The Sid Worth Tribute Gig.
The Lizard Alldayer 30.Nov.2003.
Review by Jason Kinns and Keith Pickering.
This day was the second of its kind set up primarily for the Sid Worth Memorial Trust Fund
which you can learn all about by visiting www.lizardmusicvenue.co.uk
There was a big task of organisation ahead staging 10 bands over a 12 hour sleepy Sunday
in Bedford.
The venue itself opened its doors at midday, a few of the early musicians were running through a
sound check and the finishing touches were tweaked on the sound desk.
During this introduction to the day the early birds were treated to an un-scheduled version of
postman pat by one of the great Sid Worth committee members, a wonderful way to start the day in my opinion. Cheers for that.:)
First up was
EL BARBS
With an acoustic guitar on his lap and his trademark bandana Neil Barber treated the hung over crowd through some beautiful sounding guitar work and husky Mexican like vocal that he has adopted so well recently.
He played a couple of covers 'nights in white satin' by The Moody Blues and a track from the soundtrack of the fitting 'Desperado' which went down well I think with everyone alike.
Neil barber is a very talented young man and it was a pleasure to have him open such an event.
Second on the bill were
REVELATION
Thrashy, trashy, young, dumb and full of…well astonishment to be honest.
For what must have been 3pm these young gun's got up plugged in and treated The Lizard to some fine ass metal core styley.
Wayward bass rifts that threw themselves around the room, deep deep vocals, thunder drumming and a mess of guitars! Just perfect for that hangover. Thankyou Revelation
This is where I came in and was one of the main bands that I came in to see, on the strength of their amazing C.D. they come from Sandy and bring a crowd from their home town with them, which makes them quite a bookable band. It was one of their first gigs and they played a blinder, each of them are competent musicians, with their drummer providing a tight, fast paced thundering of drums. The bass player adding a few little flourishes to his playing, which made it look as if he was miming (but defiantly wasn’t) and the singer/guitarist with great heavy and growling vocals along with some skilled atmospheric heavy but melodic guitar work, making for one of the best local bands on the scene that I have seen this year.
Third to grace us with there presence were CUT IN QUARTERS A first gig for these guys I do believe, a local bunch bringing some metal/punky orientated sounds to the early afternoon. I did recognise an incubus cover whilst floating about which sounding pretty cool but fair play for the original material all the same. A professional approach and potential to go with it, if they worked on there sound they could be doing some interesting things. They did not blow me away but a first gig that they can be proud of (Well done lads)
The only band I have never heard of before, they didn’t blow me away either, they played professionally enough but I just didn’t think they were trying to do anything new – you cant invent the bycical twice. Perhaps a bit bland, perhaps they need a bit more getting used to, they were by no means bad and played with loads of vigor + energy.
Fourth on were
BORDERLINE
It’s always great to have these pop punksters on any stage.
Bedfordshire's locals bring there tight set to The Lizard.
The lead singer has a great stage presence and the whole band showed a great passion and enthusiasm for there music.
Parents nodding and grooving to the siblings in full glory and the crowd showing a good appreciation to a youngish but well established local talent. See you soon chaps.
If I didn’t like this band I would say Borderline came and went like a sore throat, so instead I’m going to say “they came and went like a summer cloud”. Visitors to this site know that the band are Bedford Metal faves.
Someone asked me what sort of music do this band do and turned their nose up when I replied ‘emo punk’. After a while the convert came up and admitted they were really good and even pointed out some of the covers they were doing. It was the first time I had seen this band with the new guitarist who fitted in with the sound well. It was good that this band said a few respectful words to Sid who actually helped this band in the beginning. – If Mr. Worth was looking down he would know that it was well worth it and not wasted as this band are still going strong, and have a new guitarist as well.
Next up were ALL ELSE FAILS 2 members from the group 'burning monkey truck' who had sat upstairs all morning running through the set list to come down and sooth the atmosphere with a cool duet of acoustics. A determined and emo driven 45 minutes from the out of towners was not as billed but went down reasonable to the onlookers. Maybe they would have fitted better being on after El barbs being acoustic and all? Nevermind a worthy effort thanks guys. A buffet was laid on in the afternoon interval which consisted of a cracking chilli and some French sticks to munch our way through...the kids were like lambs to a slaughter and the huge pot was soon to be near finished.Yummy yummy chilli dogs. A raffle was also held which consisted of varied prizes donated from local music shops etc around the surrounding areas which was very decent indeed. Big shout out to all involved you know who you are and your generosity was much appreciated.
I thought the ‘Not Burning Monkey Truck’ band (All Else Fails) were so professional to try an acoustic set instead of pulling out because of band problems, - respect to that. I would have preferred to see their full band but at least they made some effort and although not my personal best part of the day, they still demonstrated some talent and it should be mentioned that they got up early to practice the emergency set so the show could go on.
