Some of those that work forces / Are the same that burn crosses.

Saturday 21 March- The RBS Six Nations finished on a high with wins from England and a cracking, albeit sometimes brutal, game between Ireland and Wales. Top stuff. In the evening it was off to The Duchess for the second album launch from The Yards and an acoustic set from Hope&Social.

Things started quite slowly which provided an opportunity to enjoy a foaming pint of Theakston's XB before four hombres from Hope&Social took to the stage resplendent in their 'blue coats'. This wasn't exactly acoustic because they were all wired up, but certainly Simon Wainwright and Rich Huxley were playing battered acoustic guitars, whilst Jason Miller and Ed Waring sat further back, Jason with his bass guitar and Ed with keyboards balanced on his lap. Percussion was provided by vigorous foot-stamping. With the set weighing in at just five tunes, I felt a little short-changed, but they did explain that they had just travelled 100 miles up the M1, lost Rich's luggage out the back door of the truck, had a blow-out on the motorway (2 recovery vehicles required!), and Simon was losing his voice, so they weren't having their best day. As is usual at an H&S gig they were dogged by undercurrent of persistent talking from the audience. For god's sake, if you've paid money to listen to a band, just have the common courtesy to shut up while they're playing!

We retired to that bar to re-charge our glasses (well plastic cups) and were deep in conversation when we noticed that the crowd had started to swell at an alarming rate. The Yards were about to take to the stage. We managed to feed in from the side of the ruck (just as well the ref was unsighted) and although the three of us got split up, we were no more than three for four people from the front, so that wasn't too bad.

For those who aren't aware, and shame on you, The Yards are a five-piece from York comprising: Chris Helme (Vocals and guitars) ex-Seahorses, Stuart 'Stu' Fletcher (Bass guitar) ex-Seahorses and currently also Rick Witter & The Dukes John Miller (Drums), Jon Hargreaves (Keyboards) and Chris Farrell (Guitar).

The band were joined on stage by two vocalists (one was Hayley Hutchinson I think) and a string section at the back. I thought it was three violins and a cello, but one of the violins might have been a viola which is similar in size, though pitched a perfect fifth below the violin and gives a rich, dark-toned sonority that is more full-bodied than the violin's. Chris did introduce the string section, all girls, but I missed their names. About half way through the set he decided that they should be called The Yardbirds, which caused amusement among the younger listeners and good-natured groans from us older ones.

The reason for the extra bodies on stage was presumable in order to more closely reflect the production sound of the material from their new album Imperial Measure, for which this was the launch night. I'm very pleased to be able to report that this was certainly a full-bodied and really tight performance, something that Chris has failed to achieve in the past. They played most of the tracks from the new album with a sprinkling of stuff from their old one. The set consisted of: Cars, Last High, Turn & Run, Centre Of Gravity, California, Pure, Minus A Million, Small Fires, Broken, Let It Go, Cold Shoulder, The Devil Is Alive And Well in DC, and See The Lights.

I bought an album during the evening, and I'm really looking forward to listening to. On the strength of tonight's performance The Yards Are Alive And Well In York. The songs on this album are an order of magnitude better than their first efforts, so hats off to The Yards.

Friday 20 March- the weekend started with a trip out to our favourite watering hole, The Roman Bath, where covers band Full Tilt were blasting punters ears off. Full Tilt are a four-piece from Bradford comprising: Derek Moulson (Lead vocals & guitar), Jim Croisdale (Lead guitar), Andy Bucaltizn (Bass guitar), and Darren O'Grady (Drums).

Compared to a lot of covers bands we've seen recently, these are much heavier than then normal and, for me, that's a good thing. I tried to blag a set-list but Derek assured me that they didn't have one so I've had to rely on my dodgy memory to supply you with a list of some of the songs they played: Thin Lizzy (Rosalie), AC/DC (Whole Lotta Rosie, Highway To Hell), Bad Co. (Can't get Enough of Your Love), Deep Purple (Black Night), Nirvana (Smells Like Teen Spirit), Puddle of Mudd (She Hates Me), Kinks (Really Got Me Going), Guns ‘n' Roses (Knocking' on Heavens Door), Whitesnake (Fool For Your Loving), Cameo (Word Up), Lenny Kravitz (Are You Gonna Go My Way), The Police (Message In A Bottle), Ozzy Osbourne (Crazy Train), Metallica (Enter The Sandman), Blur (Song 2), Judas Priest (Breaking The Law). For an encore they did Rage Against The Machine's Killing in the Name, which resulted in a lot of headbanging and audience sing-along. Not for the easily offended!

We've seen Full Tilt twice before this and on each occasion been very impressed both with their technical playing and choice of material. They didn't disappoint tonight and I heartily recommend them.