Thirst Club Esquires. Saturday 21st August 2004.
With summer months, holidays, and festivals coming up, don’t expect any battle of the bands type crowd capacity nights. Audiences are usually thin on the ground this time of year. The night started with a relatively new and rare band to Bedford, although I have seen them before at the Phoenix in Hitchin, where they had technical difficulties and seemed as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs during what was probably their first gig. No use in looking at yesterdays past though as NO USE IN YESTERDAY at the Thirst club, have more expert sound engineers. The band looked much more confident and played a rather good set.
They didn’t seem to have any outstanding material, O.K. I’m not saying it was exactly like background music you hear in a shop, but more and better songs may come in time.
I thought having two vocalists lessened any tedium, they looked the part and displayed some presence and confidence. I wouldn’t go out to see them special but they look set to join in being a worthy band at live gigs to come.
The drumming is quite powerful and plays as if he has been on the professional circuit for years and he also used to drum for the next band….
CUT IN QUARTERS. I must admit to being disappointed when they were in the process of looking for a new drummer and seriously thought it would have been a shame if they had to disband, and was genuinely pleased that they have filled the gap well, and are up and running as a band, as they do have a lot of talent and potential. They had the best singer on the night, still keeping in with the bovine theme, this time in the flareiest flared pantomime Shire horse trousers. (No C.I.Q. review is complete without the sartorial trouser mention! – Soz dude). They sounded quite well rehearsed on the night. I think they need however get even stronger material in order to increase more stuff that works better live. Their tracks from their C.D. demo, being more stronger tunes and good to hear live, in fact their demo was a nats whisker in getting into the Bedford Metal top 10 C.D.’s. – Good to see ya back.
U.G. – I’m not sure if this was one of their better gigs, at times they played with their backs to the crowd at various intervals throughout. It was almost as if they needed to make sure their drummer was doing his job – no worries there though, their drumming is always spot on. There’s also quite a nifty well played guitarist, with quite an expensive looking guitar, which went on to become the star of the night. Their lead singer seemed to have a constant smile like Batman’s Joker during their set, with his nose resting on the mic. while singing. They all seemed so bloody relaxed and laid back, although that’s probably due to being well practiced and knowing how good they are. They’ve been playing for a while now, and also have some gigs coming up in Wolverhampton soon.
It looked as if the guitarist of REVELATION was wrestling a tiger on stage, with his new stripy guitar, coping with playing the broken stringed creature during the first song. The star of the show I mentioned earlier, which was the instrument belonging to the guitarist of the U.G. was substituted. I couldn’t help asking its owner in the audience if the song we were hearing is the one where they set fire to the guitar at the end? – Just an evil way to get the proud owner unduly worried heh heh heh.
They are a trio of very competent musicians, and make you proud of the local scene. Their drummer is like a machine set on full speed with a kind of super-human concentrated ability. Their guitarist was the best on the night, his vocals were a bit faint but the all to obvious skilled guitar work was there. – Although I still didn’t think they were quite happy with their set. They only played 1 track from their C.D. (No.1 in Bedford Metal’s Top Ten) but mostly played a gig showcasing their new material. Not wanting to churn out the same ol set, they turned down a chance to play a short while back, until they had sorted out their new songs.
Hello to the Sandy Massive who are loyal supporters of this band, who at the end of gigs, try and persuade a bass solo which if time permits, may be extracted. If I may suggest – why doesn’t Revelation develop a song with a reasonable length bass solo in the middle or end somewhere, to bring out his evident bass skills, which I’m sure would please the audience.
Not being the moshing season and not being the most packed of nights still didn’t stop Revelation putting on their usual high standard performance and being the best band of the evening.
Review by Keith www.bedfordmetal.tk and no alcoholic milkshake was consumed by the bassist before this gig!
Review Two.
By Dom Chritchley.
Posters in esquires that advertised the Revelation and U.G co- headline night had recently been getting dustier and dustier in the bedford venue. Weeks went by and I began to silently wonder 'exactly what does "coming soon" mean in this place?' Just as I began to lose all hope that I would finally see this show, especially after a planned date was pulled out of by both bands, I heard that they would be appearing at esquires supported by local (I wish I didn't have to say this) 'emo' rock acts NoUseInYesterday and Cut in Quarters. It sounded like a sound line-up and I arrived at esquires full of expectation for the young bands.
'NoUse...' began the evening's entertainment brightly. Sporting a spiky rock sound expertly rounded off with sugar sweet pop tunes and vocal harmonies, they executed a short set of songs played with some style and a little youthful charisma. They seemed slightly nervous and even shaky at times but without the live experience of the other 3 acts they managed well and acted professionally, even in the face of some minor technical problems (props to calvin for a quick fix on that broken mic). The sounds they make (many pointless NME penned genre labels spring to mind such as emo, screamo, extremo, post-hardcore and alternative pop metal) may be hidiously overplayed and at times very tiresome but they seem to add their own cheery twist to the usual heavy riffing, melodic bits, double pedals and screams utilised by so, so many groups right now. One of the most endearing qualities of the NoUse lads is their unashamed abuse of pop tunes in their songs. It's pretty hard not to tap your foot along as they spit out tune after tune and it seemed that many people had picked up song lyrics from previous shows as some of the more epic choruses promoted a couple of impressive sing-alongs.
