Red Dollar, Heartbeat Assassins, Sirenide, The Tease.

Esquires Level 2 Bedford. Saturday 3rd December 05.

by Liam Burke

This was the first Saturday of December and saw Red Dollar grace the Esquires stage. But before Don Palmacci's new punk / emo band took the stage, it was the turn of Sandy based Indy rockers The Tease. This was The Tease first real gig back after taking a month's break and I must say you wouldn't have guessed they have ever been apart. The band's front man Tommy Ballam used the stage and mic. well adding the perfect face to this group of talented musicians. I even heard one member of the crowd compare him to a young Mick Jagger minus the lips. They had perfect mixture of fast and slower songs, my favourite properly being 'Take Me Tonight' which featured a very catchy bass line. Another noteworthy event was guitarist Ewan Pinnington breaking a string mid-set. You can catch this band in the new bands final at Bedford Ath. Rugby Club on Friday 9th December and I recommend you go see them, as you are sure to be entertained.

The next band up was a young band from Leighton Buzzard called Sirenide. As soon as they walked on the stage, lead singer Llovonne, instantly attracted attention from the males in the crowd. They have talent and attitude to match. They had the crowd entertained from start to finish and I look forward to seeing them back at squires in the near future.

The next band on the stage came in the form of The Heartbeat Assassins.. This band are up against the openers The Tease in the new bands final on the 9th and it looks like it will be a close run thing. They have quite a punky sound and did quite a respectable version of Alkaline Trio's 'Private Eye'. Another highlight of their set came towards the end when the lead singer did a solo acousticy song. It was a nice way to bring a well practised set to a close.

Then came the headliners Red Dollar. I was looking forward to seeing these and I was defiantly not disappointed. After I got over the fact their front man looked just like Jarret from Bowling for Soup I started to really enjoy their set. There energy on stage got the Squires crowd more involved. They played punky songs as well as some slower more emoy songs. This band has the perfect mix of complex drum beats, contagious bass lines and powerful lyrics and guitar music. I would defiantly recommend you go see them as soon as possible.

REVIEW 2 BY MARTIN STAPLETON / PICTURES BY SUZY COOK.

THE TEASE are back and boy what a blast they gave us to start tonight's show. Their set had a real mix to it, somewhere between Prog Rock and The Kaiser Chiefs! Tommy and the boys altered style and pace throughout their twenty five minute slot. The slower 'Forgive Me' and the track that preceded it, 'Moonlight Murder' captured the essence of a band who were on top form tonight.

The music carried on at a breakneck pace with the return of Leighton Buzzard's marvellous SIRENIDE who I'm sure made a load of new fans tonight as well as satisfying the appetite of their regular followers. Their set flowed effortlessly as Sirenide put together a polished and professional performance that was moving, biting, stinging and vivid and, above all, utterly superb. New song 'Realize' is given an airing and it is well received. As you may have gathered, I am a huge fan of this talented young band.

HEARTBEAT ASSASSINS followed but for me their set was a bit of a let down after all that had gone before. It just felt a bit routine and flat.

Comprising Don (vocals/guitar), Paul (guitar), Billy (bass) and Danny (drums) tonight marked the debut performance of RED DOLLAR a hard edged local indie band. With an aggressive frontman backed up by a bunch of talented musicians, they furnish us with silky strings (when they don't snap) and ferocious and vibrant drumming. They open with a salvo of 'FYI' and 'Pythagoras Theorem' before bringing the tempo down with 'Waiting' and 'Eon'.





Before bowing out in a blaze of glory, Don throws out loads of Red Dollar notes to the crowd whilst fixing them with a wide eyed expression which seemed to say 'Love us or f**k off!'. In their final song 'Still Waiting', the guitarists give it their all whilst Don appears possessed! The crowd cry out for more but unfortunately they will have to wait until the next Red Dollar gig which hopefully will be very soon.

Review 1 by Liam Burke www.bedfordmetal.co.uk Review 2 by Martin Stapleton www.bedfordesquires.co.uk