Tribute to Nothing, The Tendons, Juggernaut Punch, Goodbye to the Bad Guy, A Trust Betrayed.

Esquires Bedford Lev 1 Thursday 20th April 2006.

Tonight, One For The Underground is, in the words of promoter Paul Craven, ‘a bit abstract…’, with a mixed bag of bands, all of whom defy expectations and stereotypes in one form or another...

A TRUST BETRAYED take to the stage, the first of this evening’s support bands who opt for a hard-hitting, hardcore sound. Incongruous with his clean-cut appearance are the screaming vocals delivered by the front man as he stands, foot on monitor, varying between high-pitched screeches and deep, guttural growls that seems to be drawn up from the pit of his stomach to make the ground shake. It’s a shame there aren’t more people here to see this mature and polished set from the Northampton quartet, who are all the more impressive considering they parted company with their second guitarist only five days previously. Yet by the end of the set the crowd has filled out to as they launch into their final song, ‘Seven’, probably their most abrasive number, boasting raw vocals, pummelling drums and winding guitar. Up next are Red Lights & Crash Lights, or rather, GOODBYE TO THE BAD GUY, as they are now known. While the bass player and guitarist get down to some pretty brutal head banging in time with the frantic drum beats, vocalist Ian parades up and down in front of the stage screeching like a man possessed; it’s no wonder the growing crowd prefer to keep their distance as he runs in frenzied circles while Matt delivers some more fast-paced guitar work. Descending into pure noise and bathed in a flood of green light the front man shrieks above more pounding drums and blistering guitars as they draw the set to a close with the crushing ‘Two Tonne of Savage’.

Milton Keynes four-piece JUGGERNAUT PUNCH are the perfect example of why you should never judge a book by it’s cover; with a bass player sporting a pale pink polo shirt, and a guitarist in a grey track suit, these guys don’t look like a metal band, yet they certainly sound like one as they erupt with a harsh explosion of jarring drums, distorted guitars and a deep growl from the vocalist. Spinning and kicking all over the stage, Juggernaut Punch deliver a hard-hitting and entertaining set that could only have been improved by a few more songs and a few less private jokes with their friends in the audience.

Not a band for the faint-hearted, THE TENDONS (who replace Government Lies) are quite a departure from the young hardcore bands so far, with their own brand of simplistic old school punk - but noone here seems to mind (and let’s face it, is anyone really going to argue with these guys?!) Throughout their set of fast-paced guitars and frantic drumming the rather menacing lead singer stalks the stage, taking any excuse to shower the audience with a torrent of abuse. Catchy and simplistic, The Tendons get progressively more offensive with every song, treating the audience to such delightful little numbers as ‘Johnny Don’t Care’ and ‘Fuck Her To Death’. But despite seemingly setting out to shock and offend as many people as possible, the crowd love this longstanding Bedford band, and it’s no wonder they’re about to celebrate their twentieth anniversary.

Sadly, the venue isn’t quite as busy as this headlining band deserve, but when underground legends TRIBUTE TO NOTHING take the stage they don’t let this phase them. The front man, Sam Turner, who had seemed so laidback before the gig comes to life as they burst into the big, powerful opener of their heavy and lively set. The impassioned vocalist beats his chest and lifts his microphone stand into the air, while the rest of the band break into periods of abrasive, driving instrumentals, evened out by the catchier, punk rock hooks of ‘Every Word’s A Whisper’, taken from their forth-coming album, ‘How Many Times Did We Live’. As the set draws to a close some particularly violent thrusting and contorting sends Sam’s mic flying into the crowd, but he doesn’t seem to notice as their deep rumbling makes the whole room vibrate before coming to an abrupt stop and bringing an interesting night of punk and hardcore to an exciting conclusion.