There was something deliciously exciting about Tuesday night at The Hat Factory in Luton. In the basement Gig Room, with its low ceilings, bar and a capacity crowd raring to go as local bands showcased their talent, it was just great to see a young crowd clamouring to see live music by local unsigned bands.
 | | Andy Sizmur: The Occasion |
You got the feeling that this might have been a teensy weensy bit like it was at the Cavern back in the 60s. Now, I’m not suggesting for a minute that The Blue Teeth are the next Beatles, but they’ve already got an adoring following, good songs and even the anthem to at least have a bit of success. You could just imagine people saying in the future, “Yeah I saw them all those years ago at The Hat Factory, before they made it and before they changed their drummer!" (only kidding Gareth!). Powerful But, first things first. The night had been organised by Luton band promotor PDM music, and tonight's line-up consisted of two local bands and first up were The Occasion. They got the evening off to a great start with some strong indie-rock. Lead singer Andy Sizmur leapt around the stage and belted out the numbers with a powerful voice, while Andy Paris' guitar added to the musical class of this band. He was pretty hot!
 | | James Trapp, The Blue Teeth |
I liked the fact that you could actually make out the lyrics and particularly enjoyed what I thought was a rather moving performance of "I Am Not Alone". Then it was onto The Blue Teeth. It’s always a bit worrying when you go along and see a band and realise that you know someone in it, especially when they know that you're there in an official capacity. To maintain my integrity I have to be honest and risk a severe blanking, so it was with much relief that The Blue Teeth, the four piece band in which he plays the drums, turned out to be really good!
 | | Drum and Bass, The Blue Teeth |
And while they may not quite achieve the world domination of the other Fab Four, their tuneful brand of indie-rock would not be out of place in the popular music chart! From “Where Are You Now” to “Avert My Eyes”, their songs are both catchy and melodic, if quite safe, and their final number “I’ll Be Waiting” was positively funky with shades of The Blockheads sneaking in there, I thought! Genial All the songs were introduced by genial lead singer (and teacher by day!) James Trapp and the whole band gave off an aura of being genuinely pleased to be doing the gig while on the musicianship front, the songs were tight and well-executed.
 | | Sam Allen, Bass, The Blue Teeth |
But most importantly in my opinion, “The Teeth” have an anthemic song that leaves the audience baying for more and more impressively, it is already so well known that they were shouting for it before it was even announced! I don’t know what it is about fast food that inspires songwriters. Take Sheffield’s Bromhead’s Jacket for example, who wrote a song about a trek to the legendary chicken roll shop in St Albans to get a late night snack. And just as the Bromheads write about everyday events, The Blue Teeth’s “Johnny No Stars” was inspired by a hapless worker in a well known fast food chain who kept spectacularly messing up James' order.
 | | Gareth Lloyd, Drums, The Blue Teeth |
In the song Johnny eventually gets a star much to the delight of the audience, who cheer the news and sing-a-long to a chant of “Johnny One Star”. With crowd participation and an infectious chanting chorus, this is exactly the sort of song a band needs. And the crowd were even more delighted when, after shouting for an encore at the end, the band announced that as they had no more songs prepared, they would have to sing it again! The place rocked and it was a fitting end to the evening. Musical taste is always subjective, but in my opinion "The Blue Teeth" do seem to have all the right ingredients. An enthusiastic fan base, a memorable anthem and most importantly, some good appealing music with recognisable lyrics. | 