An all round good performance from a band on the up in the local rock scene left an optimistic feeling in the air and yet all it took to completely kill the happy mood was a couple of bars from angst ridden scenesters Cut in Quarters. Sporting a new drummer the Cut in Quarters boys made their triumphant return to esquires after a slightly embarrassing last gig prompting their previous drummer to sling his sticks from the CIQ station wagon. They played with a new-found confidence and even a slight change in style without losing their distinctive stage presence and sound. As usual the lead singer leapt around the stage like an angry monk on mushrooms and the rest of the band seemed surly as shit as they churned out their new, grungier sounding, rock songs. The drum beats were cool, integrating with the whole feel and sound of the band as opposed to the crashing out a repetitive beat in the background, which so many rock groups succumb to these days, especially young inexperienced bands. Unfortunately for them, the sound and mix was far from perfect. The guitar sounded far too loud and distorted which made the songs seem very indistinct and despite being able to notice very sound intentions in all of the songs they played, most of which were new, except one which I recognised from their demo, the lack of definition meant that it was hard to latch onto many of the tunes or rhythms that they clearly worked hard to introduce. I would definitely try and see CIQ if they were playing again and I would hope that the sound would do them better justice next time. I have to say that despite all this, they rocked hard and put on an entertaining show, so good luck to them in upcoming gigs.
The last time I saw the U.G play esquires was in a battle of the bands punk final at esquires over a year ago. They beat local favourites Borderline and this year's winners Sprokit to the final and played a tight collection of old skool pop punk numbers. Their sound seems to have stayed pretty similar but they now had a more styled look about them and when they hit the stage they played with far more passion and conviction than I remember previously. It's always great to hear someone singing in their own voice and the vocals were spilled out with strong English accent that added a gritty edge to their pleasant punky jams. They used chromatic riffs and tight guitar/bass harmonies to create a really professional tight sound that is no doubt the reason they are as popular as they are.
And as for Revelation – Well Keith said it all.
By Dom Chritchley.
Posters in esquires that advertised the Revelation and U.G co- headline night had recently been getting dustier and dustier in the bedford venue. Weeks went by and I began to silently wonder 'exactly what does "coming soon" mean in this place?' Just as I began to lose all hope that I would finally see this show, especially after a planned date was pulled out of by both bands, I heard that they would be appearing at esquires supported by local (I wish I didn't have to say this) 'emo' rock acts NoUseInYesterday and Cut in Quarters. It sounded like a sound line-up and I arrived at esquires full of expectation for the young bands.
'NoUse...' began the evening's entertainment brightly. Sporting a spiky rock sound expertly rounded off with sugar sweet pop tunes and vocal harmonies, they executed a short set of songs played with some style and a little youthful charisma. They seemed slightly nervous and even shaky at times but without the live experience of the other 3 acts they managed well and acted professionally, even in the face of some minor technical problems (props to calvin for a quick fix on that broken mic). The sounds they make (many pointless NME penned genre labels spring to mind such as emo, screamo, extremo, post-hardcore and alternative pop metal) may be hidiously overplayed and at times very tiresome but they seem to add their own cheery twist to the usual heavy riffing, melodic bits, double pedals and screams utilised by so, so many groups right now. One of the most endearing qualities of the NoUse lads is their unashamed abuse of pop tunes in their songs. It's pretty hard not to tap your foot along as they spit out tune after tune and it seemed that many people had picked up song lyrics from previous shows as some of the more epic choruses promoted a couple of impressive sing-alongs.
An all round good performance from a band on the up in the local rock scene left an optimistic feeling in the air and yet all it took to completely kill the happy mood was a couple of bars from angst ridden scenesters Cut in Quarters. Sporting a new drummer the Cut in Quarters boys made their triumphant return to esquires after a slightly embarrassing last gig prompting their previous drummer to sling his sticks from the CIQ station wagon. They played with a new-found confidence and even a slight change in style without losing their distinctive stage presence and sound. As usual the lead singer leapt around the stage like an angry monk on mushrooms and the rest of the band seemed surly as shit as they churned out their new, grungier sounding, rock songs. The drum beats were cool, integrating with the whole feel and sound of the band as opposed to the crashing out a repetitive beat in the background, which so many rock groups succumb to these days, especially young inexperienced bands. Unfortunately for them, the sound and mix was far from perfect. The guitar sounded far too loud and distorted which made the songs seem very indistinct and despite being able to notice very sound intentions in all of the songs they played, most of which were new, except one which I recognised from their demo, the lack of definition meant that it was hard to latch onto many of the tunes or rhythms that they clearly worked hard to introduce. I would definitely try and see CIQ if they were playing again and I would hope that the sound would do them better justice next time. I have to say that despite all this, they rocked hard and put on an entertaining show, so good luck to them in upcoming gigs.
The last time I saw the U.G play esquires was in a battle of the bands punk final at esquires over a year ago. They beat local favourites Borderline and this year's winners Sprokit to the final and played a tight collection of old skool pop punk numbers. Their sound seems to have stayed pretty similar but they now had a more styled look about them and when they hit the stage they played with far more passion and conviction than I remember previously. It's always great to hear someone singing in their own voice and the vocals were spilled out with strong English accent that added a gritty edge to their pleasant punky jams. They used chromatic riffs and tight guitar/bass harmonies to create a really professional tight sound that is no doubt the reason they are as popular as they are.
And as for Revelation – Well Keith said it all.