A blare of keyboard and thundering drums announce the start of the Ed Zealous set. They have enough good tunes to keep the hall happy. A tight rock sound, guitar riffs and sparkles of keyboard keep it interesting. We get a fair bit of new stuff from the band and they even have the confidence in their catalogue to leave their best-known track 'Pretty Face' off the set list. A good opening stint- Ed Zealous are yet another local act who deserve to be heard more - get that single.

And then it's Maximo Park. The lights go down. The band hit the stage to a roar which reignites when Paul Smith springs on late and last. It's straight into 'Graffiti' and everybody's up for bouncing about. Smith, always the performer, is up on the monitors and leaping about, keeping the crowd engaged and singing. The band have a bagful of big songs from their first two albums and keep everyone hopping.

We also get a spread of new songs from 'Quicken The Heart'. These are good enough to keep the excitement level high - it bodes well for the new album. The band have an enviable track record of engaging, frantic pop and the new stuff keeps the energy while developing more of a rock edge. 'The Penultimate Clinch', 'In Another World', 'Wraithlike' and 'The Kids Are Sick Again' stand out and point to a growing substance and development with some great licks of guitar.

'Our Velocity' and 'Limassol' build to a peak, before 'Apply Some Pressure' blows out the encore. Maximo Park have been seen a lot in Belfast and some things are a given in their shows- Paul Smith will shimmy and play the crowd, it'll be frantic fun all the way through, and you'll leave happy.

Good stuff. Bring on the new album.

Words & photo: Bert Scott