CRAVENFEST 40 .
Esquires Level 2 Bedford. Saturday
17th September 05.
Delicate Children, Doubting Thomas,
Summerfall, New Groove Formation, Henry & The Bleeders, Blackout, Dummyrun,
The Tendons, Bent Like Bob, The Next Nine Years.
Review 1 (by Stark).
Review 2 (by Kim Hemming). REVIEW THREE BY MARTIN STAPLETON.
Well, what a night it was. Ok, so there were a few bum bands, but the majority
of the night was quite immense. The time and effort that went into last night
must be honoured and strongly respected. I thank all the people involved in the
planning, and arrangement of the night. I hope for another 'Cravenfest' next
year.
The first band up was 'Delicate Children'Well, I can understand why some
people may like them, and a lot of the people who were there last night sure
did. But, personally, I can not stand that kind of music, and to top it off,
they played very badly which set, what was to be a very good night, off badly.
To follow 'DC' were 'Doubting Thomas', I have seen these guys a couple of times,
and they never really get me, a fair few of the audience loved them, but there
were also a lot who seemed to look on at them with an air of 'what the hell are
these dicks doing on stage?'
But, I must praise their confidence, and they defiantly had stage presence. When
they walked on with they're kiss make-up I couldn't help but laugh, and did
think that maybe I had been looking at them in the wrong way, they are out to
have fun, and they did, ok, so their music isn't my cup of tea, so what? They
had fun, and lot of people in the audience did. Good job guys.
Ok, this was the only point in the whole night when I thought that the planners
had messed up, what the hell were 'Summerfall' doing on so early?! Summerfall
are amazing, and were easily a highlight of the night. They played an incredibly
tight set, which included both new and old songs. The new song they played
'Check Yourself' can not be described in words, ranges from heavy screaming to
'oh no, oh no' repeated over and over. Beautiful. All their songs are very
diverse in sound, and are almost impossible to classify. I wish them all luck in
the future; I believe they could go far.
Right, next was 'new grove formation'. They blew me away, I was expecting, well,
I didn't know, but it was certainly not what we got. I really don't know what to
say. They were great, really, really great. They got the crowd moving, and even
had an encore. Go down to Danny's bar on the 18th at 7:00 and see for you self;
you'll be in for a treat.
I was in and out from now on, I caught bits of 'Blackout' who just seemed like
delicate children, but a bit better, Henry and the bleeders were great as usual,
I had a blast in the 'pit. There were other bands, but unfortunately they have
slipped from my memory. I then came back in for 'Fell Silent'
OH MY GOD, these guys are so damn loud! I have seen them 3 times now, this was
one of their best performances, but the pit hardly moved, well, by their
standards anyway. If you have the chance, see this band, they take 'metal', rip
it up, spit and stamp on it, then put it all together again and make even better
than before. I have never been so impressed by a metal/scream core band.
Next were 'Tendons', they had a far too big set, that just dragged on. I got
splashed with beer, and was completely bored though their whole set. I believe I
would have liked them more if they weren't playing before Bent like Bob, as they
seemed to eating up on their set time. When Tendons finally left the sage I
breathed a sigh of relief, and thought of what was to come
EnterBENT LIKE BOB. These guys stole the night; everyone who was there will
remember it as BLB's night. They played an amazing set, Practise makes perfect,
dragonfly theme, too bad, cracks in the wood, and, after such a long time, they
played their famous RATM cover; Bulls on Parade. It was their best performance
ever in my opinion. They are clearly very well liked, whilst pissing I noticed
how much of the graffiti in the toilets was dedicated to Bent like Bob. And
that's just from people who must have already heard them, all the new comers to
Bent like Bob who were there last night I am sure are now dedicated fans. The
reaction they got whilst they were onstage was amazing. Come back soon lads.
To end the night were 'The Next Nine Years', it was nice to see them play a
little trick on the announcer, by calling themselves 'Howie' 'Geoffy' 'Joey' and
'Jacky'. Their set was awesome. I can't wait till they play again; I believe
it's on the 11th of November. GO AND SEE THEM.
I apologise for the rushed ness of this review, I wanted to write it before I
forgot anything else.
Review by Stark - www.bedfordmetal.co.uk
Another awesome set from Doubting Thomas, further enhanced with a kiss style
look. Playing their well known tracks was a warm welcome as I arrived.
New Groove Formation where something a little different to watch and listen to.
