Circle Master, Kissing Slinky, All Your Rage, The Final Prototype.

Esquires Bedford Lev 2. 1st December 2006.

If there was ever any thought that the future generation of alternative music performers in Bedfordshire was floundering, this was well and truly dispelled tonight by the young music students of Sharnbrook Upper School. An idea that was first mooted last year finally came to fruition tonight, and a boisterous young crowd plus a few mums and dads added to a buzzing atmosphere.

First to the mic were THE FINAL PROTOTYPE, who consist of Jack Poulden (vocals), Alex Stenton-Hibbert (guitar), Ben Pike (guitar), Alex Kent (drums), Matt Dean (bass), they greet us by proclaiming that 'this is the Sharnbrook Mini Festival'.
Their focal point is frontman Jack, who as well as being very tall has a distinctive mop of fair hair. In keeping with the other bands tonight, they perform a mixture of their own compositions as well as a liberal sprinkling of covers. It's fair to say that 'Legacy' seems to be a crowd favourite.

ALL YOUR RAGE follow, and are the class act of the evening, everything just flows for them as they perform six of their own songs, as well as a T.B.S cover. They impress me with their raw passion and power as well as their immensely strong songs. Highest Rain opens strongly, but this is more than matched by their following efforts. All credit to Elliot, Piers, James, Tom and Dave who certainly did play with plenty of rage.

The male dominance this evening is finally broken with two young ladies who make up the four piece 'KISSING SLINKY' - what a great name! The full line up is Taf Steen (vocals), Roz Hills (bass), George McKenzie (guitar) and Sam Cryer (drums).
Local female vocalists are always a welcome variation as we witness so few and Taf has quite a lot of depth and character to her range. She is backed by the rest of the band who show a lot of adventure in their set of predominantly covers. They open with a haunting introduction prior to 'Big Cohones' and also perform a good version of the Hendrix classic 'Fire'. With atmospheric backing by their friends, who for the occasion unfurl a huge 'Slinky' banner, it's a pleasurable experience.

Finishing the evening off are CIRCLEMASTER, who I also saw last night in the bar for our Showcase Thursday. Tonight they are riddled by technical problems but they battle on gamely. Heavily influenced by Kyuss, they perform a couple of their songs as well as finishing off with two of their own, 'The Shaman' and 'Mountain Slide'.

So there you have it, a brave concept that was pulled off superbly and produced a hugely entertaining night. All credit to the band members and the organisers, especially Phil and Junior.