Horseman Shakes & The Draymen, The Fabulous Weapon, Karl Phillips and the Midnight Ramblers, Choas Calling, Dropout Dan.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 11th September 2009.

The buzz word at present has to be 'credit crunch busting'. In these economically tight times, bargains are there to be snapped up. Tonight, The Red Roster laid down the deal 'five acts for five pounds'. You cannot say fairer than that.

We have an acoustic start with DROPOUT DAN. Judging from his range of material he is very much an angry young man. A lot of pent-up frustration curses through his songs. His introductory, self-deprecating opener contains the observational lyric "Doesn't it make you sick that people are judged on what they wear and not who they are"! Other 'spleen venting' pops up on "Look what secondary school does to kids"! It's about irritating people who are constantly looking at themselves in the mirror. An ex-girlfriend bears the brunt on "Intelligent Intentions". Perhaps the harsh voiced youngster saves the best for last as "18" sees him seriously agitated when he sums up the post-school leaving generation "We're skint and we're the future"! A studious songwriter with plenty to say.

Having seen CHAOS CALLING at The Horn in St Albans recently, I knew fully what to expect. A solid, if somewhat unspectacular, rock quartet plying a tight and efficient collection of, on the whole, unmemorable tunes. This rather disparaging comment does, however, gloss over the band's general spirit and bonhomie. Their first time on level 2 sees them pre-gig, creatively dressing themselves up in variously coloured glowsticks. The vocalist goes one step further, adorning his shirtless body with a multitude of tattoos. With good travelling support, I applaud the all-out honesty of Chaos Calling, even if I find their music less than appealing.

KARL PHILLIPS AND THE MIDNIGHT RAMBLERS create quite a stir. This Wellingborough band make note that Bedford is only marginally better than their hometown! They have a frontman whose liberal use of a hip-hop rap delivery is perfect for a band whose off-kilter ideas could easily fall to pieces in the wrong hands. These boys carry it off so well. Of the set, I naturally enjoyed "Strongbow". "A song about the drink!" Karl quips, a cocksure frontman with a tendency to say "nice one" after each song. "On a Level" has an acoustic slant which also features a touch of ska. This variation continues when the boys include some dubstep to complement the general punky guitar sounds.

Nice to see The FABULOUS WEAPON returning to Esquires. They are in fine fettle, resplendent in their bluesy roots mix. Corruscating guitars add to the authentic slices of late sixties / early seventies psyche groove thing. This sufficient strength brews nicely to produce a cohesive set. There are, at times, more subtle changes of style. A rockabilly feel adds so much to "Kazoo Love". The guitarist's accompanying coughing fit seems to catch out most of the audience. A nice gesture at the end sees them hand out copies of their EP "Glitter Gun". Always a sure way to make you popular with the locals.

The young Sandy lads HORSEMAN SHAKES AND THE DRAYMEN have had quite an eventful year. They continue to demonstrate an off-centre, inspirationally idiosyncratic mix of pure undiluted blues rock. As ever, it's an energetic stage performance highlighted by a tough vocal rawness. A fault that could be aimed at the band is that, although the songs are finely constructed and executed superbly, they are not anthemic, nor addictive and don't live too long in the memory. A minor quibble, because when a band such as this resist the normal lure of 'pap-music' and venture down this route, it's to be commended. As a friend remarks at the end of proceedings, "Horseman Shakes and the Draymen, truly kings of horses"!!