Yak

Just a few nights ago I was lucky enough to witness the fantastic Peace live in all their indie glory! I've still not quite come to terms with the excitement of it all. However while Peace where unbelievable, it was their support who really caught my eye. London trio Yak where only supporting Peace on four dates of their on going mega-tour, so perhaps it was fate that it should be them who graced the stage last Friday night at the Fleece in Bristol.

Frontman Oli Burslem, who if the music doesn't work out could easily fall back on a career as a Mick Jagger look-a-like, filled in for Peace's Doug a few years ago on a North American tour when fatherhood came calling. Since then Burslem has accumulated two bandmates to form Yak in the form of Andy Jones and Elliot Rawson.

What really struck me as I watched the sweat drenched trio fill The Fleece with fuzzy riffs was their infectious energy. Although the night was young, feet where moving and heads where bobbing. As the set clambered up to a new level of rowdy Burslem, in an explosion of rock and roll absurdity, began to grind his guitar against the venus nearest stanchion creating a wave of noise which almost blew the glitter off of the more sparkley members of the crowd.

Debut single 'Hungry Heart' was performed with the same intensity that ran throughout the short but sweet set. A beautifully furious chugging bassline met squealing feedback while Burslem howled "Again. Again. Again", one had firmly gripped around his microphone as the other wildly swiped at his guitar strings. 'Plastic People', the first of the band's two songs to appear online, brought the set to an epic conclusion. As the track came to it's mind tingling finale, local hero Big Jeff (a regular gig goer in Bristol) took to the stage at first viciously stroking the strings of Burslem's guitar before collapsing to the floor for a slow keyboard outro.

As Yak absorbed the crowds excitable applause and payed tribute to their fluffy haired new bandmate, Burslem, in all his Jagger-like glory, stood arms out like the future musical masire that he will surely become. Yak may be a band in their infancy but with a rapidly growing live reputation and an epic first single out soon on Fat Possum, I firmly believe they are a group we will grow old with.