The Strypes, Redfaces.
Esquires Lev 2 Esquires Friday 8th May 2015.
Tonight was hosted by The Pad Presents and it features those Irish teenagers THE STRYPES. The atmosphere in Esquires is naturally enhanced by the huge turnout. The sold out signs were in place last week as the demand for tickets was ferocious. The age range of the attendees is very wide, pretty much 16-60! Although The Strypes formed when they were at school, the hype surrounding them really went into overdrive a couple of years ago. Early recognition came when they had the honour of performing "She does it right" with Wilko Johnson and John B Sparks (of Dr Feelgood fame) in Canvey Isalnd. Other notable musical luminaries to fall under the Cavan quartet's spell are Jeff Beck, Roger Daltrey, Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher. Even Sir Elton adores them. Many people in attendance tonight cite a BBC4 documentary that the band appeared in as the reason that they snapped up a ticket for tonight.
"Snapshot", the 2013 debut album, received wide critical acclaim despite featuring many covers. The current nationwide tour includes a lot of their own material and will appear on the second album, hopefully released in the summer. After making their initial name as old school 1960's rhythm and blues revivalists, it is their more modern compositions that are a lot harder for me to grasp on this performance. At times it does drift dangerously close to mid-noughties era Arctic Monkeys. The Strypes are all attired in stylish suits and shirts. They are fronted by the charismatic Ross Farrelly. He is wearing his trademark shades indoors. He moves like a young Mick Jagger, but looks like a preened Liam Gallagher clone. Their whole stage presence from start to finish is totally dynamic, especially the early stuff which is fast R 'n' B, raucous and snappy. It immediately gets many of the older limbs twitching and moving.
Ross offers a warm greeting with "Cheers for coming out tonight". He speaks of the aforementioned new release and informs us that "you might not know these songs". "Queen" and "Flat out" slide into this category. The latter is on an EP released to coincide with this tour. With both guitarist Josh McClorey and bassist Peter O' Hanlon savagely ripping the sound from their instruments, the frenetic beat is driven along by drummer Evan Walsh. "I don't wanna know" is taken from last year's EPand comes complete with a handclapping and harmonica interlude of bruising hostility. Prior to this Ross screams out "I see what the people don't see". The lucky ticket holders in attendance all seem to agree with his shout of "I'm the man". "Scumbag city blues" is a tasty morsel to savour. It is quite heavy and sung with a real passionate Irish lilt. After an hour of The Strypes at their sharpest, they arrive at the last song. The natural groans of disappointment are tapered when Ross enthuses that "you've been a wonderful audience". The lads then launch full on into "Still gonna drive you home". Much "whoa whoa" and clapping ensues before loud applause erupts all around the room. Ah! Methinks it must be encore time. Indeed, The Strypes reappear on stage and Mr Farrelly asks "Do you want one more tune Bedford?". The result is a two song medley of MC5's "Kick out the jams" and Bo Diddley's "You can't judge a book by the cover". With happy and satisfied customers all round, The Strypes have been the perfect crowd pleasers. Their next move could be a whole lot trickier though.
Support this evening comes from REDFACES, a four piece hailing from Sheffield. With their smart jackets and shirts and tidy hairstyles these fellas could best be described as a throwback to the early 60's beat-combos. Nice and professional, but all a tad dull for my liking. No songs really stand out, a bit widdly, a bit jangly. The last song, of which I failed to catch the title, was my highlight. It had quite a retro Seeds garage rock sound coursing throughout. Tonight was their last tour date with The Strypes who they thanked enormously. I sense that Redfaces have enjoyed the experience.
Review by Martin Stapleton. www.bedfordalternativemusic.co.uk