We stood outside the venue called Red, the home of the Red Coats, for a while before the stewards would let us into the building. The group at the front of the queue started singing various songs, about 20 minutes before the doors opened yFriday tracks were sung… until they moved on to disney songs!

10 minutes before the gig was supposed to start the doors were opened and everyone went in. At 10:40 yFriday came on stage after the intro video for Universal was played. This went straight on into Wonderful followed by Holy, Holy, Holy, everyone knew the lyrics and for part of the chorus Ken dropped out and the whole venue sung out; ‘He is holy, holy, holy, my Lord He is holy holy holy Jesus, give glory glory glory, to the Son, glory glory glory to Jesus.’

Start of the Summer rung out, and again everyone knew the lyrics, singing along with Ken. They then brought it back down to sing Rain taken from the album Open, another amazing track that was revived on The Universal Broadcast. After this Ken just stopped and asked out into the crowd if there was anyone in the venue with breathing problems, God wanted to heal them. He prayed for the person and then continued the concert.

We were treated to two new tracks next from the new worship album which is being prepared at the moment. The first track; Alive, was co-written by Ken and Tim Hughes, Ken joked that some of may of heard of Tim, the track has a rocky feel to it with an amazing chorus that says ‘Jesus Christ, come alive in me.’ Next we were given the track Come Let Us Worship, Ken had done this track as an acoustic warm up at Derby for the live CD/DVD so many people new the words; ‘Come let us worship, Come let us bow down, Come let us sing of all the Lord has done.’

These two tracks fed into Everlasting God taken from Isaiah 40, and again everyone knew the lyric and were singing along as the band took it into the final track; Revolution. As the band went off stage there were calls for ‘we want more’ and also that their roady, Simon, make an appearance.

As the band came back on Ken beckoned to Simon to come and show his face, he took a small bow and went off as Ken lead into One Hope, concluding the theme of Spring Harvest of One God, One People, One Hope. After the gig I had a chance to catch up with the band just to chat about everything they were planning to do, a new album being recorded soon, songs of heaven being re-released and another really exciting project that I’m not allowed to mention anything about yet!!!

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The lights go down, the roar goes up from the crowd as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey begins, and the band are filmed in black and white waiting in the wings. The opening of the DVD perfectly portrays the atmosphere in the crowded hall as the gathered throng wait for the big opening to what could be described as yFriday’s most significant gig to date.

Although the size of the crowd was nothing to shout about (yFriday has previously played in the Royal Albert Hall and have headlined the ever-growing Greenbelt festival), as was said on the DVD extras; there were people there from all over the country. The band recognised fans in the crowd from their tours all over the UK, and seemed genuinely excited at the dedication of such fans.

The stage, which had taken the whole of the previous day to build, was covered in cameras, including one set within Dez’s drum kit. The noise increases as the band take to the stage, and as the climax of the introduction video is reached, Dez smiles nervously into his camera. You know that something special is about to happen.

The camera work and angles pick up not only the outstanding variety of the light show and the profile of the jumping crowd, but also the energy exuded from the band members themselves on stage. As each track runs seamlessly into the next (as those who were at the gig itself will notice particularly with regard to one song) the individual atmosphere of every moment is captured, and as Ken quietens the crowd before Start of the Summer, you can genuinely feel the stillness in the room, as over six hundred pairs of arms are raised to heaven. The CD recording is to studio standard, and lets the listener appreciate the sheer musical talent itself without needing to see the whirring strobe lights or the exhausted faces of the sweaty crowd.

When the time comes for the encores, the opening synth riff of the Dove-nominated anthem Everlasting God sounds as the band re-take the stage to a cheer that rivals the opening of the DVD itself, and go on to finish their already energetic set with the massively popular One Hope and Revolution.

For those who were not at the gig or those who have never seen yFriday before, the DVD and CD give a good taste of yFriday at the height of their ‘live game’, and demonstrates the reason for the bands ever-increasing live demand. For those who were at the gig, it brings back memories of just how good the show was, lets us re-live that historic evening, and possibly gives us a brief chance to glance ourselves in the crowd.

Nothing, however, beats the live show itself. If you haven’t yet seen yFriday live, the DVD and CD is essential viewing/listening, but will only go so far. You still have to see them for yourself…

Peter Campbell

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The track ‘Everlasting God,’ taken from the Universal album, co-written by Ken Riley and Brenton Brown, has been nominated to receive the ‘Worship Song of the Year’ in this years Dove Awards hosted in Nashville, USA.

This is the 39th Dove Awards being held on the 23rd April. Previous winning tracks have been ‘Holy is the Lord’ and ‘How Great is Our God’ by Chris Tomlin and ‘Blessed be Your Name’ by Matt Redman.

The track is up against the reworked version of ‘Amazing Grace’ by Chris Tomlin, ‘Everything Glorious’ by David Crowder, ‘How Great Is Our God,’ up for the award again, and ‘Praise You in this Storm’ by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms.

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Well it is exciting news! The Universal Broadcast, yFriday’s first live CD/DVD, has now been officially released. The final track list is as follows:

1. Universal
2. Someone I Can Live For
3. Wonderful
4. I’m Yours
5. Hands Up
6. Holy Holy Holy
7. How Can We Dance?
8. Shine2
9. Rise
10. Start of the Summer / Rain
11. Gravity
12. Everlasting God
13. One Hope
14. Revolution

Also on the disc is a special ‘behind the scenes’ diary of what went of before the recording as well as a list of everyone who was at the gig in Derby.

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