Gig Review: Popes Of Chillitown at Esquires, Bedford 13/4/18

It's crazy to think that Emma and I haven't been to a gig since February. This is very much unlike us! Thankfully April has hit and we've got plenty of gigs lined up - the first being a local Bedford one at Esquires. London ska punks the Popes Of Chillitown were in town being supported by fellow Londoners Eat The Evidence and local act Easydread.

First up were Eat The Evidence who we first saw supporting Lightyear at their comeback London show last October. I really enjoyed their energetic set last year and looked forward to more of the same at Esquires. Eat The Evidence are one of the most more unique bands in the UK ska punk scene, combining ska, punk, reggae and two tone to create their own sound. They are, to my mind, the only ska band I've ever seen incorporate an accordion and slide whistle into their musical arsenal. As I've already said, the band put on a energetic set with lead singer Tom Lattimer bouncing around the stage throughout. He must have been knackered when they finished! Whether it's songs about the government, the British empire, falling in love or couscous, Eat The Evidence are very easy to fall in love with. I can't wait to see them again at Level Up Festival in South London in July.

Up next were Easydread. Whenever a ska show is announced in the Bedfordshire and surrounding areas you can bet that Easydread will be named as a support act. I have absolutely no problem with this as this reggae/ska band are one of my favourites of the past year and every time I've seen them they just get better and better. At Esquires this trend of being better each and every time continued as Easydread absolutely smashed it. Having forty-five minutes allowed the seven piece more time than usual so we were treated to a few new songs - that sound absolutely superb and I can't wait to hear recorded versions - as well as the older favourites such as Rebel, Cross Hatch Line, The Wake Of You and Scrotes. The room was pretty full for Easydread and they got such a good reaction with everyone dancing, skanking, singing along and having a wonderful time. The band are all about positive vibes and having a good time and this attitude was definitely adopted by the crowd who got more and more involved as their set progressed. The ska scene in the UK is currently enjoying another renaissance and Easydread have got to be one of the many bands in that scene that you will soon be taking a lot of notice of. They're so good!

Up next it was time for one of the most exciting bands in UK ska punk, the Popes of Chillitown. It's awesome to get a band as good as the Popes to come play a show in Bedford and it was clear immediately that everyone in Esquires was pumped up to see them. Being introduced on stage by a local punk who came dressed as the pope, the band quickly had the crowd whipped into a frenzy in a way that only they can. With the new album, Work Hard, Play Hard, See You In The Graveyard, due I kind of expected that the show would offer a taster of what was to come from that release but in fact they only played two songs from it. Instead we got plenty of bangers from their previous two albums with the highlights being Wisdom Teeth, Impatient, Dalking Man and Otherside. Popes frontman Matt is one of the most watchable people in ska punk, he has this unbelievable charisma and endless energy. He is a big part in what makes the Popes Of Chillitown an unmissable live act. I think this was probably the longest set I've seen them play and by its finale I was absolutely exhausted. I'd not had such a good skank for such a long time and it felt good!

The crowd had an amazing time and it looked as if the band did as well. Then sadly things took a bit of a downturn. The Popes returned to the stage for their encore and, for reason unbeknownst to me, two idiots down the front shook their beers up and managed to get it all over Matt's equipment. Unsurprisingly Matt was not impressed but decided to carry on and not let these two dicks spoil the night for everyone. Then these two morons continued to behave like morons during the first song so the Popes understandably decided to call it a night. Why these two people decided to act this way is beyond me. Like I said, it's not often that we get such cool bands in Bedford, if people are gonna act like idiots chances are said cool bands won't come back! Thankfully the Popes did come back on stage to finish their encore (after the idiots had cleared off) with a great rendition of Badman, saying that they didn't want to finish a fantastic night that way. You've got to give the Popes Of Chillitown a huge amount of love and respect for coming back, realising that two buffoons shouldn't put a dampener on what has been one of the best gigs of the year.

This review was written by Colin Clark. Photos by Emma Prew.