Number One Son supported by The Kennedy Soundtrack and Diem
Saturday 4th May 2002, Bedford Esquires.

It was the 4th time I’d seen the opening band DIEM play and once again they brought a good group of passionate local supporters. I felt that it wasn’t maybe the bands best ever technical performance, nor did they get the best crowd response they’ve ever had. However they showed signs of a band growing in confidence, shown by their individual antics plus the fact that they were unafraid to experiment, such as the unexpected intro and the inclusion in the set of a little known Smashing Pumpkins song, Soma. Also a fresh shuffle and a few new songs meant that DIEM continues to offer something different every performance.

I must admit that when Kennedy Soundtrack’s first song kicked in I began to cringe. I’ve never been a fan of the hip-hop/indie style of music. So it is a great credit to the band that even I enjoyed their set. Their strong beats and catchy choruses and riffs both got the crowd going well and provided good listening. Also their lead singer avoided the usual pit-falls of a stereotypical hip-hop verse, of rapping mindless bollocks down the mike, and instead used well thought out, strong lyrics throughout. He was backed up by 2 superb backing vocalists. Although it may not be what I’d listen to at home they are very good at what they do.

There has been much hype this year over headliners Number One Son, saying that they could be Britain’s answer to Papa Roach and Linkin Park along with Lost Prophets, and they showed why on the night. They certainly do have that sort of feel about their music. However I fear that really it is nothing fresh, interesting, or original about their songs and that you could close your eyes and believe you were listening to Lost Prophets. However there is no denying that they have the makings of something big shown by the great response they generated from the crowd, they showed obvious confidence and self-belief in the band, and this all contributed to a technically infallible performance.

Chris Murphy