(c) LOVEBURGER, Photo's - kind permission by James Wilde.

VENEMOUS SNAKE The tension was mounting, the atmosphere was almost unbearable, and the anticipation intense as the crowd roared "Snake, Snake" for the band to enter unto the stage upon. The room erupted as the unmistakable sound of "Eruption"could be heard singing from the lead guitar. It were as if Eddie were there himself.
Turning swiftly to seriousness, the openers did receive a decent response as they ploughed their way through grinding riffs, powerful vocals and stunning solos. The band played mostly covers, although they adapted them well to their own personal style. Special credit is due to the lead guitarist, who, once again, proved himself to be more than capable of impressing the crowd with inspired improvised solos and dropping a few jaws at times in the process. It was clear that the band were not terribly well rehearsed (perhaps mainly due to the singer reading some of the vocals from a sheet on the floor!). Nevertheless, they kept it together and seemed comfortable playing together. I'm not wholly sure the electric kit was the best idea under these circumstances - the drums sounded quiet at times, but, nevertheless, a good performance was given which fitted the style of playing perfectly. It was nice to hear a band who were not afraid to take a trip back to the 80's.

GAIN I'd never heard of this band before, although it seemed much of the crowd had, as they received a very respectable reception as they got on stage, and also seemed to spark of the biggest movement at the front of the room of the whole night. 'Gain' played with a kind of raw rock n' roll feel, although you could hear a variety of styles present throughout their set. They opened with the classic "Layla", which seemed to go down very well, and proceeded to play (what I assume to be) some of their own material - the tight music complemented with vocals, which were slightly funky at times. They also covered "Rape Me" by Nirvana, which I have to say I feel was a shade bland and tame. Nonetheless, they certainly kept the atmosphere alive, and performed well. I know I've said they were tight in their playing, and this was the case on the whole, but there were a few occasions where they didn't quite seem to hold it together perfectly. I don't know what to put this down to, but it was perhaps most noticeable as they ended their set with a cover of Metallica's "Fuel". Without being disrespectful, I don't feel they did the song full justice, as it seemed to be quite slow for a live performance, and the drummer didn't seem wholly sure of what he was doing at times. Anyway, I've been far more harsh than I'd meant to be, and also than the band deserve, because it was, on the whole, a good performance.

LOVEBURGER Before the gig, I'd heard that Loveburger were the favorites to progress to the next round, so was looking forward to their performance - as much of the crowd seemed to be. However, I feel there must be something in the music, which escapes me. The band sound, at times, almost reminiscent of the mightily (and much missed!) Borderline, and the vocalist clearly performs with a large amount of emotion present. Despite this, their music seems quite repetitive at times. The songs lack variety as they all seem to fall into the same kind of pattern, the riffs appear monotonous and the backing vocals don't seem to vary from song to song. On a more positive note, the band play with a huge amount of confidence and this is portrayed in the music. Like I've said, there must be something which I missed, because much of the crowd seemed to enjoy it, and I've been assured they didn't play at their best on this evening. To me, however, the music rarely showed originality, although there certainly were signs of promise and talent was indeed apparent in the band - it just wasn't used according to my own personal taste. (this review was done for www.bedfordmetal.tk and must not be cut n pasted on to the Loveburger msg board!)

DOUBTING THOMAS Again, the band came across as being very confident on stage, and a decent performance was the result. They did come across as a band who didn't have too much experience in playing together - this is probably not the case, just another misjudgment on my part! Nonetheless, I felt the music was played well, although again, it did seem to be nothing out of the ordinary in terms of style. The band have a kind of raw punk sound, which almost turns into ska at times. I felt the Oscar-style speech from the drummer could have been left out, unless there was some reason for it I missed, and the drum solo could have done with being more tightly rehearsed beforehand, as it came across as somewhat sloppy. The band did well in trying to engage crowd response; although it was obvious a fair number had already left by this time. To finish with, a band who show a lot of promise, although I feel they could do with taking a step back at times and thinking about how they look on stage to get a better response.

In conclusion, I've said a lot of negative things, and probably not enough positive. I must just be in a bad mood I'm afraid, and am sorry to the bands this reflects on! To show just how useless this review is, Loveburger were indeed the band to progress to the next round! So there's another reason to ignore what I've said!

by Tom Outen. www.bedfordmetal.tk

Review Two by The Lighting Guy

Battle of The Bands - Esquires, 19th February 2005 Reviewed by The Lighting Guy

Venomous Snake: A competent set but I felt they suffered a little bit with nerves only really getting into their stride late on in their set. I enjoyed their catchy third song, 'Shake Me' and I reckon with more gigging experience confidence will come.

Gain: I had not seen Gain before and I was impressed with their stage presence as the played with a real swagger. Their set included covers by Clapton and Nirvana but their own compositions certainly showed promise.

Loveburger: In comparison to the first two acts Loveburger can be described as veterans of the Esquires State, and how this experience showed! Their 25 minute set was electrifying, combining well crafted songs with a strong stage presence. They deservedly ran out as winners on the night - well done!!!

Doubting Thomas: Another band that has graced the Esquires stage on a number of occasions and my personal favourites on the night. Their powerful set opener 'It's not too late' set the tone for the rest of their set, which included a cover of on old Clash classic. A fine way to end a fine evening!

The Lighting Guy.