Sid Worth Memorial Tribute Fund Gig featuring The Good Old Boys, Jets2June, Thunderbird’s Uncle, Love Muscle, Nick Theodore - 30th September 2006
Reviewed by Keith (Bedford Metal)
With Garry’s amazing DJ set between the bands adding further quality to the extravaganza of musical talent those who attended were in for a good night, which kicked off with an acoustic set from local singer/songwriter Nick Theodore. With witty lyrics grabbing the attention of the audience (at least those close enough to the stage to hear them), this talented young player sang about pro-activists, self-gratification, Yoda being a Racist and a humorous one about fat women. Being the opening act and at first slightly more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, he soon got in to his stride and left us wanting more…, which we would indeed later get.
The punchy named Love Muscle started with a far eastern vibe to their sound, which kind of complimented the tracks the DJ was playing before they were on. Perhaps there was too much banter and their drummer seemingly wanted all the limelight, but he was totally competent at multi-tasking, singing and drumming together with ease. In fact the vocal quality was like a musical instrument in itself, perfectly matching the band's sound. The rest of the band (who with their long hair and beards looked suspiciously like they were all auditioning for the part of Jesus) provided the bass and twin guitar attack. This was one of their first gigs and despite not being together long they sounded like a highly polished outfit, with one of their guitarists seemingly wanting to let rip with a mighty guitar riffs at every opportunity. All very good as individual musicians but together – an explosive force! I’m sure we will be seeing more of these in the future.
For this special occasion only, two bands fused not only their members but also their names to form Thunderbird's Uncle. Starting with a Marvin Gaye cover and mixing slower tracks with blasts of rock'n'roll they had a consummate front man with more presence than Santa, combining impressive all round vocals with lively banter. Good string work from their pyjama shirted guitarist made for a great party sound from this unique line-up.
Demonstrating what a fantastic scene Bedford has for live music, regulars to the local jam sessions around the area Jets2June jumped around on stage with an eclectic sound. Sometimes slow, sometimes with a punk like edge but always melodic and delivered with great stagecraft - plenty of movement, back to back guitars, playing on knees and other classic poses. They have a well trained and practiced singer, adding to the luminaries of musicians who have both known and performed with Sid himself. With one of their songs (‘Simple Man’) being dedicated to the man who did so much for live music in this area it was good to hear call outs and mention as to the reason why this gig was being held.
More solo acoustic offerings from Nick Theodore added value to the evening before it was time for the headliners.
If music is the drug of life then these guys must eat plenty to perform (literally). (??? - Ed.) The Good Old Boys play an age old, well practiced mix of 50’s rock'n'roll style blues featuring galloping guitars and slow numbers which tap into the emotions. Featuring a founder member of Deep Purple (an introduction which certainly caught the attention of the onlookers at the back) and despite their guitarist looking somewhat like Jimmy Saville, they created a sound which had all the people up front tapping their feet. Again, it was a great party atmosphere making this a memorable tribute gig that went on long past the usual chuck out time!