TRIBES
with Chinese Missy.

Bedford Esquires Lev 2 Saturday 2nd February 2013.

It may only be February, but tonight we have potentially seen a main contender for Esquires gig of the year. Presented by Juicebox Indie, we saw for ourselves an awesome live show by TRIBES. Bedford forms part of the bands current 'In The Sticks' tour of the country. Judging by the amount of different faces assembled here tonight, it does indeed appear that this is a dedicated collection of the Tribes fan club, many of whom have travelled quite a few miles to be here. The early arrivals head straight towards the front, right by the stage barriers. This is an unusual occurrence at Esquires, but these are obviously true fans.

These are exciting times for Tribes because as well as the tour thay have a sold out NME awards show next week. Formed in 2010 thay are very much a Camden band. With due respect to the three other members of the quartet, the focal point is frontman Johnny Lloyd. He's big mates with Carl Barat and the band also covered The Libertines' "Tell the king" for a NME "Up the bracket" anniversary CD last year.

Johnny, as well as being the main lyricist, has also written a novel entitled "A journey through the heart of a pig". All eyes are fixated on this tall, thin, rakish gentleman with his lush 'Borrellesque' hairstyle. The inevitable stage blackout causes first a hush, then lots of excited chatter. Not long now till the crowd's heroes are on stage. A massive roar erupts as four silhouettes suddenly become more visible. The constant flashing of camera phones is one of my memories of the gig. It just seems to be non-stop. Lots of personal souvenirs are captured.

The appeal of Tribes seems to be very universal, both young and old, male and female. The band start with some familiarity which the crowd naturally love. Firstly, "When My Day Comes" gets everyone in the mood. Instantly arms are waving in the air (this is quite incredible on the first song). More of the same follows as 2011 single "Sappho" and last year's "Corner Of An English Field" are played. Cheers ring out. Johnny Lloyd is softly spoken and does come across as quite shy as he surveys the sold out crowd. He pauses and says a few niceties before adding that tonight "we promise to play some new stuff and old". Johnny also inrtroduces CJ the keyboardist (also from Camden) as "their newest member". Tribes are true to their word as tracks from their 2012 top ten debut album "Baby" feature highly. The band are hugely excited about their forthcoming 'difficult' second album. Due out in May and entitled "Wish To Scream", it's also on the Island label.

What is Tribes music? Well it's nineties guitar music intertwined into raw rock 'n' roll stories. Although poppy and melodic, it's not all happy stuff. In an early NME interview (9/10/10), Tribes stated that they started with the intention of making "something a little bit heavier with better tunes and singalong moments". Judging by the crowd's reactions to the brand new compositions such as the somewhat bluesy "Sons And Daughters" or even "Wrapped up in a carpet" and, of course, the paradise inspired ideal of "Looking for Shangri-La", it seems to be working. In 2013 they still know how to write brilliant pop songs. It's intoxicating and skillful. They eschew distortion for acoustic when the occasion arises. The songs stand up on their own without and bludgeoning physical clout. A case in point is new single "How The Other Half Live". With lyrical nous and an ear for a melody, this one keeps the crowd happy. The hook heavy and summery anthem of "We Were Children" brings to an end forty five minutes in the company of Tribes. A much called for encore is naturally reciprocated. For Tribes, they have earned the right to progress. It's not a short cut to success for these followers of the guitar band revolution. Those who hope that for Tribes, 2013 will be the true breakthrough year for these exponents of twisted rock romanticism.

Winning a competition to support Tribes, this is incredibly only CHINESE MISSY's third gig. This hairy quartet play rock. Their second song sounds much like The Datsuns. An enjoyable band to watch and listen to. It's not big, it's not clever, just good old fashioned rock with a sleazy undercurrent. Although no-one is there to see them (and sadly take little notice), Chinese Missy play on regardless to a very high standard. It's nice to see some good guitar widdling and not just widdling for the sake of it! A band who, on first viewing, cannot be faulted. Special praise to them for playing to a packed room with many seeming to watch with their backs. Chinese Missy, a band for the rock connoisseurs.