Lilith's Army, Maya Deren, Stranger.

Esquires Bedford Lev 1. 23rd February 2006.

Tonight's evening opens up to the delightful strains of STRANGER, the duo featuring Jess (vocals/guitar) and Dan (bass/harmonica). Tonight this was quite literally the calm before the storm! Playing a familiar set to all fans of the band, it opens with their standards "Better Than That" and "Frustrated" which are executed as always with consummate ease. Jess explains that new song 'Red Light' was written only a few days ago and it begins with a tentative harmonica burst from Dan. Stranger conclude their set with old favourite 'In My Room' which is warmly received.

Travelling down from Northampton for showcase Thursday are MAYA DEREN. They formed in July 2005 and comprise of Matt (vocals), Jon (guitar), Marcus (bass) and Russ (drums). In their very own words they are here to 'break hearts and play metal' and they certainly prove to be true to their words. Influenced by Thrice and Finch, Maya Deren have a sound best described as 'ear shatteringly loud' and I would have to say that they are the heaviest band we have had in Danny's Bar for a very long time. Opening song 'A Nightmare for You Part 2' perfectly captures the Maya Deren sound (and I dread to think what Part 1 would be like)!

As Matt expels every last lungful of life into 'Heartbreaker Unite' it is all too much for a poor humble microphone to take and a replacement is hastily summoned. In fact the only time that Maya Deren have a quick time out is to exchange some quirky banter with a guy playing the ITBox. Recently written song 'Just Tonight' is full of passion, desire and drive, just like their entire set.

Third band, also from Northampton, are the pop-metal and punk three piece LILITHS ARMY. They are Sylvie (vocals/guitar), Adam (bass/backing vocals) and Chris (drums). With a super charged 100 mph ethos, this was always going to be a punchy and pacey set. The amusingly titled 'Eat My TV' (which was written as a rant against MTV for playing so much inane Hip Hop) is a cunningly constructed song, as it contains the riff for Led Zeppelins 'Whole Lot Of Love'. Luckily Plant and Page were (shockingly) not in attendance tonight.

If you closed your eyes 'Possessed' was Courtney Love circa 1998 and was quite frankly brilliant. 'Bitch' is an early song of the 'Army, an old favourite which is pointedly aimed at a certain individual. 'I'm a Criminal' has not been performed for many months but Sylvie modestly concedes that their effort tonight was 'not bad'. Another old favourite 'Skanks' is an ode about unsavoury people which Sylvie admitted would sound a hell of a lot better if she could quit smoking. Apart from a few messy pauses duing the set on the whole I enjoyed the invasion of Liliths Army.