The Pad Presents: The Milk, The Scruff, The Jebs.
Bedford Esquires Lev 2. Friday 1st June 2012.
Review by Martin Stapleton.
Mmm, I sense there is a vibrant Indie scene starting to bubble up in Bedford once more, its been kick started by the Wholls, whose urban slant has sold out Esquires on a number of occasions.
Tonight we see two new local bands who have pulled in some massive crowd support. It must impress our visiting headliners THE MILK, who have been given a truly special Bedford welcome.
Young shavers THE JEBS shine with their cheeky personality. They have created quite a stir on the local scene and this evening they have their first opportunity at Bedfords premier music venue. They do not disappoint. Confidentally brash. Some harsh critics may accuse them of penning some dumbed down lyrics, perhaps Get Along is an obvious example with “Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah”! Fairytale has a bass line acquired from the ancient Rock Lobster song, while certain other parts borrow from early Turner, Alex not Frank! This was obviously a nervous evening for the lads, but they came through splendidly. The Jebs are a band I look forward to seeing again.
Upping the age bracket slightly are THE SCRUFF . Another band from the local indie production line. The trio are very stylishly attired, cool and smart, in fact their bass player looks like an Essex Door Supervisor on a special night! Their collection of material is so varied. At times it can be fast, heads down almost slightly punky, while it can suddenly change to something that Plan B would put his name to! The songs are strong and at times very catchy, most notably with the ever so slightly suggestive Sometimes I Just Cant Leave It Alone. Any debuts are naturally nerve wracking for all the individuals concerned, all the more so when there is a slight technical glitch, which occurs when their drummer suffers a broken snare. Seamlessly they gloss over it admirably. Even though we are still to cultivate the main event, the crowd have been consistently up to party. Their commitment to enjoying themselves cannot be faulted, only applauded. We live in a tight and at times ridiculously politically correct world, but The Scruff care not a jot, as they ask with a cheeky smirk “Have we got any fat people in the building?”.
Smiles radiate the room, even the lardys like it! Charm swells up from The Scruff and what the hell, it’s the Queens Diamond Jubilee extra long holiday weekend. But primarily it’s a Friday night and this band like Going Out! But look lively folks. This three piece state seriously ”This shit can get lively!” They are not wrong, The Scruff will be back.
Credit for tonights fayre, go to two of the best innovators of bringing the best happening new bands to Bedford, namely Kevin and Gareth of The Pad Presents. They have pulled out another ace tonight and thankfully sleepy old Bedford responds to turn out in force for THE MILK . Their sound guy also happens to be an old Esquires face; its Ritchie Rich, another product from the Esquires sound crew who has gone on to good things and very busy apparently. Coming out of Essex, The Milk have naturally got plenty of inbred, in yer face front, otherwise known as very confident. Brashly, they start with the current single Broke Up The Family, which follows on from the usual stereotypical boring blackened out sampled intro, in fact samples play a major part of The Milks set, as each individual song is given its own segmented start, such as L A Woman, Wriggling In To Danger while Mr. Motivator gets the inevitable retro T.V. theme. The Milk are very soul oriented, they mix copious amounts of rock in to it and remind me (Esquires wise) of a diluted Vintage Trouble, it has that feel. Matter posses a reggae slant, but front man Rick is not really singing “Everyday Were All Arseholes!” is he? B Roads has a crisp R.H.C.P. aura about it, but these Essex geezers are probably at their laddish zenith with Kimmi Kimmi, which is the bands accurate account of “A dirty girl from back home!” Recreating their soulful sound, Picking Up The Pieces could easily be an outtake from an unreleased Simply Red album, circa Spring 1985. With crowdsurfing also amazingly taking place, Wow, W.T.F.! Apparently according to one punter who chats to me mid song. This one had a Golden Earring, Radar Love feel about it, couldn’t quite spot that one though fella! Chip The Kids gets full crowd participation as Rick gets 90% of his audience to crouch down and stay down, then he demands them to violently spring back up in the air! The Milk end with Everytime We Fight. This is to be their next single and is out shortly. Their many forthcoming festival appearance will tie in nicely with it!
Martin Stapleton www.bedfordalternativemusic.co.uk