Miocene supported by The Kennedy Soundtrack and Subside
Saturday 23 February 2002, Bedford Esquires.

The night opened with Subside a new local nu-metal band, fronted by the ex-frontman of Kitsch. There is a huge difference between Kitsch and this new band - the two ex-Kitsch members even totally changed the way they dress. To be honest, I preferred the old band better - they had some well-written rock/metal songs, without necessarily descending into cliches. However, Subside do just that. Primitive, unoriginal nu-metal riffs, combined with an "angst-ridden" stage presence left me cold. Occasionally there were some interesting changes, but on the whole this band needs to work on originality and polish the songs that they already have.

Watching the Kennedy Soundtrack was strange for me. On one hand they combined my two most hated genres after pop-music - hip-hop and indie, on the other hand they did extremely well and put in a totally professional performance. A very chilled out, laid back kinda band, with good stage presence and relatively original music. I didn't like them personally, but if you are a fan of commercial hip-hop rock, they should ne right up your street.

Miocene have played loads of gigs in Bedford, and quite a few people were eagerly awaiting their return. The problem is, they don't seem to have improved at all, and the performance was quite workmanlike, without the passion they used to have. Their music is actually quite boring on record, while their guitars have a very muffled sound, without the sharp edge that I like in Metal. The band has been on the UK metal scene for some time now, but have not managed to gather a particularly large following, or press. They are a band running out of ideas with too many mediocre songs. I hoped they had improved, but they obviously haven't.

Overall this was not a particularly good night. There weren't taht many people, and the bands were too cliched for my liking. Just an average night, with a relatively low turnout.

Peter Burov