THE TENNYSONS with Overload and Hazard.
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Bedford Esquires Lev 2. Saturday 29th June 2013.

A 'punk' night on the main stage that is saved and boosted by a coach load of Leicester people. They have travelled in good numbers to support one of their own, namely THE TENNYSONS . Leicester is fortunate to have such a healthy music scene at present and, of course with the mighty Kasabian, a 'brand leader'. Indeed, I can still remember the night ten years ago when Serge and the lads played a very early gig down here in Bedford and somehow sensing that they were on to something big. Whether the same fame and fortune will pour over this trio is very much for the future.

What The Tennysons do have in abundance is plenty of attitude. Meeting these fellas at the start of the gig, they also show a lot of honesty. At their merchandise stall they advise me a couple of times not to buy their old, self-titled EP. "Wait for the new one" is their open opinion. I have never come across a young band telling me this and I was so impressed I still bought a copy. Well it contributes to the petrol fund. The Leicester contingent give out a mighty cheer as Ryan Dunn (vocals, guitar), Max Stafford (bass) and Ben Wooley (drums) walk onto stage with a knowing swagger. For them this away gig is almost like a home match as I'm sure that they know the names of 95% of the assembled.
They open with "I wanna live this way forever". They deal in scruffy indie with a nasty temper. They display some decidedly conventional sonics and are supported fantastically throughout by the obstreperous and extremely well oiled blokes who certainly helped the bar takings this evening. Indeed, "Means of escape" is dedicated "to Daz for organising the bus". In fact, the dedications come thick and fast as "She goes on" is "for the sound lady", although I think that our Emily is a little nonplussed by this cheeky, laddy remark. After a couple of failed starts The Tennysons are now fully into their stride as they kick start another Brit rock vignette for our delectation. They lyrically inform us "we're happening". With "Young blood" just having been recorded, "George Smith" is one of the band's older songs. "Sometimes" resonates with much spiky power pop gravitas. The Tennysons' wrigglesome lyrics continually straddled that fine dividing line between when to be clever and when to not give a blazing ****! "Oh yeah oh yeah". "Where d'ya get ya money from" has an anthemic vein coursing directly through it. "Surveillance", as Ryan succinctly informs us, is about "nosey f**kers"!. Mind you, with such a sparse local turnout, he follows this by enquiring "can you get five f**kers from Bedford?". Looking around the room, I would struggle to say yes. Patriotic to the core, they depart with a cover of Cocksparrer's "England belongs to me". It's been a good introduction to The Tennysons.

Starting us off are HAZARD . Their followers are either sick and tired of travelling to Bedford (they played Distortion festival last week) or have found a nice beer garden in Luton (where they played the night before! ed). Either way it's embarassing to see such a lively band play to virtually no-one. Punk rules with this trio and a fast start is guaranteed with "Waster". Also in the same mode, and probably my pick of the set, is "Redeploy". Thankfully this arrives after their reggae style bass of "Take control". Although Hazard do warn us in advance that, apparently it's "a calm one", this band are better when they are exploding with proactive force. The slower stuff veers slightly towards the cringeworthy. "Machine" sees a nice co-ordinated jump up at the close.

OVERLOAD are from Cambridge and I always eagerly await their shows here. Their tall frontman is in superb form. He moves this street punk band in a variety of directions. It is a set that is both needle sharp and inspirational. The stand out song against many is "Bent copper". An old song, but still very topical, especially with all the undercover police dirty dealings that have been in the news recently. The lyrics carry such a strong message. An intense feeling of rage sparks fiercely from this quartet. There is a feeling of anger and injustice and those in attendance can feel every bit of it. An excellent set and they certainly earned their "Street dollar".