NEW ROAD w/ Doubting Thomas, Desperate Cycle and Blind Theory.

Esquires Level 2 Bedford. Saturday 09th July 05.

The first thing I noticed when entering Esquires on Saturday night was the sparse nature of the crowd, thin on the ground almost to the point of non-existence as the evening's first act, BLIND THEORY took to the stage. Shortly after they started playing, I could soon see why. Not only were their songs hackneyed and clich ridden, but also their live performance was almost as engaging as watching paint dry. The guitarist in the middle with the floppy hair looked as if he would far rather be somewhere else as the band grated through half an hour of generic, under rehearsed emo-punk wankery, with repetitive guitar lines, dispassionate vocals and hugely complicated drum parts that only succeeded in showing up the drummer's very limited talents. Blind Theory are about as far from punk rock as it is possible to be; punk rock is about playing each show like a psycho on death row, not staring at your feet and trying to ride out time with yet another Blink 182 cover version. We've heard it all before, mostly back in 2002, when people still gave a shit about Blink 182, and jamming two of their songs together isn't cool, or funny, or ironic, just indicative of an uninspired, turgid lack of imagination.

After Blind Theory, DESPERATE CYCLE are like a full frontal assault. Which, in the world of punk rock, is most certainly A Good Thing. Fresh from a show with the legendary Agnostic Front in their native Milton Keynes the night before, Desperate Cycle hit the stage like a train crash, and for their allotted half hour, there's no let up. It's loud, it's fast, and it's got about as much classic punk attitude as it's possible to cram into the four slight figures in uniform black t-shirts with the sleeves cut off onstage. There's lots of talk of "Fuck the system" and many middle-fingered mentions of politicians and the government throughout the set, a welcome breath of fresh air compared to the adolescent drivel offered by much of the current and beguilingly popular emo scene. This is punk as Henry Rollins intended it, the sort of music that makes you want to glass the person stood next to you in the face, then disembowel them, before making a rather fetching bandana out of their small intestines and going off to lead the revolution. Quite what we're revolting against doesn't really matter at this stage; Desperate Cycle's hearts are most definitely in the right place, as referenced in their last song, "We're young and wasted / We're young and fucked / Drinking lots of beers / Smoking lots of pot." Certainly a more attractive prospect than sitting in a corner crying into your journal because no girls wanted to kiss you, that's for sure, and as a young band, it could be they who finally rid the world of this horrific bedwetting shite currently masquerading as punk rock.

DOUBTING THOMAS are a case in point. I have read nothing but good reviews of this band in the past, and was expecting at the very least a tight, well-rehearsed set of good punk pop songs. However, Doubting Thomas are BAD. Not Bad as in good, or Bad as in naughty, just utterly, utterly terrible. Two or three songs in, they apologise for a shaky start. After that, things go steadily downhill. Apparently they've got a new drummer. I assume the old one must have been lacking a limb or similar to have been replaced - the new guy can not play, at least in time, or anything that's remotely appropriate to what the rest of the band are trying to do. Not that any of the rest of them are much cop, particularly the bassist, who looks about 30, and was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, Green Day t-shirt and what looked like a school tie; like some sort of charity shop Busted. Although at least Busted had some killer songs and didn't resort to lyrics from the very bottom of the adolescent bargain bin, whereas Doubting Thomas seem perversely proud of their "I'm sorry / I hurt you" school of bedwetting. This band desperately need some songs, and some attitude, apologising for a bad show is definitely bad form, and a crafty "fuck you" every now and then never went amiss.

Doubting Thomas cite the next band as one of their inspirations, which is one of very few things I can hold against NEW ROAD. Back in the day, they sounded like a very good version of Doubting Thomas, now, they, much like the rest of the music scene, have evolved. Nowadays, there is less time for guest didgeridoo players and zany cover versions, and more time devoted to writing proper songs. New Road, as I mentioned in my last review, are most definitely growing up. So at times, they sound like The Police, at others, Rancid, and occasionally, like vintage New Road. Naturally, by this time everyone's too drunk to care, but the boys bounce around the stage like they're 15 all over again, rocketing through songs which soundtracked the summer of 2003 with consummate ease, and though it's probably only nostalgia getting the better of me, are still an exciting and enjoyable live prospect.

So the final verdict? Someone needs to give the Bedford punk scene a swift kick in the nads - punk is about being angry, not upset. For fuck's sake, Sid Vicious murdered his girlfriend, and never said sorry for anything in his life. Lessons that Blind Theory and Doubting Thomas would do well to take heed of.

REVIEW TWO MARTIN STAPLETON

Tonight, as the flyer promised, was a punk night starring four local young bands.

BLIND THEORY kicked off the proceedings with a more ?American? brand of punk rock. Although obviously very nervous to begin with, they soon found their pace and two of the later songs of their set, ?The Apathy Song? and ?Dammit? hitting all the right notes for me.

Next on the bill and, in my opinion, the best band of the evening were DESPERATE CYCLE. A predominately ?old-skool? punk outfit from Milton Keynes, their influences range from The Agnostic Front, Anti-Flag and they have already supported such acts as Five Knuckle, Howard?s Alias and Kenisia. This was their debut gig at Esquires and it was a great performance.
Resplendent in Tartan trousers circa 1976, front-man Nicky Rage literally spat out all his pent up venom in a twenty five minute rage fuelled explosion! Ably supported by fellow band mates, Will (bass), Jimbo (guitar) and Pete (drums), songs such as ?Ultra Violent?, ?Stand up for the Youth? and ?Brand New Riot? crackled with anger. With a dearth of good young punk bands around the area (with the exception of The Bleeders), hopefully Desperate Cycle will be back here very soon.

Of the two other bands, my sympathy goes out to DOUBTING THOMAS who experienced a lot of technical problems on the night. However, having battled with a broken drum peddle, the Emo-Punk lads soldiered on regardless to put together a spot on set (as usual).

Headlining tonight were four piece band NEW ROAD, continuing their comeback after a lengthy lay-off. Although their Americana influenced set was good, I was hoping Desperate Cycle would play another twenty five minute set! Those guys really were Punk!!!



Review 1 by Lt Spark L Horse. Review 2 Martin Stapleton (Esquires Web) - www.bedfordmetal.co.uk