Bedford Esquires Thirst Club Saturday 06 Mar 2004.
THE INDY FINAL
I arrived at the old church, catching the last two bands (10 YP, and Pandemonium)’s sound check… which seemed to go quite well (thanks and well done to the sound engineer guy). The place started filling out andTHE TEN YEAR PROSPECT were on! I was a bit disappointed that this band were on first as they have all the natural ‘razzmatazz-showmanship’ to have comfortably reached further up on the bill. Not only do they have some really listenable songs but they’re so good as a live act as well. A question that I find myself asking when seeing a class act like this is “Could I do any better on stage if I was their front-man?”, in this bands case a resounding No would be the answer.
Their drummer seems to pour all over the drums with a gangling flay of limbs like a human waterfall, producing a tight set of fantastic rhythm. No back seat for the bassist either, who demonstrates the balance of stage confidence without coming over arrogant. Their two guitarists play off each other well, one seriously making sure he gets it right with the intricate exactness needed as a band that doesn’t go for boring up down strumming like some second rate punk band. The other guitarist looking as if he wont be pushed, filed, briefed, stamped, de-briefed, indexed, numbered or compromise his style either!
Their singer/front-man has a kind of infectious way of keeping you happy, obviously enjoying what he is doing himself, clad in a wackely designed shirt and a bowler hat topping a ‘charismatic lot’. They have a collection of great songs – one reminding me very much of the E.M.F. song ‘Unbelievable’ they also have some new songs to inject freshness as well. I don’t think they had practiced their timing of the set, as they didn’t seem to know when to stop (yea bit like this review?) – well I only gave em a short one last time, and they certainly had more material to have carried on if allowed.
PANDEMONIUM– I was glad that this band wasn’t on first again as it gives them a chance of having more people catching them from the beginning and doing their show with a crowd already warmed up which I feel this band are good enough to deserve.
Being younger and not having as much live experience as the other bands making them at first a little more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs! With a combination of really good, competent and heavily energetic drumming combined with guitar work that is far too good for an Indy tag, utilising speed and skill to their music, making them a heavier act. Their singer never seems fazed, looking coolly at home on stage but appearing to rely more on the self amplification of the mic rather than putting any vigorous energy into the singing. I noticed quite a lot of foot pedal work going on with the guitarist also creating a good effect to their sound.
Having caught this band twice now (Due to Battle Of The Bands) they both had and deserved a chance, showing great potential along the way and I have to say ‘ I quite like this band’.
It’s quite rare for female lead singers on the live circuit, which is what you have with SMOTHERLOVE. The most outstanding thing is the extremely good guitar work; you can’t fault any of the instruments (including human voice). The drumming is comparable to any professional band, all guitars sound great and well played. All going together to form a tight enough set from a band that has awareness of style, showing they obviously know what they are doing. The vocalist can definitely sing – O.K. she has a great voice but knows how to throw it to good effect as well and interacts with the crowd also (as with the 1st band) having a bit of charisma which I like to see.
But the songs them selves don’t seem to go anywhere, they just seem to all sound the same all the way through with no real structure, time changes or intelligent variation of any sort. They are still worth sticking with if only they develop some newer material with more vitality as they progress; it’s just that I noticed people coming to the front for a while then walking away feeling perhaps they had hitched a boring ride.
Not having attended their first gig of the comp. THE SUNBIRDS were the only outfit of the evening I hadn’t seen before. They appeared to cast a large shadow last time though, as I heard they impressed everyone and were tipped to win. I immediately thought they must be a typical Indy band and it would take a lot to impress me. – So where were the naff clothes, drab songs and constant shoe gazing? They weren’t very Indy at all, they were however absolutely amazing and totally impressed me.
They hail the furthest from Bedford than the other bands (Leighton Buzzard) and are predominantly a blues based set-up
The guitarist tipped a nod to the rock legends Led Zeppelin, clad in one of their t-shirts - so respect to that, but I thought this was a bit of a give away as Led Zep. was probably the closest I could compare the guitar work to, - some Hendrix/Jovi overtones also.
The lead singer, wearing a more psycadelic version of the sort of scarf that Fred from Scooby Doo would wear, had some great bluesy singing, infused with some harmonica work employed also, producing an impressive sound that I wasn’t even expecting; so well done for winning me over and being the worst Indy band ever (that’s a compliment) instead being the best band achieving the style that they actually aimed for.
I think there could have been more interaction with the crowd, although they did get a deserved and good audience re-action. Even the local press were in attendance. The well-meaning respectful 10Y.P. fans enjoyed the set so much that their crowd participation may have scored more points over to The Sunbirds – who won their heat Well Done you were great.
