Roscoe & Scout, Dividing the Line, LA Riots, VS Akira, Rench.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 9th August 2007.

Play It Loud Promotions certainly lived up to their name tonight as a young and enthusiastic crowd were fed a wide range of rage.

With a good Thursday turnout, the evening started with young quartet RENCH. They openly admit that they are musically different to the rest of the fare on show as they ply their punk sound, which owes more to the baseball cap than it does to boots and braces. The "scary" 'Act Your Age' and the varied appeal of 'Blame' are the highlights of an enjoyably presented set.

VS AKIRA are the first of the "shouty" bands and totally lack any subtle variety. Each song follows the same formula: a shouty start followed by some quieter, more reflective sounds, before we get the final torrent of shouting. Sorry lads, but I found the whole set boring and repetitive!

Bedford's LA RIOTS follow with the most accomplished performance of the evening. Good stage presence and anthemic songs, namely 'Practice Makes Perfect' and 'Checkmate' of which the latter enjoys plenty of crowd participation. At the tail-end of their set 'Ernest Penfold' and 'Kristen Shepard' are showcased from their forthcoming new EP. LA Riots may be in their third reincarnation as far as band names go, but still put entertainment and presentation at the top of their list.

Worcester's DIVIDING THE LINE are currently on tour, although when I enquired where they were playing next they didn't seem to know! Sorry to report, its more ceaseless shouting! However the liberal use of synths made it slightly less tedious. This type of music seems to be flavour of the month, but Enter Shikari present it so much better.

A band , I believe called ROSCOE AND SCOUT finish this overlong evening, and we are left with the sight of their twenty or so fans dancing to them - everyone else has left the building. Its a sound loosely described as Beastie Boys meets The Prodigy. Moreover, the vocals and synths sound is again repetitive and forced. Their vocalist rather annoyingly insists at every opportunity to desperately shout at his mates to "make some noise"! After the first couple of announcements, to relieve my boredom of this band, I decide to count how many times this phrase is repeated. Double figures are reached before the evening's conclusion! Hmmmm!