Woop woop its the sound of the
SPHERE
As local as they come (they practically live in the lizard) gracing the early evening slot where the place had started to fill up a bit better Sphere did just what they are good at doing, Entertaining!
Some classic Sphere songs entwined with the classic Soundgarden number 'spoon man' and some great songs throughout. A very talented trio showcasing a new tattooed drummer who was a tight as a ducks jacksie blasting through 45 minutes of straight up rocking tunes. In the words of Cameron of ex big brother fame, thank you
wasn’t Sphere here first and they built the Lizard around them? I think Jase says it all. It was so good to hear ‘Spoonman’ and with bands like this it makes you proud of the Bedford scene. Even their old (young) drummer came down to check out the new replacement who played well and fitted in nicely. Lucky 7 fell to
THE ZIPPER
Veterans of the local scene this 3 piece showcased an explosion of experimental rock.
Sounding along the lines of the once great 'at the drive in' Carl, Grant and Mark treated us to some infectious chorus with a fusion of noise. They have a great style, a great sound and are creating a buzz of excitement on the scene, they go down well with the crowd and have some top songs under their crunchy, grungy, heavy loaded belts. Hitting it up next were
DUMMY RUN
The 3 piece punk rockers from Flitwick set out to play the pretty much half cut crowd a selection of songs off of what is there new album release 'strength in numbers' also available from www.saguaro-records.co.uk
A few of the bands work mates had turned up who for them punk rock was a novelty so fun was had all round and all in great spirit.
Dummy Run bombarded there way through the set showing us all what a great talent they have moulded into. My highlight band of the day as it's almost impossible not to want to sing along to some fantastic straight up punk anthems. /font> Fast, energetic and how I like my punk/ska to sound. They don’t seem to produce anything outstanding but the speedy paced melodic tempo is still great to hear when played live with some of their songs making for a more memorable enjoyment to the catchier parts. Hailing now from our nations capital were
BLACK TIGER FIGHT
A local bunch originally but university and work commitments have driven them to the dirty streets of London.
Ex members of the 'Jehu explosion' this outfit were totally up for blowing the rest of the bands off the tiny lizard stage.
A bloody good attempt as well, Carl from Zipper was heard muttering the words 'blown off stage' but seriously this band are amazing.
I don’t know where it comes from but they seemed to have a slight edge of originality above the rest of today’s groups and it was a very welcome one indeed. Experimental, intelligent, rocking err rock, yeehaa. Another highlight of the night, they were absolutely amazing, it was a proper live spectacle, it was visual and failed to be boring in any way. Their guitarist moved around like an eccentric gothic Angus Young from AC/DC with their singer – el Tom from much missed Jehu belting out some quality vocals and confident interaction with the crowd. I thought they came over much more practiced than last time at Esq. It was a fantastic performance.
Last drawn from the hat and honoured with the headline slot were
NEW ROAD
Local upstarts and previous battle of the bands winners it seemed fitting to have the poppy punky quartet up on the stage to close the day.
The New road classic's were thrashed out including the number ripped for the Local Collision C.D. 'school disco' A more than great end to a long old day was put to us by the Flitonian's with the closing number being a cover of 'radio' by the great Rancid. The dummy run guys were all up on stage to support and play with the new road guys through the blistering close. Fantastic.
"When I’ve got the music I’ve got a place to go" It’s been a good year for New Road, they have had some of the best gig lineup’s and status, - headlining the alldayer, Feedback Sessions… and erm… backing Wheatus. They have kept up the momentum throughout. I have seen this band loads of times and they are consistently good. It had been a long day and I was thinking of sneaking out until I saw their guest stage interloper who admitted to be up soon with the didgeridoo instead of just singing, so I decided to stay to the end. Their friends in Dummy Run made a fun, welcome addition to the on-stage debauchery which ended a memorable night. R.I.P Sid, a great asset to the scene and a fantastic man by all accounts...although I personally never spoke with you I know how much you did for this town and it's scene. All I can say is thank you.
A wicked day was had by all I hope, I don’t know the exact figures earned for the S.W.M.T.F but as a representative for The Lizard I would personally like to thank you all bands as well as the people that showed there faces throughout the 12 hours.
Lets keep the music scene alive and re-kindle that flame. The best part for me were Blacktigerfight, Revelation and the Sid Worth tribute ale – Rest In Peace Sid.
'Disco' the recent single available at www.saguaro-records.co.uk was my personal highlight but the whole set was a more than entertaining 3/4s of an hour bringing such song titles as 'everybody wants to be famous in Bedford' with that infamous zipper stamp the crowd seemed happy and Carl’s dad (the driver) was hammered. >