*Teevo

The Colchester Arts Centre has attracted a sparse crowd (even by Colchester standards) for touring work horses Lapsus Linguae and their supports, and it's all because of events down the road at the university. Tonight, the hastily arranged Babyshambles gig is _the _place to be seen (even if Pete doesn't show up!), so barely 50 people have paid up to see hard working bands giving their all, be they headline-makers or not. It makes me sick to the pit of my stomach.

I've chosen to ignore the inevitable chaos unfolding at the university, instead electing to see one of the town's brightest sparks: *Teevo. When I first reviewed them, almost 18 months ago, I remarked that the group had real potential compositionally but that their singer, basically, had to go because of his nasal vocal style. Now, I put my hands up and say I was wrong - frontman Aaron Smith has refined his vocals and, while still distinctive, they're a lot more focused and far from plain irritating. Thus, I have high hopes for their set. Proceedings, though, do not begin smoothly: midway through the opener the band suffer a snapped guitar string, and moments later there's broken cymbals on the drum kit. On a night when circumstances could not have conspired any better_ against_ the band, they got worse, technical problems leaving the band leaning on a mid-set Shakespeare reading (although this proves to be a particular high point). It was not all gloom and doom on the night, though.

*Teevo's time together, thus far, has made them an extremely tight unit: driven forward by the intense drumming of Dulcie Wood, the intensity of their live performance is something to see. Even without such a visual display, the songs do hold their own: 'Mexico' is a live anthem in the making, sounding like one of the best songs My Vitriol never recorded, and 'Won Su Eroda' has the potential to become one of the best set closers around with its dark and brooding outro. Tonight, though, it arrives one tune too early.

Ending their 30-minute set with 'Carrie-Anne', the band storm through their parting song before throwing their equipment to the floor. Granted, tonight isn't the best performance I've seen from *Teevo, but allowing for the adversities they faced it was still a bloody good set. What's more, tonight serves as a firm indication that they could well be a band to watch closely over the next 12 months.