Bowfinger at The Garage, Highbury Corner, London - 9th July 2004 - review by Karen Herbert Sorted For Tunes and Gigs Fanzine

Tonight saw "Luton's finest" leave the familiar confines of sunny Bedfordshire and head down the M1 to the big smoke, for an appearance at the Highbury Garage. Kicking off with the usual set opener of "38" (is this your lucky number?), the band proceeded to play a set full of tracks from their recently released debut album "Happy With What You Got". Throughout the gig I noticed that Eddie has a slight Elvis Costelloism in his vocals. The boys looked like they were having a great time onstage and they gave their all to each song they played. We were treated to a new song, which seemed to feature a lot more keyboards than their other songs. Towards the end of the gig they were cries for "Gay Bar", to which the response was "this is London. We don't play that in London". The set ended instead with the usual set closer "Idiot Twin". All in all, another great gig from the lads from Luton.

Bowfinger at Berties Bar, Wolverton, Milton Keynes - 5 June 2004 - review by Lindz

We said we would do it one day.......... We plucked Bowfinger from their Luton comfort zone and threw them straight into the scummiest pub in Milton Keynes, but all was not lost as the lads pulled out all the stops and after a slow start were wowing the usually apathetic Milton Keynes crowd with explosive versions of "Happy With What You Got" and Lindz's personal favourite "Is That All?" - (dedicated to yours truly for the second time in a month ensuring a Ready Brek glow of pride!). Berties Bar was filling out towards the end of the set during "Action Girl" leaving ever-effervescent Ed stalking the front of the stage like a power punk praying mantis.After a little coaxing from the MK girls Dave took to the front of the stage to perform his very own version of "Gay Bar" which is getting camper by the minute - true to form the lads created yet another explosive atmosphere in yet another dodgy pub! The Milton Keynes crowd were left well and truly 'Fingered. Nice one.

Bowfinger at The Well, Luton, 21 May 2004 - review by Karen Herbert Sorted For Tunes and Gigs Fanzine

Tonight saw Bowfinger at The Well, yet again. This time though it was an important night for them as this was the launch for their debut album "Happy With What You Got". By the time the lads hit the stage, the pub was packed and it was great to see such a good turnout for them. Kicking off with "38" the band played some tracks off the album, as well as some old favourites which aren�t. Each track was met with a lot of enthusiasm from the crowd and the band seemed to be enjoying every minute of their performance. The set flew by and next thing we know it�s time for the last track, "My Idiot Twin" (why isn�t this on the album??). The band left the stage to cries of "more" and "Gay Bar". Straight away the band returned to the stage and bassist Dave took the mic to deliver vocals on Bowfinger�s cover of the classic "Gay Bar". The original by Electric Six really got on my nerves, but Bowfinger have taken this song and really made it their own. The reason for this? Dave � he just adds his personality to the song. As Lindz summed up: "He�s just so........Dave!" Throughout the evening Lindz was manning the merchandise stall and was happy to report great sales for the album. Next time Bowfinger are playing, go and see them and while you�re at it, buy their album "Happy With What You Got", as you most certainly will be!

Bowfinger at The Underworld, Camden, London, 12 May 2004 - review by Lindz

Bowfinger were dealt the short straw tonight as the opening band for "Four Day Hombre" and at their allocated stage time of 7.45pm the Underworld was slightly less than a quarter full. Despite this initial setback the lads flung themselves into their first London gig for sometime with the ardent fervour we have now come to expect. Giving new track "New Shoes" it's first metropolitan airing the lads had begun to win over the audience and even dragged a few stragglers from the bar with dazzling versions of "Easy" and "Action Girl" (the faster the better in the latter case!) - finishing off with an audience that had easily doubled in size since they came onstage Bowfinger left the crowd mightily impressed with a frenetic version of "Idiot Twin" and the Underworld buzzing.

Bowfinger at The Cork and Bull, Luton, 28 May 2002 - review by Lindz

After getting treated to a slap-up McDonalds by my hubby Kev (he knows how to treat a lady!!) we made our way up Park Street to Luton's Cork and Bull pub, and squeezed ourselves into the crowd which seemed to be made up largely of University students.Bowfinger were supporting their mates Surefire once again and took to the stage at around 9pm, after Iain entrusted yours truly with the Bowfinger digital camera (whether or not this was a good idea remains to be seen, but needless to say Kev did try to soften the blow with alcohol purchases for Iain and Dave!!).Fighting their way through an over active smoke machine, and kicking off with "Probably Wrong" the boys launched their usual assault on our eardrums, with Ed throwing his now trademark "rockstar" poses and Iain attacking the vocals like a scud missile, whilst Dave took his Godfather-like stance in the ubiquitous black suit while Barry did the honours thrashing the hell out of his drumkit like a demented fraggle!!! Never in any band before have I encountered such a hardworking zealous drummer!!By the penultimate track "Action Girl", the Bowfinger boys certainly had the student audience eating out of their hands and finishing up with their usual punked-up, no holds barred, don't stop to draw breath version of "You Scare Me" the Cork and Bull was left well and truly ROCKED!!

Bowfinger at The Ruskin Arms, Manor Park, London, 29 March 2002 - Review by Ruth Moog

Bowfinger; This was a band I'd heard a lot about,from the days when they supported Dum Dums, but I'd never actually heard them before.Nevertheless, I couldn't wait to finally get to hear them!So when I heard they were to play at the Ruskin Arms just down the road from me, I made it my mission to finally see them play and learn what all the fuss was about. I nabbed a couple of friends, and we made our way to the venue, trying to work out what door to use, and ended up standing around a lot in anticipation waiting for something to happen, starring at spoons playing with toy monkeys - as you do.It finally got round to music time, much to our joy, as we stood near the back listening to this band.Their set started off with great songs, and that stayed consistent throughout their performance, so we ventured further forward getting a nice view of the stage.There wasn't much action going on in the form of dancing and high spirited antics from the crowd, but you could see everyone was having a groovy time, and enjoying their tunes and jolly presence.The style the guys had was really cool, and they looked like they were having fun despite some dodgy goings on with the amps and the lights.and there were definitely bizarre things going on with the insane lighting as it seemed to ust be flashing on and off, nearly blinding the lovely Bowfinger!Towards the end of the set, I was totally on the side of the guys, and their final couple of songs I thought were totally brilliant, all the parts perfectly entwined together with some classic harmonies, sounding very pro and well rehearsed, but at the same time they had an edginess that made them all the more lovable.The gig was enormously enjoyed on my part, and I really did love their set, it was rather a shame to see them finish as the stage got ready for the presence of Too Far Gone. I wanted MORE!Unfortunately, I didn't buy their CDs after the gig, much to my dismay, but I can tell you I want them heaps!And speaking to a couple of the guys before we left (perhaps confusing them somewhat with spoons) made for a entertaining and contenting end to a superb evening.They are one band I sure want to see again.

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