreappear to play possibly their best set here. It's emotionally charged with the vocal duo putting the upmost energy and passion in to each song. The crowd reaction was loud and vociferous at it's end.

Headliners the incomparable 'HENRY AND THE BLEEDERS' are making huge strides in the psychobilly world. A contract has been inked and they are gigging extensively all over the country, gaining a fine reputation. Back on home soil tonight, they are re-christened Santa and the Elves, as along with HeKz, this is a band who realise it's a Christmas party. As always, it's a great show, and with such a catalogue of songs to choose from it's variation is never in doubt. The Bleeders show is entirely different every time they take to the stage. A deserved headline slot for a band who continue to buck the musical fads and trends of the day. And kids, this particular Santa Claus is more than partial to a pint of lager or two!