Eastfield, The Breakdowns, Spring Park, UK Vomit.

Dannys Bar Lev 1 Esquires Bedford Friday 6th February 2015.

Sadly an old skool, punk night is something of an occasional rarity at Esquires these days. Indeed, the apathy towards this genre of music is very noticeable in Bedford tonight. All four of the bands have travelled a few miles to be here today. Apart from a meagre handful of locals, so have all the other punters. Arriving from Aylesbury are UK VOMIT, a band that are new to me. This trio are rather sluggish to begin with, but once they have blown away a few early Friday evening musical cobwebs they really impressed. Shouty and basic choruses rules throughout. A couple that I especially picked up on were "Zane Lowe must die" and "Shit spunk and blood". Their guitar wielding main vocalist is sporting a seldom seen, old fashioned 'northern' flat cap, the type usually associated with whippet owners. My star player of the whole evening was, without doubt, the UK Vomit drummer. He is drenched in sweat, never stops smiling and sports a home-made DIY band logo T-shirt. His drumwork also adds extra oomph to this punk band's frenetic material. For me they totally capture the true spirit of '77. "The old town skank" is very self-explanatory, a ska lilt "dedicated to Bob" as it is his birthday. They include a new one called "Scapegoat" and finish their set off with the funny, dumbed down lyrics of "Trolley f**kin' trolley"! This one is easy to sing along to. UK Vomit encapsulate eighties pop punk / hardcore. The hardcore inspired elements of the set were better.

SPRING PARK followed. This band are also new to me. This quartet have a main vocalist who appears slightly older than his bandmates and it is obvious from the start exactly who is the leader of the band. He does, I feel, rather brazenly exaggerate the rock star pose. They are a sort of homage to latterday Green Day and the music is bog standard, bland pop punk which lacks any real cohesion. Few songs stand out, perhaps "Shipwrecked" and "Breaking away" at a push. They all just seem to merge together. Spring Park do seem to have brought quite a few followers and they cheer loudly at the end of each song. The band lacked warmth and ill luck rather punctuated the set. A bass amp problem causes a lengthy pause while, on the final song, their ever energetic guitarist suffers a strap malfunction midway through the important part. For Spring Park's debut in Bedford it was sadly that kind of set!

Thankfully THE BREAKDOWNS are on hand to take over and shake me out of my developing slumbers. I revel in their everyday lyrics which affect each and everyone present in the bar tonight. A, shall I say, 'fruitily worded' intro ditty gives way to "Rock 'n' roll ain't rock 'n' roll anymore". The Breakdowns are pure old punk in appearance, sound and inspiration. They are fronted by a familiar face. It's Jon and he also organized this show tonight. He is, of course, to be remembered as part of Dun 2 Def and then RSI. The band are quick to give us some useful tips such as "Never stand up on a dinghy" or perhaps "You tried, you missed, you need a psychotherapist". Apparently the latter is "about getting drunk" and the fellas admit that they had totally "missed a verse out". Without doubt, my favourite is "Poundland". "Who shops in Poundland?" they enquire. Well quite a few judging by the news in the FT this week as they announced the takeover of the 99p shops. Well done The Breakdowns for such a topical subject. Minor celebrity status has also touched the band when, amongst others, the revered musician Frank Turner recently covered one of The Breakdown's songs. They end the set with it and it is called "Merry Christmas you c**t"! A raucous finale ensues for a band who showed their comradeship in the tried and trusted method of passing a small bottle of whisky amongst themselves. Cheers.

I freely admit that I hadn't seen EASTFIELD play since as long ago as December 2007. This is a band that keep the punk fires burning, especially when it is part of the old steam train's ignition. Train subjects are a staple part of any Eastfield set. The band admit that they haven't been together for seven weeks but they are punctually on schedule tonight. Thankfully there are no barriers or leaves on the line to derail these keen spotters. "Last train" has no delays, but Eastfield do not like paying full price for their ticket to ride. They announce "It's my life fare dodging" and dedicate it to all the cheeky dodgers and those charged. There were 522 last year. Eastfield are resolute and defiant though as "They didn't catch me"! The compartment connoisseurs sum up their genre as "we've always been a goth band and The Virgin Prunes". They have had a memorable journey of many years, but just three chords and some trains. It has been nice to travel with you again Eastfield and a return trip is anticipated.