'One For The Underground Presents'.
HELL ABOVE, with BLACKOUT, HEKZ and THE
DILENQUENTS.
Bedford Esquires Lev 2. (14+ gig)
Sunday (afternoon) 5th February 2006.
Review 1 Keith www.bedfordmetal.co.uk Review 2 Martin Stapleton.
With their sculls on chains, Grolsh tops on boots, ripped suits and looking like
a tramp had donated his clothes having put them through a shredder first 'THE
DILENQUENTS' (spelled that way!) opened the afternoon matinee of musical
mayhem. They were the oddball of the bands, in being the only punk band, in its
full Oi oi glory! Like all the bands on the line-up, they know a lot of the
Bedford people, which made quite an intimate related gig. Their front man has an
amazing rapport and command of the crowd, without it all gong to his head.
Although sharply pointed spikes certainly were coming from the head of their
mow-hawked drummer. - We decided in the crowd to bring some small hoops next
time and try aiming for them, to start a new game of how many we can get on!
I don't need a set list to quote and tell you how good each song was, they all
had a great crowd reaction. I think my only complaint would be all the crowd
interaction they seem to love doing "everybody start clapping, raise your
hands in the air" etc. A good command of the crowd non the less.
Arriving late for his sound check after a 7-1 football defeat, the drummer of 'HEKZ'
finally made it for the gig, having had the spiked haired Dilenquent drummer
step in just for the sound check! The actual gig was another HeKz blinder,
bravely opening with a new song, quite daring, but went down a storm.
Having discovered this band from the 'Bedford Metal' Battle Of The Bands and
being so predictably amazingly good, I have to feel quite proud of this band. I
can exclusively reveal now, that I wanted this band to have won, but fair
enough, don't get a say in the matter. It was a good, but somewhat subdued set
than usual, just getting on with it, but no shenanigans on stage - jumping in to
the crowd, holding the young guitarist aloft into the air etc. They are
certainly a band that fit the larger stages in the area like Esquires, Club 85,
The Beds Ath., and The Pitz.
They displayed some new and different songs in their set including an Iron
Maiden medley leading neatly on to 'Fear Of The Dark' although some of us were
still singing "Fear of the power cut" from one of their previous gigs.
HeKz look every inch the part on stage, with their back to back, and duet team
up poses. I love these guys, they always gain new fans after each gig.
You need to be clever and get the right band to keep up the momentum going and 'BLACKOUT'
are just such a band. I noticed their front man leaning to the front of the
crowd from the stage bar, never more better performing when he knows his crowd
and feeling so at home on this line up at this venue. It is after all, where
they won their Esquires Battle Of The Bands last year!
They played a lot of material from their latest and quite awesome C.D., which
even seems to go down well with non-metal fans along with their hardcore
supporters.
Some of the band members sometimes look so serious when they are playing, which
isn't surprising as a lot of their material is both technical and cleverly well
played, which lasts until they spot someone in the crowd they know to nod and
smile to.
Their set included obligatory mosh inducing rabble rousers and cigarette-lighter
aloft holding melodies which all contribute to making Blackout one of the great
bands in Bedford that they are!
Not quite the younger crowd that I expected on the day and 'HELL
ABOVE' are one of the bands that would bring an older crowd, what with
also being regular Bear pub drinkers and indeed one of their long time staff on
drums - giving a mighty hell thundering performance, he's like a one man mosh
pit behind a drum kit!
It was good to see how much their bassist seemed to be enjoying his gig -
smiling all the way through. You all seem to have to have a beard to be in this
band, except their front man singer who until I got closer saw he had one as
well!
The sound from this band is tight and heavy and one of the things I noticed, was
that their songs are of quite a length for your money. Another great band for a
good Bedford crowd.
All in all quite a good afternoon, marred only by the - you've had your gig now
get lost attitude at the end, in which you had to vacate the premises hastily;
although there is always something at Danny's bar downstairs on Sunday's to go
after.
REVIEW TWO
The best gig so far this year at Esquires sees not so much ?One for the Underground? - more ?One for the Kids!? This was a special 14+ show which was well supported by around 130 music fans of all ages.
There are certain music purists who look down at this sort of thing. ?Kids music? they sneer before they go and check out Coldplay or Keane or some other ?proper? or ?serious? act. These people seem to forget that ?the kids? is what this Rock?n?Roll thing is all about. Metal and Punk, for all it?s many faults ? it?s dodgy haircuts and seemingly inherent immaturity, can fire up the youngsters like no other.
This afternoon three bands familiar to us here are joined by an extremely young metal band from Milton Keynes. (Luton/Bedford ? ed) They burst onto our radar at the recent ?Bedford Metal? bands competition where they literally blew everybody away with both their music and their stage show. My friends, this band are called HEKZ and you will be seeing and hearing from them a lot this year. Today Hekz do the same amazing set here.
Hekz followed THE DILENQUENTS, a young local three piece punk outfit who improve each and every time they perform here. Their set is always frantic and to the point and with their drummers amazing hairstyle their contribution to the show today was well received.
BLACKOUT had the unenviable task of following Hekz but the boys did what they always do, giving the crowd a professional and powerful performance. They drape the venue in a coat of noise, allowing not a moment of silence to escape. This is a band who know where they are going and with excellent self-promotion lets hope they get that little bit of luck to succeed.
HELL ABOVE end the gig like a portcullis lowering down to block the entrance to total sanity. They expurgate melody and they pound us into the ground like a demented labourer with a new Kango (??? - Ed).
What an afternoon and credit due to the bands and fans alike. Special mention must once again go to promoter Paul Craven who put the whole thing together.