Pickled Dick, Random Hand, Desperate Cycle, 91 Pieces, Mistook Crook.

Bedford Esquires Lev 2 16th February 2007.

A Punk Night was seemingly snubbed by the Bedford masses tonight as a disappointing turnout greeted the five bands on show. The undoubted highlight for me was the performance of a band called RANDOM HAND. Their story of getting to the venue was explained to us as they told of their journey down the motorway encountering rogue flying cones coming in their direction! Luckily they came to no harm and this Keighley four-piece really brought the event to life. With a generous dollop of brass to contrast the screaming guitars, it's a set that really deserved a larger skankin' crew. Never the less they displayed "tru Yuurksheer greeitt" and caused a mini-storm. This is a band who are the true lifeblood of the live music circuit, driving lots of miles, playing in front of a few strangers for a few pennies. Well done boys!

PICKLED DICK. What an amusing band name. However their set displayed too much of a Green Day fixation for this particular reviewer. However, the interplay between guitarist John and a female fan was hugely amusing, although I think the "Dick man" got a lot more than he bargained for!

Support is provided by MK's DESPERATE CYCLE who were warming up for a few dates with Capdown. The overall look and sound of this band seems to have altered dramatically over the last couple of years, certainly for the better and they now possess a raw Wildhearts sound which they carried off with due aplomb tonight.

91 Pieces try hard, but their continual reliance on covers does them no favours (a certain Bob Marley must be cringing in his grave at one of them!). A few more songs like 'ASBO' would be appreciated.

Luton's MISTOOK CROOK were making their debut tonight and handled themselves with assurance. A promising debut.