Review Of The Month: August 2017.

Esquires Bedford.

With due respect to all the bands and musicians who played Esquires during this month, one gig most definitely stands head and shoulders above all others. On Wednesday 16, The American hip hop collective Arrested Development appeared and played a most memorable mainstage show. Rarely (if ever?) in Bedford, do we see a band who have wow, not one, but two Grammy awards. Arrested Development achieved this most notable honour back in 1993. Hailing from Atlanta Georgia, they formed in 1988. Tonight they still include one of their two founder members, namely rap vocalist Todd Thomas, aka ‘Speech’. It’s clear to see from the start of this show, that he is still ‘on a mission’ to broaden the perspectives and give clear inspiration to rise up! The rest of his band may be newer, but all certainly share his vision and musical mission. Diverse beats and pulsing eclectic African rhythms go hand in hand with the wonderful colourful clothing that’s worn on stage. Let’s just remember that they shared a platform with Nelson Mandela back in 1994. These songs obviously stand out and dominate their set list on the night. One gets a very early airing, namely Mr. Wendal. Speech demands some action as he shouts out “Let me see those hands”. The audience duly oblige, raising arms and clapping their hands. This is done above a sea of ‘bobbin’ heads. Arrested Development reveal that this is the “Most time they’ve spent in Britain”, infact they have been “Chillin’ in Brixton”. Their song Revolution is given an in depth introduction. It’s “About Spike Lee” and was written for the renowned film director when he was making his Malcom X movie. It’s true to say that Arrested Development bucked the trend of rap and hip hop musicians of the nineties, the scene then was very much anti women, drugs and guns, all very macho. A.D. were however at odds with that stuff, as they offered a male/female peaceful message. Unfortunately for the band, their second album Zingalamaduni was not commercially successful and the collective took a five year hiatus from 1995 – 2000. Recently Speech said that rap artists turned into corporate moguls and consequently the genre rather lost its creative and diverse spirit. Tonight at Esquires, he is quick to acknowledge some true early pioneers and pays homage to Public Enemy, by covering Eight The Power. They have “Lots of respect for this band” Of the newer material that A.D. perform, I must make mention of Inter City. Warm and catchy. After a great version of Fishing 4 Religion, the second of the A.D. blockbusters arrives almost midway through the set, its Tennessee. The “first song they ever released” and notable for the fact that it was voted one of the five hundred songs that shaped rock n roll by the ‘rock n roll hall of fame’. This year represents the 25th anniversary of Arrested Developments debut album, which was entitled 3 Years 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of…, many of those fantastic fifteen tracks are performed on the evening. To note, Tennessee later on is reprised with a spoken word version. Speech takes his band into different tangents; they have no set list, preferring instead to play off the cuff. Their third well known song, People Everyday is introduced with a most powerful anti racism statement, which is voiced fiercely from both heart and soul. When the band wow their two MTV awards, they sung Bob Marley’s Redemption song. In a dimly lit atmosphereric setting, they reprised that moment. This was to be their final offering, but it was nice to see that they stayed for a good while to meet and greet a good sized Wednesday night crowd.

Two other mainstage gigs to catch my eye during the month were firstly, the headline appearance of nineties Brit Pop aficionado’s My Life Story on Friday 4. They are fronted by a rather exuberant Jake Shillingford, who are using Esquires as a perfect warm up show for the huge Star Shaped Festival being held in London on the following day. My Life Story clocked up six top forty singles and all are featured on the night, in fact it’s a complete show from these cult heroes of a long ago generation, the fortysomethings in attendance lap it all up. The ‘classics’ include The King Of Kissingdom, Sparkle, plus 12 Reasons Why I Love Her (the later arrives in the encore)to name just three. To further please his adoring fans, Jake decides to perform Emerald Green as well. This is a rare chance to hear a B side which was a track from the bands 1995 album Mornington Crescent.

The following weekend, Saturday 12, featured a debut Esquires appearance by the Canadian psychobilly punk band The Creepshow. Not a fan by any means, my overriding memory of their set was when their heavily tattooed vocalist Kenda, leapt on to the bar top and carried on an impromptu performance from there! The Creepshow played many songs from their forthcoming new album Death At My Door, which is due for release in September. This included the new single Sticks & Stones. Although they put on a frenetic show, I much preferred their support band who were called Maid Of Ace. If you want some no holds barred, fast rip roaring speeding punk rock, then look no further than this all sister quartet from Hastings Sussex. The Elliott girls combined the energy of biker rock, with the pure adrenalised energy of street punk and delivered it with an earthy brash bravado. The songs are short and rapid, dynamically performed, their stage presence totally blew me away. An ace introduction to Maid Of Ace!

Review by Martin Stapleton. www.bedfordalternativemusic.co.uk