Yoke Shire rolled into Manchester, New Hampshire on New Year's day and the blew the roof off of one of the Queen City's hottest night spots. Appearing on the same bill with four of New Hampshire's excellent local rock outfits, the trio delivered 45 minutes of high octane progressive rock and roll.

     Yoke Shire is Craig Herlihy on guitar, bass, flute, and vocals, his brother Brian on lead and rhythm guitar, and drummer Brad Dillon. The progressive metal trio took the locals by surprise with the first few notes of their opening tune, "Three Sheets." An incredible jam number, "Three Sheets" featured both Herlihy's racing through some blistering guitar melodies.

     Their second piece, "Shiver" featured Craig Herlihy's inspired flute wizardry. Notes blew out of Herlihy's silver flute like bullets whistling out of a Tommy gun...He plays it more like a lead guitar, bringing the band along with him.

     If those two new songs, which might be on their next album, weren't enough to dazzle the Manchester audience, Craig picked up a bass to play the heavy bottomed notes on the haunting and harddriving "Black Tower" from their debut CD "Masque of Shadows". Tall and wiry, Craig lurches around the stage like a Frankenstein monster of rock guitarists. Recalling the halcyon days of Rush, Craig also switches from one instrument to another while maintaining smooth transitions in the music.

     This trio plays through challenging time changes, complicated chord progressions, and multi instrumental solos. With varying tempos, they build their music into a wall of sound.

     Fortunately, the house sound system at Chantilly's was equipped to allow the trio to mix their instruments without any technical gaps. With a large, wide open space, Chantilly's was also the perfect place for Yoke Shire's expansive sound.

     This band makes a lot of sound for three guys, and the adrenaline rush they provide never lets up. Their 45 minute set seemed to go by in just a few minutes. Record company executives need only hear this band play once before running up to them backstage with contracts and pens in hand.

     The trio provided a real treat for those in attendance when they played their own blues tune "Frame With No Picture." This number allowed Craig Herlihy to show off on harmonica, playing it like a real blues practitioner, and not like many rock musicians who dabble in blues for a hobby. They served this song up hot and tasty, with plenty of fiery licks and gravy on top.

     Yoke Shire's final number was the title track from their debut CD, "Masque of Shadows". This song rocks on the CD and even more so live. The opening melody from Craig and opening rhythms from Brian were nicely augmented with Dillon's glockenspiel notes. Clocking in at almost seven minutes, "Masque" plays like the best of the early 1970s supergroup tunes.

     The number seemed reminiscent of familiar classics like Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times" or maybe Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" or perhaps even Pink Floyd's "One of These Days." Yoke Shire doesn't copy those bands or those songs. They deliver their own tunes with the same kind of edgy guitar, heavy bottomed groove, and thunderous percussion overdrive that makes a listener as happy as when Led Zep or Sabbath or Floyd comes on the radio. Dillon drove the number forward with heavy yet precise drum fills while the Herlihy boys did their best guitar playing of the evening. They played the song with note for note precision from the album.

     The New Hampshire bands that shared the bill at Chantilly's first gig of the New Year were all topnotch local outfits…But Yoke Shire was clearly the strongest act of the evening. Anyone who likes rock music from the late 1960s and the early 1970s who hasn't already seen Yoke Shire perform is strongly urged to do so. This trio might eventually play an important part in music history.