Esquires level 2 - Bed-Rock day 2 - Saturday 28th July 2007
Reviewed by Martin Stapleton

Day 2 at Bed-Rock sees me rather confused, as I turn up at Level 2 expecting to see Necrosadistic Goat Torture, but instead it's the rather chirpy Inspiration who once again thrive when they add a little light reggae to their set.

Art-rockers Ten Year Prospect put a few stoner sounds into their excellent set. However, sadly, very few people are here to watch it. This performance does put into context just how much this band have been missed from this Esquires stage these past months.

From a personal point of view, I felt the festival really came alive with the appearance of Little Thief. Cheered on by friends and family who create such an electric atmosphere, this band have had such a good 2007. It was, again, a fired up performance. The songs remain their strength and thankfully they manage to restrain their fans from totally invading the stage. Little Thief's set is all about controlled euphoria.

Two touring bands follow. First The Displacements who hail from Leicester. They have recently signed to Stiff Records and their gigging schedule is quite hectic at the moment. In fact, the band tell us early on that they arrived home very late after their show last night. Although tired they seemed to enjoy their Bedford debut. It's difficult to categorise their overall sound, but vocalist Andy does possess a distinctive adenoidal whine that sometimes is out of kilter with the more softer sound of his three colleagues. Their forthcoming debut single "Frontline hearts", due for release on August 20th is performed with genuine feeling, while bassist Nev cheekily asks if we have strobe lighting for dancey song "Long long night". Although sadly we haven't, The Displacements still manage to make some new friends tonight.

Following on were punk band Lights. Action! who comprise of Patrick Currier (vocals), Pat Kay (guitar, backing vocals), Karl Baneham (guitar, backing vocals), Alex Leeder (bass, backing vocals) and Steven Durham (drums). Frontman Patrick is in fact an American born and bred who has settled in England, hooked up with the other lads and together are making steady progress. They certainly live up to their name as action is what they are all about. The songs "Sweet little lies" and "Us against the world" show an urgency and demonstrate a vitality that immediately grips my attention. Their new single "Story of a broken boy" is impressively showcased by a band that are worth a second look.

So that's my rather limited potted view of Bed-Rock. I have no idea how the event ran at our sister venue The Civic, but one can say that here at Esquires it ran to time, thanks to sound engineers Faz and Mash. The party atmosphere improved as the festival ran its course. The only complaint I can make is why start on a Friday afternoon when some people could not attend, rather than the normal weekend of Saturday and Sunday. Only a slight gripe.