Bedford Alternative Music Presents: The Thursday Showcase.
Sever The Strings, Tombstone Bullets, Alias, Watch The Walls.

Bedford Esquires Lev 1 Thursday 2nd April 2009.

Photos (c)Bedford Alternative Music & Kane Howie 2009.

REVIEW ONE BY Keith.

There back! WATCH THE WALLS enjoyed putting this band on as much as they appreciated playing and thought I would allow them the opportunity to have some more live practice, especially as these Dannys bar gigs are quite tailor made for new bands needing to build up a gradual experience within the not to daunting confines of the friendly and intimate settings of the bar.
They seem to have quite a lot of sung lyrics to their songs which he remembered well not even having to read some of them from the biro etchings written on his arm earlier and with some jaunty melodic guitar sections in between making for some great listenable songs. Slightly out of tune in places I thought and would have been less noticed if their style was more old school punk in a we dont care what we sound like kind of way, but as the vocal approach is more clearly sung just a bit of tightening up with keeping in tune is all I can recommend to perfect what is becoming one of my favourite bands at present. Their Green Day cover went down favourably with the audience further demonstrating their fun band appeal. With a good rhythm section, an energy enthused bassist and a smiley guitar/singer who engages with the crowd making this an endearing performance and great to see them back.

A welcome first visit to ALIAS and even better than I thought they would be with a style all of their own. You feel as if you are in the grip of some consummately good musicians while listening. This band had some very favourable reactions from the audience enjoying their guitar mastered sounds exuding an indie/rock/blues fusion. As a help to introduce themselves to the scene, they bought with them a free 2 track C.D. with tracks from a forthcoming debut E.P. The word classy very much springs to mind with more emphasis on the sheer quality they demonstrate towards the music its self more than the actual energy of visual performance and movement while they are playing.

Strangely not the most memorable of bands TOMBSTONE BULLETS seemed quite static and concentrating more on accuracy than visual energy. It was definitely all in the music though and possibly my favourite of the night with an individual sound of well played high ranking rock. Guitars and vocals sounding just right and complimenting each other well. They also seemed to be enjoying themselves playing live, which is always good to see and with an obviously receptive audience for them who can blame them and are another band who you could say are a rock act with an extra touch of class to their sound.

Time to heavy it up now, SEVER THE STRINGS although not as thrashy as I imagined but still putting on an energy intense performance. The drumming is quite fantastic, fast and agressive to compliment the style. They employ a high quantity of guitar work which is in no way a complaint and seems to leave the singer with nothing to do in places, while the guitar work twists and turns throughout their songs. Their tall guitarist seemed to hide behind the amps and not be a part of it. I think I need to see this band more times to get in to them more, but were a good climactic grand finale of an act to finish with and go out with a bang, having more of a metal sound than plain rock I would imagine a larger stage would be more suited than the bar which you will be able to judge for yourselves if you come and see them and Alias along with In Remission and Fenix Fire next Thursday at the Best Of Monster showcase Lev 2 gig at Esquires.



REVIEW TWO BY Martin Stapleton.

Bedford Alternative Music at Danny's bar saw the last of the trilogy of heats prior to the 'monster' evening on level 2 next week. As a genuine favour for their enthusiasm a fortnight ago, promoter Keith Pickering gave young punks WATCH THE WALLS a return visit. Thankfully, tonight they did not let him down. The performance was altogether more polished . The youngsters Matthew Watts (vocals, guitar), Andrew Stevens (bass) and Dan Clarke (drums) concentrated firmly on their playing ability. A smattering of American punk covers is woven in with a few of their own compositions. The closing "You know" is possibly the most impressive. Apart from a rather disjointed ending, "The gay song", which is a touch slower, is also performed well.

ALIAS are, without doubt, the stand out band of the evening. Comprising Duncan Wilson (guitar), Andy Green (bass), Ed Holdstock (drums) and Tom Kitchiner (vocals, guitar), fans of The Ten Year Prospect (local band of a few years ago) would be interested to see this quartet. This indie rock collective also like to ply us with a smattering of blues guitar work. Their appearance, like their technical ability, stands out and is very smart, suited and booted. They begin strongly with "24 wasted hours". Confidently Tom announces "Good evening and welcome to the Alias show". "Devils in the dark" is the jewel in the crown. Beautiful, as Tom's throaty drawl aligns itself perfectly to the jazzy-blues undercurrents. A contrast is to be found with "Things and vultures". A real burst of stonesy blues-fuelled rock. It's also good to see a young drummer who is not afraid to larrup his equipment, although I am not sure about his 'Cantona-esque' dalliance with his starched shirt collar! For those people who love to study the intricate work of a guitarist, this was the band to watch close up. The sensational ear-splitting outro at the end of the set deservedly earned rich applause.

Almost in the same vein are TOMBSTONE BULLETS, who offer a more spiky psychedelic blues rock sound. From Milton Keynes, they are Alec Plowman (guitar, vocals), Josh Brewin (lead guitar), Rich Taylor (bass, vocals) and Ewan Cairns (drums). Again very confident and assured, they start well with "Grocery store". The two guitarists either side of the vocalist complement each other well. especially Josh who, in the small confines of the bar, shows tremendous flair. He seems cocooned in his own guitar world for most of the time. Alec's vocals also suit each particular song, either powerfully delivered or hauntingly fragile.

In comparison to the previous two bands, SEVER THE STRINGS really struggle to interest me. They look as if they have arrived straight from the G20 demonstration in London! The vocalist wears a ripped pair of jeans that are ripe for discussion. Surprisingly for a metal band, he's constantly smiling! One of the guitarists wears a bandanna and plays a stunningly shaped guitar that really captures the eyes. The set's stand out song is "Annihilation". A winding guitar intro kicks it all off. Energy and perspiration exude from the boys on this one. In fact, at it's end, Sever The Strings looked well and truly spent as they dropped their instruments and took their applause.