Subways, with Absent Kid and The Return.
Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 29th September 2005.
Since this gig was first announced a few weeks ago there has been a real buzz of anticipation around Bedford. One of hottest bands around were really going to be playing at our beloved Esquires and the tickets sold like the proverbial hot cakes!
As I make my way into the venue, parked outside (and taking up virtually half the car park) is The Subways' luxury tour bus. It certainly makes a change from the bashed up transits vans we normally see!
Opening bands ABSENT KID and THE RETURN both play storming sets which go down well with the audience. These two bands are fast becoming firm favourites with the Esquires regulars.
After the support bands finish there is a sense of occasion and excitement around the venue and then suddenly THE SUBWAYS appear - Billy Lunn (Guitar and Vocals), Charlotte Cooper (Bass and Vocals) and Josh Lunn (Drums).
Kicking off their set with the song 'With You', the whole place is immediately singing along with every word. As the band go through their set it strikes me how vibrant and exciting The Subways live act is, and the audience go mental in return, Charlotte's blonde hair swaying and shaking almost as much as the fans in the moshpit!
We all have a favourite Subways' track and with its opening line 'Another day is here and I am still alive', mine is 'I Wanna Hear'. The lyrics are true and touching and the song is a revelation live, Josh's driving back-beat combining perfectly with Billy's heartfelt vocals whilst Charlotte bounds around on stage before breaking into her vocals.
The set continues with 'Oh Yeah', which saw Charlotte pointing out that the audience were actually singing louder than the band. As the song climaxed, Billy dived headlong into the ecstatic crowd! Quality tracks such as 'Holiday' and 'Somewhere' follow, the latter which swings from dreamy lilting lyrics to an exploding cacophony of violent guitar bashing.
The crowd all clap along furiously to 'At I Am', whilst 'She Sun' gives everyone a quick breather before hit single 'Rock 'n' Roll Queen' is blasted out and it is impossible to work out who is jumping higher - The audience or Charlotte! As if not to be upstaged by the bouncing bass player, Billy finishes the set by diving into the crowd again!
The Subways were never going to be allowed to leave without performing an encore and after deafening cheering from the Esquires audience they are back on stage again to perform the bluesy 'Mary'.
Future single 'No Goodbyes' and 'A Plain Above' bring this superb evening to an end. The band make their exit to prepare for their forthcoming tour whilst we saunter off home on a high with their tunes still rolling around our heads, safe in the knowledge that we have witnessed one of the best gigs seen at Esquires in the past few years.
Special mention must go to the Hairgel boys at Hairbrush Records who put so much effort into making this gig happen. More of the same please!
Review by Martin Stapleton. www.bedfordesquires.co.uk