Horseman Shakes And The Draymen, The Escape, Scared Of The Ocean, Envy 4, Acoustic.
Bedford Esquires Lev 2. Saturday 19th June 2010.
REVIEW 0NE BY keith.
Tonight was like two different gigs in one night. A young crowd watching the opening boy and girl acoustic set, with the dulcet powerful main singing duties from the female singer and entertaining fretwork from the lad, both seated on stage while onlookers watched seated on the blocks at the side.
With an audience swing rising from their seats at the side to a more up front standing position of support, ENVY FOUR were up next with a new guitar being played most intricately by their guitarist making playing look like he never hits a wrong note and also on hand to prompt the singer/guitarist how some of the songs start before playing, making them look a little out of practice and rough round the edges. With a little tightening this band could prove to be a great outfit on the local scene.
Not deterred by having their water confiscated on the door (where the fuck do they get their door staff from!) Their singer exuded a cheerful charm and whit, having the odd banter to the crowd about tracks and relevant points, adding to his on stage presence. Their bassist made an effort also, in not standing in one place throughout the gig. Upbeat cheerful pop punk tunes with great riffs and guitar hooks is their order of the day, along with some faultlessly tight precision to the drumming, with a few good covers and new tunes and tracks from their new C.D. added to their set. So good for their age, gig opportunities and experience just needed to push them further.
As I said earlier, this gig seemed in two halves and with the following band, it seemed the older people not wanting to bother watching the opening bands, started drifting in.
SCARED OF THE OCEAN were amazing ; their guitarist seemed a Frankensteins behemoth of a size compared to the South Park audition sized previous band, his tall stature adding to the skilled height of his drumming ability and was a very new member, having learnt all the bands songs in a short space of time to replace another band member at short notice, so man of the match award to him.
Their woolly hated singer had an amazing vocal sound, a kind of sleazy rock professional edge adding to their overall hard-hitting sound. Their opening track positively belted out to good effect. What they lacked in visual flair and any showmanship on-stage spectacle which to me seemed a touch drab, they certainly made up for by playing ability and the bands sound audibly.
No strangers to Bedford THE ESCAPE promoted higher on the bill than the previous older band had the deserved opportunity to play to the older discerning crowd that Horseman Shakes are known to bring. One of the best bassists around, making it sound like a main part of their tunes as opposed to any plain backing rhythms and a befitting singing voice to their sound also. Their first song Katie has some great lyrics and a good tune, with their The Who and other same era band influences The Escape went through a well received and well played set. They just seem so tight and practiced at the moment . They have a really good guitarist, which I have often wondered how he would sound if he played any heavy metal track as Escape songs seem a bit tame and cutely soft, but still allowing his guitar handling skills and musicianship to shine through. I would love to see him knock out a guitar orientated band cover like Maiden, Sabbath, Zeppelin, AC/DC, etc just to show he isnt stilted by the boundaries of this current bands style good though it is! Perfectly neat hair. Sorry drumming ices this bands cake and when he along with the other band members harmonise the singing together, makes for a awe inspiring sound of music, demonstrating just why this band are so loved by anyone who sees them live.
I have caught HORSEMAN SHAKES AND THE DRAYMEN a few times now and know they can deliver a slice of potent blues laden rock and have a strong following also. Their five members seem to take up the whole stage and blast a formula of crowd pleasing classy rock that you could easy imagine to be a signed act.
You get the feeling that these are all consummate musicians in their own right and could leap to a gig at any time and have a polished and ready set.
I would say they seem to have honed in and stuck to a certain sound and have a recognisable style, played competently well throughout, with no let up or variation and their songs contain Killer guitar bridges that some bands songs just lack. The vocals forms a sound befitting any blues rock type band although I cant hear a word hes singing, sounding strained or mispronounced but not actually catching all the words doesnt detract from the songs themselves. There wasnt any real show of movement to speak of just five guys lumbering about playing enjoyable and great to listen to music.
None of their material disappoints, you know your in for a good blended sound of intricate guitar work, a barrage of galloping drums and complimented vocals, no thrills or gimmicks, take as you find, vanilla indie tinted blues lined rock-out numbers, delivered and longingly grabbed by audiences live!
REVIEW TWO BY Martin Stapleton.
It's a warm welcome back this evening to EMBRACE THE CITY, a young band who, tonight, entertain us acoustically. They tell us at the start that "we wanted to make this an intimate gig". Else Robinson is at the helm, her stunningly pure voice acts as the centrepiece to her two guitar chums. The trio weave petal delicate melodies around the band's own material, which include "Hold Me Now" and the early "But to Someone". A sprinkling of recognisable covers dominate. The undoubted stand out from that department is "Walkin' Away" by Craig David, of whom Tom is a big fan.
ENVY FOUR may, at the moment, not be the tightest emo-punk combo on the planet. It's evident that they have a fair way to go in terms of collective and individual ability, but what they posess is an abundance of youthful enthusiasm. Ironically they perform a song called "There's No Guarantees". A high degree of pubescent exuberance seeps out. "Daydream" calms the hormonal surge as the vocalist describes it as "a little soppy". Normal Envy Four 'de force' (!) resumes with "Teenage Love", with a rocking outro and audience involvement aplenty. "Thousand Miles" ends a set by a band which, although sometimes indulge in some twiddlesome guitars, did impress greatly with the arrangement of the bulk of their songs. Hopefully it points to good things in the future, especially if they can get some more gig experience.
MK's SCARED OF THE OCEAN are a more meaty proposition. On this, their Esquires debut, they seemed to revel in their layered rock melodies and reflective atmospherics. They contain enough sonic muscle for those in attendance who have a penchant for total all-out- heaviosity. This belligerent guitar band revealed a conventional and patient approach to their loop laden rock soundscapery. For thirty minutes they wallowed gloriously in their noisy world of musical clutter and confusion.
THE ESCAPE are full of youthful energy, passion and pure powerpop. It pretty much sums up this trio whose influences seem to range from The Who to The Jam to first wave indie. In fact, their set allowed all their quasi-psychedelic and sixties echoes to weave themselves around a tight visceral groove. They have a canny knack to write imaginative compositions which seem to capture such different moods. Sometimes these songs almost seem to dwarf their stage presence, which can be frustratingly static. Always smartly turned out (much like their heroes) in tailored shirts and matching ties, they did raise a waspish comment from my fashion spotting friend who thought that Ed was wearing some "unpleasant trousers". Style aside, the boys are excitedly telling us about their new EP which, like their live shows, offers us vocal harmonies aplenty and luscious guitar hooks. As an all-round package, it's pretty chipper. It's fair to say that there is an all round off-kilter charm about The Escape.
If it's HORSEMAN SHAKES AND THE DRAYMEN, then it has to be their familiar and carefree Southern swagger to accompany the straight laced blues rock. A formidable encounter. It's a performance from a band who, I feel, don't try to be something that they're not. They prefer to keep things solid and believable. These rocking lads possess their greatest strength with an ability to build songs from fairly innocuous beginnings. These reach some towering paranoiac monsters without sounding too contrived. Once again, HSATD hinge on vocalist Alex's rather ravaged croon. He thrives in his throat wrestling duties. It appears from his comments tonight that it has been a fruitful and productive time for the band as they have just completed recording for their EP.
1 keith www.bedfordalternativemusic.co.uk 2 Martin Stapleton.