Caffeine supported by Groindog and InvolunTerry Wogan
Saturday 31st March 2001, Bedford Esquires.

The front of the club was swarming with people before the doors opened, not an unusual sight, but one I'd not seen in a long time. As the room filled with people, the first band, InvolunTerry Wogan took to the stage. Instantly, you could tell it was going to be an entertaining night, as collectively, the band threw themselves, head-first into a bouncing ska riff, accompanied by a burst of bright brass. Without even saying a word, they had already managed to establish themselves for what looked set to be a great foot-tapping bonanza. Already, you can hear the beginnings of a cult following, as various members of the audience shout out requests for their favourite songs, and from the start of the set, the crowd has filled the dance-floor, happily pogo-ing along to the beat, as you can't help but move to the catchy tunes. The usual onstage antics take place, problems with equipment, random covers of famous songs slotted into the set, to keep the audience motivated. As the set winds down with the absolutely silly 'Rupert the Bear', the lead mic appears to have taken the hint, slowly failing towards the end of the last song, and it is a while until the next group, GroinDog, Bedford Battle of the Bands finalists, can take to the stage.

GroinDog have long been selling their own particular style of punk to the Bedford public, and are now seasoned veterans of the Thirst Club, and you can guarantee that at least half of the eagerly awaiting punters have parted cash to see this band alone. A single mass of jumping fans soon gather at the front of the stage, as the band goes straight into a full set of their own classic sound, and there's the same kind of feel to it as their partner supporting act, as you can't help but nod your head, tap your foot, or just simply go all out crazy. A true stonker of a set, including a lot of new material, which seems to be just as good as their older stuff, the only down-side being the lack of an encore, but then, you can't have everything.

Finally, the headliners take to the stage, a three-piece group, reminiscent of such bands as Blink 182 and Green Day, but instead of the modern mainstream pop-punk, Caffeine content themselves by bouncing into a flawless ska set, which, as per their support, keeps the audience on their toes with a good percentage of the crowd bouncing like lunatics, or simply skanking to beat. The whole set followed in roughly the same vein, with little variation from the theme, ska and soft punk. The band's set ends almost exactly as it began, sadly, the monotony of it's sound, and the lack of between-song entertainment, meaning that it was met by an audience on the edge of boredom. Overall, a truly great combination of bands, but it goes to show that there is only so much ska that one person can take at a time.

Pete Burov