King Tut, Age of Sin, SandBuzzard.

Esquires Bedford Lev 1 Thursday 13th April 2006.

Once again in association with Bedford Metal, Showcase Night introduced three more bands new to Esquires. A packed pre-Easter holiday crowd welcomed SANDBUZZARD, a three piece rock band from Leighton Buzzard who display tonight many other facets of musical styles. Starting with ‘The Thin Air’, which features a blinding intro, this song contrasts sharply with the funky vibes of ‘First and Last Time’ which effected some spontaneous dancing from some keen fans. The song is memorable for a stunning drum solo from John Lodge (he of the stunning black and white check tie), who is so overcome at the end, he tosses his drumsticks into the air. ‘Medley’ is a full on Rock De Force; an instrumental which cements itself on us. Following song’ ‘Forgetting You’ is a poor stab at sounding like the Foo Fighters and is easily their weakest song, which thankfully is rectified by the ‘punkish’ overtures of closing songs ‘It’s Gone’ and ‘Don’t Want This Confused’. A good set that is only flawed at times by vocalists James not having quite the strength of voice to match the power of the music.

Second band AGE OF SIN are from St Albans and Watford and bring to the party a solid retro rock sound, epitomised by opener ‘Sex Song’, interspersed with cries of ‘Hey Hey Hey!’. Front man Steve is small in height but big in voice. 'Too Late' is short and sweet whilst ‘Will Go On’ is a clenched fist, arm in the air anthem song. ‘Into Thine Arms’ is the only disappointing part of their set, a sheer overblown echo of Nickelback that deeply irritates me. ‘Get Ready’ is a bang up to date composition written only last week! ‘Black Widow’ finishes the Age Of Sin showcase with a rousing singalong tune.

KING TUT hail from Milton Keynes and Buckingham, and formed last December. In fact, tonight is only their second ever gig. They admit that they rarely ever practise (“coz we’re too lazy”, Adam concedes). At the moment, King Tut have many songs under construction but as yet not completed. So they fill in with a few well known covers. Considering the young age of the group, I thought their show tonight was terrific. All the boys are self-confessed American Classic Rock fans, with a strong penchant for Guns 'n' Roses. The megaphone that vocalist Adam uses frequently adds a diverse quality to their songs which throughout are expressively performed to a high standard. ‘It’s So Easy’ features a sleazy run down rock riff that David (lead guitar), Alex (rhythm guitar), Tom (bass), blend together to form a potent brew. A cover of ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’ is given a terrific ovation whilst ‘Mr Rock Star’ sees front man Adam losing his beloved baseball cap to a mate who dons it, does a quick gurn for his friends and then hands it back to the singer. Led Zeppelins ‘Rock n Roll’ is covered superbly and ends a pleasing set and an immensely successful night.