The Vines

Of course, some people will have you believe that Rock 'n' Roll is dead. That the guitar as a creative instrument finished around 1978. That the current music scene is like the 70's before punk. Well, on the evidence of tonight, it's like the 70's during punk.

I really can't tell you how much I loved this gig. It all felt so revolutionary, so exciting, so passionate. The musicians tonight played as if their lives depended on it. The crowd knew the evening was special. So did the bands. So did I.

The Libertines will completely and utterly blow you away. A four piece hailing from East London, they nab the lyrical dexterity of The Smiths, the taut energy of The Jam and the raw melodies of The Strokes. Many described Oasis as 'the band you always wanted', but tonight The Libertines show that their influences are as impressive as anyones. They sound so fresh, so vivid, so God damn exciting.

The fuck-you attitude they show tonight may well be clichéd, but yet it seems so refreshing. Yes, yes, they all arrive on stage smoking, all say very little and all spend at least part of the gig with their backs to us, but Hey! When was the last time a band did that, and meant it??

They play a song called "Up The Bracket", which is indescribably fantastic. It's an anthem in waiting, it's winding, complex melodies scarring our minds and leaving us gagging for more. And they don't disappoint. They play the greatest punk anthem The Sex Pistols never wrote in "What A Waster" and close with something called "I Get Along", their poppiest offering, and yet also their most frantic, the band pound the stage as they play, almost calling to arms the entirety of London. If they're not careful, The Libertines will become the most important British rock group since Oasis.

Frankly, I'm still recovering from the startling Libertines when The Vines, four slightly unattractive Australians, take to the Monarch's hallowed stage. Although not quite as intense and stirring as their support act, The Vines are clearly sensational. You may have been lucky enough to hear their arresting new single "Highly Evolved". When they play that tonight, the crowd react as if it was raining £50 notes. It's criminally short length is like being interrupted during great sex. Breathless, exciting, but needing a satisfactory climax.

Garage rock in the very best sense of the phrase, they recall Nirvana at their earliest and most soul-bearing, despite tonight's gig being a wonderful shambles, with notes missed, vocals out of tune, and forgotten lyrics. But The Vines care not for such trivialities.

On the fabby "Ain't No Room", they sound like The Beatles playing '70s New York punk. On the reggae tinged "Factory", they manage to get the crowd more whipped up than cream in a squirty can. Yes!

Quite simply, this is the kind of gig people will lie to you about attending. "Rock n Roll", as Neil Young once painfully espoused, "Will never die". It seems he's right.