Reviews

They're supported tonight by Good Shoes, who do a more than adequate job of warming us up for the main course. Good Shoes are one of those bands who may not blow you away, but do just as asked from them tonight and keep us entertained with some very good tunes, in particular I Never Meant To Hurt You and We Are Not The Same.

Then come the most un-stereotypical band you've ever seen. Maybe that's why they're so likeable; that and the fact that front man Paul Smith is an absolute loon!

The set was fantastic and it’s so refreshing to see a front man concentrating fully on entertaining, rather than trying to play an instrument as well.

It didn't even matter that every time Mr Smith tried to communicate with the audience, all we got was an inaudible Teesside drone. It was also great to hear him tell onlookers how much it meant to him to have such a large group of people in one place, listening to his songs.

You hear this all the time, but whereas when you hear the same from the Klaxons you wonder if they even know where they are, with Maxïmo Park, you truly believe that they mean it.

I'm not even going to list the great songs because they were all ace. However, they did finish on Graffiti, a gem from their first album, A Certain Trigger, which was a fitting end to a great set.

In all, it was a jolly night, enjoyed by one and all. It's refreshing to see a band more concerned with music than appearance and these guys are second to none at the moment as far as I'm concerned. I can only hope that they come back soon.