Degrassi

Sometimes apathy can spoil a good thing... Or at least that's my way of thinking after witnessing tonight's surprisingly poor turnout. Particularly as it was for one of Bob Fairfoull's first public outings south of the border since his acrimonious split from Idlewild earlier this year.

Funnily enough, openers Intentions of an Asteroid seemed to be spurred on by the general lack of enthusiasm around the venue, and in singer Stephen (pocket)Battelle(ship), they have a one man cruise missile intent on waking up every dead soul on the planet. As his band launch into 'The Gospel', Battelle informs us that this won't be the last you hear of his band, and even though the name's a bit of a mouthful, I've a feeling he's right. Sounding a bit like the Manics if they'd listened to 'Queen's Greatest Hits' rather than 'Appetite For Destruction', The Darkness might be having it all their own way in the Britrock stakes at the moment but IOAA are surely prime candidates to mount a serious challenge.

And now for something completely different...

If you like Mudhoney, The Stooges, Andre Williams, Spacemen 3 and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, you'll love Jetscreamer. Like the sound of a thousand bees being disorientated and mangled by a vacuum cleaner, Jetscreamer make their wah-wah pedals go WOOAAAHH-WOOAAAHH, virtually retuning their instruments midsong yet still coming out sounding mightier than a hundred jets landing simultaneously in your frontroom. When mainman Will Kapinos dedicates 'Meeow' to "bringing down the government and stuff...", everyone else gets on the phone to George dubbya Bush. Top stuff.

As with red telephone boxes and roast beef on Sunday, saving the best 'til last is a traditionally British trait that often has a knack for going horribly wrong, and tonight is no exception.

Maybe Degrassi are underwhelmed by the cavernous space around them, or maybe the fact that the addition of a slightly (in)famous guitarist swells the weight of expectation around their necks from being just a bunch of mates having a laugh together to serious contenders? Whatever the problem, Degrassi just don't appear comfortable on stage, and the barely audible between song mumbles do nothing to quell the appetites of the dozen or so punters left in the building. Which is a shame, because when they hit the g-spot, like on 'Air Force 1' or new single 'The Form', Degrassi sound like a hybrid of Mogwai and Sonic Youth propelled at high speed through a cement mixer. Yet on other occasions their stop-start/fast-slow post rockisms make them sound like a student band who maybe should have spent a further six months in the halls of residence honing their ability to write a tune and hold a note at the same time.

And then, of course, there's Bob, stuck in the corner, desolate like an old man searching for small change so he can afford the bus fare home. Whatever the reason behind his fall out with Roddy Woomble and co., surely this is no home to roost?

A disappointing end to a promising evening.