The Bedford Athletic Rugby Club Wentworth drive, Putnoe Bedford. Friday 16th September 2005.
Summerfall, Tease, Thrinaci Sky, The Drawing Of The Four.
Heat 3
This was the mixed heat with Rock, Indyrock, Rock punk, and Metal and what a night it was.
Summerfall kicked things off with their post-barbershop-core. I had never seen this band before but I knew they had experience and a very strong following, which showed in the way they played. I was much taken back by the performance, especially by Liam Gallagher look alike Rob Damiani with his great showmanship, which the crowd loved. Summerfall took the show, putting them through to the semi finals which was no surprise as the effort and talent was unbeatable.
Second up was The Tease . This young new band was very different to the first and a lot mellower with their Indyrock style. I have just started promoting this band and I was probably one of a selected few that knew who they where. After seeing the looks of sheer terror on their faces as they saw the hardcore performance of summerfall, The Tease's confidence was not at its greatest and there where also rumors of certain members leaving the band which wasn't helping the odds. When they got on stage they buried the lack of confidence and played one hell of a show kicking off with their trade mark intro, which soon brought the crowd right up to the stage. Lead singer Tommy Ballam was really putting the effort in with great showmanship as were the rest of the band. Judges and promoters alike where taken by surprise and the band went on to win 'best new band' in this heat.
Third up was post-hardcore metal band Thrinaci Sky . The band of three brothers who had previously performed well in the Esquires battle of the bands stood up to the plate to try and out do Summerfall and The Tease but unfortunately they just couldn't do it. The band had bought with them most of the fans, who all moshed up front and the band tried their hardest putting in 100%.
The fourth and final band of the heat was The Drawing Of The Four . They started off with a couple of their own songs which lacked confidence and the bazaar arrangement of making the bassist the main focal point rather than the singer didn't really work. I was just about to write this band off when they played a cover of 'Hey Ho Lets Go' and all of a sudden the crowd went mad and the band suddenly gained confidence and really showed what they could do. After that, the great performance continued right through to the end of their set. With more confidence in their own music making ability, this band could be really good.
A huge thanks to all the bands involved in the third heat you where all amazing and also a big thank you to Nigel and his team for sorting out the sound and staging for the night. And most importantly a big shout out to Keith for letting me write this review.
A huge thanks to the bands that made an amazing memorable line up, our prestigious judges - Noel Rafferty of MA Music Studio, Ritch Makay and Junior - head of music at Sharnbrook school
Reviewed by Jon (JA Entertainment) for www.bedfordmetal.co.uk