PEARL HANDLED REVOLVER, Fireroad, THR3E.

Bedford Esquires Lev 2. Saturday 17th August 2013.

As wiry frontman Lee Vernon remarked early on during this stupendous evening, "Things are happening". I am of course referring to PEARL HANDLED REVOLVER . Bedfordshire's retro rockers returned to the main stage on the back of what has been a very exciting year. Many prestigious gigs have been performed, culminating in a memorable Cambridge Rock Festival appearance. The highlight of 2013 was back in April when PHR released their second album "This mountain waits". Tonight we get to hear virtually the whole album live in all it's glory.

A good sized crowd have gathered in healthy anticipation, needless to say they are to be royally rewarded. "This mountain waits" has received much deserved praise from such publications as Rock And Reel and Classic Rock magazines. Indeed the latter were so taken by our local heroes efforts that they included the album track "Rattle your bones" on one of their 'Hottest new bands in Britain' compilation CDs a few months back. It was a perfect choice as this composition is a hedonistic pleasure, courtesy of the uplifting organ(ic) swirling grooves deftly created by Simon. Live this is so prevalent that it leaves not just me, but everyone present in a heady utopian mind state. "Do it again" is the first track on the album and arrives early in the set, although Lee freely admits that this should have been "left till last"!
The main stage is warm, loose fitting clothes are de rigueur and a member of the crowd eggs on the frontman to remove his shirt. He politely declines with the cryptic answer "Who is the last turkey in the shop?". "Johnnys in the basement" (a composition that has more similarity with Dylan the hippie rabbit in The Magic Roundabout than Mr Zimmerman) is a spiritual nod to the early seventies. Why you can almost feel your jeans flaring out to epic proprtions! These inspired, beard loving musicians offer intelligent and passion raddled refrains. "Honeycomb" soothes the soul, quieter, calmer and slower, but that's an asset. It is a chance for all the movers and groovers (oh yes many are dancing) to get their collective breath back. Lee Vernon's ragged, scorched and life-worn vocals come to the fore on "Blind". Wilko Johnson has apparently given the thumbs up to PHR, but this fella reminds me lookswise of Brilleaux, although he sings like Morrison!

For a band high on stage visuals and presentation, tonight has got to be one of the band's most raw, bare and stripped down shows since they first payed here back in 2008. It's so back to basics it's refreshing and concentrates solely on the music. "Josey" is dreamy, while "Rabbit hole" explodes instantly. This melodic set dips its toes seductively into some narcotic psychedelic rock. PHR concentrate so much on clever wordplay and allied to their trademark grizzled basslines, the mood and feeling in the room constantly rotates. This five piece, bless 'em, have hijacked our arteries and re-routed those blood cells straight to their blues rock heart. They blow our minds on "Hello Mary". Kaleidoscopic guitar tones evolve to captivating effect. It is a long show as they mix and match their set. Chunks of "Colossus" are featured with a notable "Woman made a man out of me". Their encore features an awesome "25 below" and a rip-roaring version of "White lines", a real personal favourite of mine. Judging by the crowd reaction at the close, everybody has loved every minute of this show. Truly things are happening!!

At Pearl Handled Revolver's special personal request, the main support slot is taken by FIREROAD . They are fronted by Richard Jones, a long term friend and one time band colleague of Kelly 'Stereophonics' Jones. Hailing from South Wales, it's never a dull moment as they launch straight off with the title track of their 2012 album "I got sound". They seem to really mean business as they throatily roar out "It's taking over". There is to be no let up in this full on overdrive of power as "Find a way" comes firing at us. A barrage of glorious distorted guitar work opens up "Minute". Comparisons have been made with the work of The Gaslight Anthem. Fireroad also possess a healthy, hard rocking retro heart when called upon to produce it. Richard is a jovial and amusing frontman. This is their first time in Bedford. Prior to "Before the matinee", which is gritty and gorgeous, he tells of festival adventures with FM and describes "Your summer sun" as a song that "BBC Radio Wales are all over". He speaks with warmth and the crowd respond in a positive way. "Devils letter" is a brand spanking new one, while "Bones" (to my old ears) has a slight Undertones tinge to the start. If you like your rock fairly fast and a touch anthemic but, above all, with intelligent lyrics them Fireroad are worth taking a look at. Considering the long journey they were really friendly guys. A band that I cannot speak too highly of and would love to see again in the future. Excellent stuff.

Opening are THR3E . They had a warm up in Danny's Bar last night and open this time around with "Just a matter of time". The trio revel on the main stage and it is great to see Rob 'The bass guvnor' Butterfield back at Esquires. Blues covers dominate, such as "Drivin' love" and "Blues for the modern man", but the band's own composition "Walking" is worthy of mention. With Steve Woodward's vocal and guitar skills, it's always a treat to see this craftsman at work.