At first I wasn't too taken by them, but after hearing a track or two I found
myself really getting into the catchy tunes they belted out. The didgeridoo and
bongos really got the atmosphere going, along with the vocals from both lead
singers. There was even a bit of rapping! I could see that the crowd wasn't too
taken at first either but, like me, as they got further into the set they
managed to grasp the attention of everyone in the room. They coped well playing
after one of the more well-known bands Summerfall - and stood their own.
Henry and the Bleeders once again shook up the crowd, the mosh-pit was swarming
with ecstatic fans - including myself! After mentioning the birthday of one of
the band members, they played one of the best sets I had seen.
Battle of the Bands winners Blackout hit the stage with more classic tracks we
all love. Chris really blew the crowd away with his excellent guitar playing
along with Martin on bass. Although it was the first time I have seen them play
a full set, I can see them going far in the future.
Dummyrun, are a band that put in a good performance of ska addled punk with
Rancid and Green Day overtones, a band that creates the right kind of party
atmosphere for this kind of event and am sure can stare upward to a bright
future on the live scene where they have been playing for a while now.
After seeing The Tendons play for the second time, I can honestly say they are
one of the best live bands I have seen. With their graphic lyrics, superb
sounding guitar and drums and wicked humour they really demonstrated what
Esquires was all about. I even managed to blag a free beer and a T-shirt from
them, Cheers guys!
Bent Like Bob - what more can I say? They where the last band I saw play. They
proved how well handle a couple hundred moshing fans by playing crowd pleasing
tracks. With excellent vocals from Mischa and drumming from Jack, they where the
perfect finale to a truly stupendous evening.
Overall, Cravenfest 2005, was on of the best nights I have had at Esquires, with
top quality bands and an unbeatable atmosphere. Esquires comes up with the
perfect recipe time and time again. Keep them coming!!!
Review by Kim Hemming.
Cravenfest 40 was the festival that the Bedford Alternative music scene has been crying out for. This inaugural bash (hopefully the first of many) was a party to mark the 40th birthday of Paul 'the old git' Craven, but the main attraction was the wide array of musical talent on show!
Opening the proceedings where DELICATE CHILDREN, who managed to quench the thirst of their fans with a superb set of vocals and demented guitar sounds. A sonic boom to start the evening!
As much as I have criticized DOUBTING THOMAS in the past tonight, having witnessed their superb visual performance allied to their strong set, I have to offer my apologies. Appearing with their faces painted like bizarre Robbie Williams clones they overcome technical problems with great stoicism. The added bonus was Bedford Metal supremo Keith providing guest vocals whilst also looking the part. Doubting Thomas - let them entertain you!
SUMMERFALL filled the next slot and were as assured as ever.
However the next act, NEW GROOVE FORMATION, absolutely blew the venue apart with their Ska/Reggae/Jazz/Funk tunes. Arriving on stage to be confronted by a sparse looking mosh pit, within minutes these boys' vibes summoned everyone to the front of the stage, arms swaying, heads nodding, bodies moving - what a transformation!
As the Ska sounds faded into the memories of the greatful crowd, who could be called on to provide a different slant to the evening? It had to be 'the Stray Cats on acid', aka HENRY AND THE BLEEDERS. On a personal note I have to thank the boys immensely for their cover version of Ewan McColls 'Dirty Old Town', a song of course made popular by a band without equal, The Pogues. With tonight also marking the birthday of band member Quincy, Henry and the Bleeders were on top form.
BLACKOUT followed with their usual awesome set that leaves me gobsmacked every time I see them. They respect I have for this powerful band is immense.
DUMMY RUN are quite an experienced outfit in comparison to their younger peers tonight and their rendition of Green Day like American Punk fills a gap perfectly.
In contract, the Neptunium sounds of FELL SILENT detonated into an orgy of Thallium sounds. (Eh? - Esquires Editor)
So, amongst all these young upstarts we had the grandfathers of the local music scene - old skool Punk legends THE TENDONS. These boys were on top form as John exchanged banter with the teenage metalheads in the mosh pit. It certainly added a certain edge to their song 'Schoolgirl Teaser'! The surprise appearance of Tendonette Emily was also a treat as she put in a fine performance.
The penultimate act were BENT LIKE BOB who continued to hone their metal/punk sound. The crowd lapped them up and to their credit stayed for headline act.
THE NEXT NINE YEARS, who had travelled all the way from deepest South Wales to celebrate the birthday of Mr Paul Craven. An excellent evening which Paul fully deserved - I'll see you all at Cravenfest 80!
www.bedfordmetal.co.uk