'Esquires Presents'.
THE SELECTER, with THE TENDONS, and
WEIGHTLOSS.
Bedford Esquires Lev 2.
Friday 17th February 2006.
Review 1 by Mr. S. www.bedfordmetal.co.uk Review 2 by Martin Stapleton
The heavy heavy monster sound arrived in Bedford on Friday night in the form of
a Madness tribute band performing at the Corn Exchange. (I think they was called
something like 'I can't believe it's not Madness') The gig pulled five hundred
plus (so I hear on the grape vine), which to me is some what strange as less
than a mile down the road were some real two tone legends - The Selector,
playing to a less than capacity Esquires crowd.
I arrived at about nine to catch the opening act - 'Weightloss'.
Being probably one of the only younger members of the audience not dressed as a
stereotype I found a place to lean and not stick out like a sore thumb. (If only
I'd worn some braces or a pork pie hat.) Despite the lack of audience,
Weightloss were full of energy. Being a self confessed fan of any band with a
brass section I soon found myself tapping my foot. Heavy influenced by the
American punk/ska bands, the tunes were short and catchy. Their set went down
well and warranted a look at the My Space page they plugged at the end.
The second band has long been a myth to me. My days at school had been filled
with stories of a local Bedford band singing about babies in buckets and Fishy
Fannies, but never before had I had an opportunity to actually witness 'The
Tendons'. By this time (don't know the actual time, had a few Stripe by
then), the place was filling out a bit. The plastic punks and two-toners were
slowly being out numbered by the real punks and skinheads with more than one or
two original Ben Sherman's now on show.
The Tendons brought a smile to my face. The song 'Bedford Girls' made me and my
mate crack up (how true it was), and by the time 'Detol Dick' had ended I needed
to replace the drink I had spilt through laughter.
Don't get me more wrong. I am an avid fan of a bit of raw dirty punk with
attitude, of which The Tendons had in bucketfuls. But the decision to have them
support The Selector puzzled me somewhat. Towards the end of the set I lost my
concentration, The Tendons had faded to a blur and I could only really think
about two things. The Selector, and the middle aged woman next to me who was so
so shocked by The Tendon's lyrics I thought she was going to cry.
By the time The Tendons has finished the crowd had yet again swollen. It wasn't
full but there was enough to create a good atmosphere. The DJ selected some
tunes to get everyone in the mood and the lager was flowing easy. The six or
seven men wearing braces at the back were beginning to move and I was getting
increasingly excited about seeing one of my favourite groups. I wasn't
disappointed. 'The Selector' were no less than
brilliant.
They opened with the instrumental tune The Selector (originally on the B-side of
the Specials first single), you could see the crowd start to bob and move.
Bombscare, Murder, Celebrate the Bullet, On my Radio, Missing Words, The
Whisper, all the classics were there. (They didn't however play my personal
favourite 'James Bond') The sound quality was amazing (top job Esquires).
The Selector rapidly became the best gig I'd seen at Esquires ever. It was
packed full of attitude and I felt like I could dance all night so I went
downstairs. It was empty. Such a disappointing end to such a great night. I got
Pizza went home and fell asleep listening to my Ska collection.
REVIEW TWO BY Martin Stapleton.
Legend is a word bandied around these days but tonight it was fully justified as the legendary Pauline Black returned to Esquires with her band - the two-tone Ska pioneers The Selecter.
In the golden era of 1971-1981 a new sound and style hit the streets - Ska with a punk attitude. THE SELECTER, along with bands like Madness and The Beat, gave the disenchanted youth of that time a voice, simply by producing intelligent pop music with hard hitting lyrics that weren't afraid to tackle topics like unemployment and racial prejudice.
In the past we have often witnessed bands down Esquires who despite their past glories either play a seemingly deliberately obscure set or they simply cannot sing anymore! No such problems tonight as Pauline Black's cutting yet divine vocals are a perfect reproduction of those bygone classics. Close your eyes and you are magically transported back to a bleak winter some 26 years ago!
Their break-through self titled debut 'The Selecter' (which was, of course, on the b-side of 'Gangster' by the Specials) opens this marvellous evening and when the opening bars of the next song are heard, men and women, young and old start to jump and cry, for it was 'Three Minute Hero'. 'Bombscare' (still sadly topical after all these years) and 'Celebrate the Bullet' followed, which gave us time to pause and reflect before 'Missing Words' got the Doc Martens moving around again. Pauline dedicated the next song to the late and lamented Ska 'troubadour' Laurel Aitkins and the richly deserved 'Musical Servant' was sang with a whole lot of feeling.
Skankin reached fever pitch on 'Train 2 Skaville' while the 'Black and Blue' from their first album was greeted with an euphoric cheer. The final two songs of the set sapped any energy that the crowd had left but these ageing boys and girls deserve credit as they danced to the classic 'On My Radio', the song that launched them to Stardom and Top of the Pops! It was the tune that got us all into that eternal timewarp - bald heads bobbing, bodies wobbling and legs jumping. What a glorious sight and a terrific sound and even a miserable old cynic like myself has to admit that sometimes you can't beat the old 'uns.
As the Selecter bowed to the inevitable baying for an encore, they concluded the evening with 'Murder' which left the entire crowd on a seemingly permanent high. I know I speak for everyone present in saying that it was one of the magical Esquires evenings that had that something special to it. Credit to Mr Danny Esquires who organised the gig and it was lovely to see Pauline Black signing autographs and genuinely taking time out to chat to the punters at the end - a gesture that was very well appreciated.
Supporting The Selecter were firstly WEIGHTLOSS, a young seven piece Ska band who were warmly welcomed back after a lengthy absence from Level 2. They include tonight a new trombonist and their set gets everyone in the mood, especially 'Logistical Nightmare' which tells the tale of working in The City.
After the Ska came THE TENDONS whose general take on the Worlds problems is always done in the best possible taste! Guest vocalists tonight feature Jon's daughter Laura who sings on 'Schoolgirl Teaser' and loveable old scally Adam from Henry and the Bleeders who just creates chaos on stage!