Oxjam - Look See Proof, Operahouse, The Guildean Gang, Yeltsin, The Culture.

Lev 1 and 2 Esquires Bedford. 1st November 2008.

Tonight sees a charity evening for the worthwhile cause of Oxfam which the organisers have entitled 'Oxjam'. Downstairs in Danny's Bar, the industrious young indie charges, namely THE ESCAPE and THE JACKALS, perform to what seems to be a sparse turnout. The tale is very much the same upstairs as first band THE CULTURE open up. They tell us that their appearance to play is at very short notice, so all credit to them for that. The lads give it their best shot. ‘Money talks’ is enjoyable, while ‘Arrival’, considering it's a newish song, has an instant attraction. The vocalist should be commended for playing the guitar, as this evening it is rather painful. He gashed his finger with a hammer earlier this week! He battles on to the end. With ‘Expect This’, their forthcoming double A sided single (out on 4th November), they end the set. The lads' concentration level remained high throughout.

YELTSIN hail from that local Scottish colony called Corby! Despite their political name, this rock trio don't appear to want to change the world. They project a fresh carefree attitude that no others seem to posess tonight. Crudely they can be described as a Blink 182 inspired band. It has that sound, but despite that, they put everything into their Esquires debut. I liked a song which I think was called ‘Isabella’. They came to have a good time and they succeeded.

In total contrast, The GUILDEAN GANG seemed like they were performing on autopilot! Passion is lacking big time. The set rather stutters until their song ‘Jack’ once again shakes them up and is blazed across the stage. Sometimes their controlled negative attitude at the end of some songs does come across as a band bored with the whole proceedings. I certainly hope that isn't so. A shame as their lyrics and songs have a good quality.

OPERAHOUSE return, and the five piece show just what an abundance of catchy tunes they can create. ‘Change of Nature’ from the forthcoming EP complements well with ‘Criminals’. However, for this reviewer, ‘Mankind’ with its divine and full blown intro wins. The keyboards offer variation at all times resulting in a good mix of material.

Up until now, the turn out has been (I feel) quite disappointing. For headliners LOOK SEE PROOF there is but a slight increase in numbers. Such a difference from their sold out Esquires shows of the past. The lads, as always, put a lot of effort into their performance, but it fails to inspire me. The set seems so familiar and feels as though it's been covered by them constantly over the last couple of years. However, it is a charity event and considering the line-up of bands on offer, it's completely baffling why there are not more young people here to support it. Coming after the previous night events, the comparisons could not be more obvious!