Friday 28th.March 2003, Bedford Esquires.
For me, 'Indie' still refers to that awkward period in the nineties, when it
suddenly became fashionable to be average, and woolworths sold out of plastic
anoraks over the weekend. However, with the re-ermergence of the garage punk movement, and the originality of a select
few artists, the indie genre seems to be fighting back and slowly but surely begin to regain its credibility.
With indie's increasingly fashionable image, the turn-out was reasonably good, and the majority of customers came in couples.
It was evident the bands also knew that a lot of judging went on crowd support, and so inevitably dragged along a few school
friends.
The first band, LONGSHORE DRIFT started the night with a suprisingly aggressive, rock sound. From the first, the sound
quality was noticebly better than normal at Esquires (Goldigger having requested a live recording). The guitars sounded solid
and the bass rumbled along nicely, and although the drumming was shaky at times, the levels were similarly well done,
and the songs were not noticeably affected. The vocals were the most interesting aspect of the band, the singer acheiving
a kind of strained pirate grizzle, which gave the music a more traditional rock sound. The one thing that struck me as
unnecessary about this band were the long and frequent solos added by the guitarists into almost all the songs. The solos
served no real purpouse and would have been better if worked into the songs more subtly, as less of a chance to show off.
I personally preferred the band's less aggressive songs and couldnt see past their occasional rhythmic glitches. However, their
general performance was commendable and they seemed to enjoy their time on stage.
After the first indie heat, THE STRATE EDGE no longer had the initial advantage of being a new band, and seemed under pressure to
perform well.
Once again, the group started their set with a more atmospheric, aggressive song. Unfortunately,
the key seemed a little slow and the usually tuneful vocals struggled to cut through. The next few songs were little better
and the band seemed to have lost the energy of their first show, vocalist Tim Kerslake concentrating more on throwing 'the horns',
than any outrageous rock posing. Despite this disappointingly introvert performance, The Strate Edge's crowd reaction was suprisingly
positive and the songs were solid enough. The band as a whole create some promising sounds and simply need to work on refining their
songwriting skills, possibly making better use of their two guitars, and maintain a level of energy and crowd interaction.
Third up, the infamous GOLDIGGER, who walked on to the theme of 'Cheers' and much applause from the audience. As usual, the foursome
seemed almost arrogant with calm and confidence, and delivered their set with equal amounts of both cool accuracy and uncontrollable
fury. The songs were memorable and origional in style and composition. Their sound incorporated a variety of influences and the use of
electronic instruments and samplers enhanced their songs further, adding atmosphere and emotion where it was needed most.
Although Goldigger did not have the advantage of being a new band, the crowd seemed almost hooked on the songs and the presence of
the band, frontman Andre putting in a suitably sarcastic performance. Also, past tention between Goldigger and The Strate Edge was
almost forgotten, and the night was better for it. My only criticisms of Goldigger would have to focus on the dynamics of their songs,
and their movement on stage. Although already effective, I think a greater contrast within the songs in terms of volume and speed,
etc,would increase their impact indefinitely. Additionally, although vastly improved, energy on stage was still lacking at certain
points in their set.
Overall however, I found it difficult to fault Goldigger's performance and fully expected them to win.
Last up, and looking horribly like evry other indie band on the face of the planet, indie-rockers CHROME took to the stage. Despite
their generic appearance, Chrome were obviously both tight and well-balanced, they seemed generally equipped with a solid mix of sounds,
tuneful vocals and carefully structured songs, and seemed to impress both the crowd and judges. Their main weaknesses lay in their
dismal crowd interaction, and the relatively indistinguishable style of their music. The bespectecled vocalist may have had his indie-whine
down to a tee, but this inter-song banter was practically non-existant. Also, despite their well-practised performance, Chrome offered
nothing new to the audience. My advice to Chrome (should they choose to accept it) would be to branch out and push themselves musically.
It was obvious to everyone at Esquires that they had the musical ability and committment to play well, it was just a case of WHAT they were
playing, which although perfectly competent and listenable, wasn't anything special.
AUDIENCE VOTE : GOLDIGGER
JUDGES VOTE : CHROME
ENTERING INTO FINAL : CHROME and GOLDIGGER.
Review by Joey Sprokit.
joecritch@aol.com
Comments/criticisms more than welcome! ( -: