Bedford Esquires Thirst Club Saturday 24 January 2004.
I’d only heard one of these bands before (SummerFall), but had heard very good reviews of at least 2 of the others. The night was certainly all lined up to be a memorable one, and the attendance was one of the highest I’ve seen at Esquires for some time.
PANDEMONIUM Unfortunately I got in slightly late, and missed the beginning of the set, but heard enough to put something together. The band came across fairly well, and seemed reasonably confident in their playing. However, I’m not sure how much experience of live playing they have, as they didn’t seem to quite click together. Unfortunately there were quite a few occasions where the band didn’t all seem in completely in time, and some of the changes were a bit sloppy. Nonetheless, a fair start to the night, and I’m sure with a bit more practice and experience they will improve.
SUMMERFALL I knew they were good, but even I was surprised on the night. SummerFall played a set of a very high standard, and proved themselves to be first-class musicians. They played with a great deal of professionalism, nicely complimented with deserved confidence and good stage appearance. In return they received enormous crowd response and participation. The set included a cover of Night Rider, played with the same quality as the rest of their set (I did miss Funky Chicken though- maybe in the next round!). It would be very difficult to pick out one individual for special mention, as they played so tightly together as a band. I suppose the one thing which remains the most difficult is to fit them in a genre- maybe emo/pop-punk/rock/metal with a bit of funk rolled in would do! Definitely watch out for them in the next round!
FELL SILENT Fell Silent approached their music from a very different angle to the first two bands, immediately breaking into a fast heavy riff, continuing with a lot of energy throughout the set. The vocals were a bit “screamy” for my personal liking, and the music not quite my thing. However, that’s just me, and the crowd seemed to quite like them - they gained a fairly decent response. They managed to play well through some technical difficulties, including a drum falling off, and the microphone cutting out in one of their songs. I think they came across as confident, and seemed very comfortable in what they were doing - always a good thing, even if the music wasn’t quite what I like.
REVELATION This is a band I had heard good reviews about, headlining this gig and also their first time at Esq. but having had a bit of live experience at the other Bedford venue. The first and second band had a line-up swap than planned but all got to use Revelation’s drum kit. I think these were the only band to have a C.D. out featuring some of their stuff that they played live and if you like heavy melodic bands like Metallica, Maiden and most Thrash, you would like these – I’m not saying they are as good but that’s the kind of genre – whilst at the same time keeping it origional. They seem to have quite a supportive fan-base who looked determined to have a good time; - moshing well to these Sandy rockers.
The heat was won by SummerFall who go through to the next round.
