Shindigg/Silence in the Streets/Build Up to Nothing/Killer of Saints/The Flatmates Adelphi, Hull - Sunday 30th November by Eammon Chirdlich

I arrived at the Adelphi with some trepidation - an afternoon of live music with five bands, only one of which I'd seen live before and from their names, it sounded like a real mixed bag.

Nevertheless, I paid my three pounds and prepared to see this month's hottest contenders in the local scene.

First up: The Flatmates. Not sure if they are flatmates in real life but they were certainly tight, with a great presence on stage. Two acoustic guitars, a Paul McCarteney bass and - for the first few number at least - a harmonica. I found myself thinking of Bob Dylan, but there was a sort of Damien Rice "New Acoustic Movement" feel. Traditional yet modern with a great set of songs.

Killer of Saints were a different story. Heavy rock music is what they do, and they do it quite well. The only detriment for me was that the vocals were lost in the mix. Because of this I found myself thinking they had a distinct lack of melody which may or may not be true. www.killerofsaints.com

Build Up to Nothing are a three piece who certainly look the part, the singer sporting a fine pair of shades. Think Bono, not Roy Orbison. Musically, they were rather forgettable. Like so many fledgling bands they have not yet crossed that fine line between mastery of your instruments and actually writing a catchy tune.

Towards the end their set picked up, and they changed from Nirvana lite into a sort of more masculine Placebo. They would have been better served, I feel, had they ditched about half of their material and just played the obvious crowd pleasers. www.bbc.co.uk/humber/music/raw_talent

Best band of the afternoon was, without a shadow of a doubt, Silence in the Streets. Granted, they want to be Rage Against the Machine (and close your eyes and you may as well have been listening to RATM) but they did it really well and had the one thing lacking in so many local bands: a charismatic frontman with a powerful voice.

There aren't many singers in Hull who can carry off Rap Metal without looking silly and to his credit, Silence in the Streets' frontman pulled it off brilliantly, leaping around the stage, the floor and even the tables to get his point across. Extra marks for political lyrics such as the brilliant time signature-shifting "Not in my Name". One to watch. www.bbc.co.uk/humber/music/raw_talent continued below

Shindigg/Silence in the Streets/Build Up to Nothing/Killer of Saints/The Flatmates Adelphi, Hull - Sunday 30th November continued by Eammon Chirdlich

Finally, and only just pipped into second place as my favourite band of the day were Shindigg, who sound like Nirvana would have done if they'd hired Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and learned to play.

They also earn kudos for having a female drummer (and a stunning-looking one at that). I found it hard to fault anything about the band, from the Kurt Cobain snarled vocals to the moonwalking, leg-shaking bass player (who looked like he was having more fun than any bass player I've ever seen). For the sake of trivia, Shindigg are the same band as the Flatmates, except with a drummer, although they play a totally different set of songs. Power pop? Funk metal? It's hard to categorise them but I'd certainly go to see them again. www.shindigg.co.uk

I hope the Adelphi continue to put on these afternoon gigs, as we all got four hours of entertainment with plenty of time to go home and get ready for the pub on the evening. Even the bands I enjoyed the least showed heaps of potential and it was great that they had the opportunity to get together and play without worrying about timing their sets to finish in time for last orders. An enjoyable afternoon and one I hope to relive in the coming months.

Music Reviews - Sidewinder, still life and Martyn Wharrie Adelphi Club 20th November by Cilla and Mo
	We started off the evening badly by arriving late at the gig. Shame on us, we missed most of the first performance. However, what I did hear made me want to listen. Mo came along too and he was knocked out - by all the musicians we saw. I think he thought I was exaggerating when I raved about still life and Sidewinder in my last review - until he saw for himself. Read more...

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Music Reviews - still life and Sidewinder play the Welly Club Late Nite Line-up 13th November By Cilla.
	A fabulous live band. Honestly, I feel so privileged to have seen these guys right now. They're tight. They're all connected by an invisible thread. They kind of flow into each other - I guess its what you might call synergie. I've got to say they seem to have it all - even pyrotechnics! Read more...