YELLOWKNIFE BAY, Speedshot, Rhys Kirkman, Ashley Falls.

Dannys Bar, Lev 1 Esquires, Bedford. Saturday 9th November 2013.

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2013 has proved to be very kind to YELLOWKNIFE BAY. A fresh start was what this band needed. Earlier in the year they had both a change of name and a change of line up. It has obviously has a most positive effect judging from tonight's special show, presented in association with Bedford Alternative Music. This is all about the launch of their debut EP entitled "The train that stole her away". Hopefully it sold well for them tonight.

They begin with a playful cover of Arctic Monkeys' "Brianstorm" before the serious stuff started. "The other side" comes complete with a rather catchy "she knows she knows" chorus. Although this band are primarily rock/punk, there is a slightly more 'semi-urban' feel to certain parts of "Where you goin?" "So addictive", we are told, was written quite recently and has an almost acoustic start. A thundering opening detonates "The abused", but my pick from the Yellowknife Bay set has to be "Mama I saw a murder". Post punk in parts with foreboding riffage and plenty of wholesome, regimental growls. This is a band that have a tempestuous tormented muse. The four tracks from the aforementioned EP are quite neatly left until the end, which was an idea I really liked. "Children of evolution" has massive amounts of crowd participation. Vocalist Roger implores the attendees at the start; "you need to move". Nearly everyone does. Cries of "I don't need you" echo round the room. A grinding guitar intro announces the arival of this powerful song. Their finale of "Ghosts and widows" would have fitted in well with the Halloween festivities of last week.

The evening's music starts off with ASHLEY FALLS. They are an acoustic trio made up from members of the recently disbanded Fences And Floodlights, of which their song "Hayley" got a stripped down reworking. This gentle opening act also took in tracks from Snow Patrol and The Stereophonics.

The revelation of the night turns out to be a gentleman by the name of RHYS KIRKMAN. His name and website are taped on his acoustic guitar. Rhys is cheerful and immediately enquires after our wellbeing with "Is everyone having a good day?" He is very much a chip off the Frank Turner block. His humour is more Robyn Hitchcock when he asks us "Is anyone here over six feet six?" Let me elaborate. Rhys is very, very tall. His song "The tallest man in the pub" is, I suppose, semi-autobiographical. The lyrics amuse; "Sometimes it gets the girls but sometimes I forget to duck"! The loudest applause of the evening quite rightly greets the end of this ironical composition. Other Kirkman nuggets of note are "What you say to me", "The richest man in the word" (which is available on Soundcloud) and, most especially, "Round and round the catwalk". Rhys explains about the latter; "it's about fashion". A crowd singalong is asked for and everyone has to sing "I change my style, I cut my hair, I change my shoes". At present, this engaging wordsmith is in the middle of writing and recording new material for a forthcoming album. He is certainly someone I shall be keeping an eye out for in the future. Huge fun.

These days the longevity of local bands is sometimes very short, so five years is almost a lifetime. Amazingly, that's how long SPEEDSHOT have been active. Except for one line up change (and the old bassist watches intently tonight), this trio continue to gig and write excessively. Speedshot always give me the impression when they play a gig, that they have only got minutes, even seconds, left to live! We punters are also close to meeting our maker, such is their real sense of urgency. They are going to go out with a loud bang, not a whimper, playing to the last. Throughout this ten song set there is an unrelenting surge of wave after wave of distilled energy. It all builds up to the strong choruses which they are well known for. The charismatic Danny Young is a sinewy tornado, Hobit is reliable, while drummer Michele is the firm backbone of solidity. Their constant use of backing vocals is also a plus and adds a seismic and anthemic edge. Except for "Too far gone", the set this evening appears to be a showcase of newer material. Danny is in his usual lively form. At one point he kicks a chair over and, in the style of Hendrix, he proceeds to strike a chord with the stricken wooden object. Speedshot were certainly in good form tonight and raised the bar very high for the following EP hosts.

Ashley Falls Vid