Deftones

The kind of immense stupidity shown at Wembley Arena would normally be enough to have me turning tail and heading home without even watching a band. Not being allowed water inside a rock gig and bag searches every ten yards or so really does take the piss. Then again, no other band is worth it quite like the Deftones.

First, A Perfect Circle entertain with a short but effective set, marred only by a complete lack of stage presence. Maynard (James Keenan, like you don?t already know) spends half an hour with his back to the crowd, convulsing like John Hurt in Alien. Sure, he can belt out a note or two, but the lack of interaction is disappointing. The music, thankfully, isn't. 'Magdalena' is enormous, nay, HUGE, threatening to lift the roof right off and propel it northwards up the M1. The new material is equally as impressive, and in new single, 'Weak and Powerless', they may have something that could trouble the Top 40. Sadly, the band's cold shoulder treatment stops me falling in love with A Perfect Circle, besides, how can I love another when my heart belongs to the band up next?

There are rock bands, and then there's the untouchable Deftones. Forget slanderous nu-metal accusations, Deftones are way beyond that, as White Pony proved oh so well. They kick things off with 'Minerva', the turning point from the band's Brixton show in June, where it transformed what was a limp performance into something considerably more powerful. Tonight it's released early to skirmish with the crowd and taking the bait, the pit raucously ensues, ravishing upon 'Be Quiet And Drive' and 'My Own Summer' which are also unleashed within the first four songs.

Chino Moreno's waistband creeps closer to his knees with each and every song, but he's got other things to worry about when, during 'Bored', he slips from his perch on a ramp of sorts at the front of the stage, and crunches into the ground. Recalling Damon Albarn's fall at Reading, it's not the best way to answer questions of why he's always drunk on-stage.

Abe Cunningham's rapid-fire drumming drives songs like 'Feiticeira', 'Around The Fur' and 'Hexagram' through the heads of all in attendance with the recoil of a sawn-off, but not even he can save the usually ferocious 'Head Up', which is marred by the presence of a kid on stage, screeching along annoying far more than it entertains. This isn't a Green Day gig, after all.

Still, this is_ a show, and we're treated to a little blast of Weezer's _'Tired of Sex' during '7 Words' (ruining the song, incidentally), and Chino even plays up to the alcoholic jibes by downing what looks like a considerably-sized serving of JD and Coke between songs. He raises the glass in salute to the crowd, and asks us to join him in a drink. Of course, with drinks banned from the auditorium, sadly we cannot raise any back.

Kids and cover-versions aside, the Deftones do_ know how to please, amd the only thing missing is _'Passenger', odd considering Maynard's presence backstage. Their debut, 'Adrenaline', may be eight years old now, but the Deftones have never sounded so vital. Forget dumb-ass 'nu' metal and revel in the sound of how it should be done.