Twisted Wheel, Look See Proof, Sukie.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 31st July 2008.

Visiting Esquires as part of their current tour are Oldham trio TWISTED WHEEL. Apparently they take their name from an old Manchester club made famous in the 60's, and not for the fact that they are sometimes frustrated cyclists! Since their formation in the spring of 2007 they have been championed by Danny from Embrace, whose glowing praise of them is fully justified. They ooze boyish good looks with a tough exterior. But Bedford means nothing to these hard edged northerners. As the set unfolds they rarely speak, smile, look, or seemingly have any real contact with the punters who have spent their hard-earned cash to see the gig tonight. But hey! These boys can write a tune.

Their superb forty-minute set is gorgeously dripping with a rich collection of songs that begins with a fully charged up "Lucy the Castle". The pace rarely slows. This mean and fast nugget is the template for Twisted Wheel. "She's a Weapon" is instantly latched upon by a crowd who are warming to our Lancashire visitors. This song is the band's most recent release, and the queue to buy this piece of vinyl at the end of the gig is long.

As pop history goes, Twisted Wheel perform a mixture of material which could well have been written by The Jam circa 1977, but of course, hailing from the 'republic of Mancunia', it's the inevitable Gallagher/Brown looks and sneers that the band adopt. It is a perfect combination and it fully works. The crowd, hesitant at first, are now responding as the band's "What's Your Name" reverberates around the room. It's met with a dancey response. Arms are waved and the atmosphere is rising, especially when Twisted Wheel's most talked about song "You Stole the Sun" is saved for last. It's Bedford's last glimpse of the trio and it most definitely sends us all off home fully satisfied and glowing inside. Twisted Wheel, a new band certainly worth keeping your eyes peeled for in the future.

Supporting, and very much overshadowed by, our headliners are, firstly, SUKIE. Kettering's jangly quartet try hard, but ultimately fail to stir any musical nerve in this reviewer's body. On "Fairies" there is a mess of jazzy blues thats quite interesting, and the twin vocals offer suitable variation. "Pink-a-pade" is Sukie's current single, but it fails to stir many people tonight.

LOOK SEE PROOF are in crisis. Their debut album "Between here and there" has been savagely slated in the music press, and tonight at Esquires there is a surprisingly small turnout to see them perform. It does appear that L.S.P. are stuck in a 2006 timewarp. The music world moves fast, and at the moment the band seem hesitant on moving forward. The live show is, as always, slick and pacy, but these local heroes seem to be indie casualties at the moment. Perhaps it's time to reinvent themselves and start again!