Kinesis

We're in a shit nightclub. The kind with eight bouncers on the door, who normally don't let grubby rock kids anywhere near their dancefloor. But tonight we're here for a Kerrang! sponsored rock tour and a dusty mixing desk has been dragged under the DJ booth. The local supports were told to show up at 4.30pm, but got no soundcheck because the crew took five hours to get Kinesis right. The advertised Legendary K! Freak Show appears to be a chubby man on stilts, wearing a black leotard and large fabric horns. Later, he'll climb onstage, to wave a thing around which makes sparks. Well done love.

And despite a fat publicity budget and a co-promotion with a local SU rock soc, there are seriously only about 70-80 people here, in a venue that holds maybe 600.

Into the indifference steps My Device, unknown enough to have not been mentioned on DiS before but strong enough to hold their own against any of our homegrown risers. They're a bit Stooges, a bit Libertines and a bit Billy Childish. Red tie and braces, with proper style in front of the mic and ambition enough to throw too many ideas into the pot. It's quality and they're worth watching out for.

There are (deliberately) long gaps between acts. Some people dance. It's after midnight when Kinesis clock on. Now I think they're probably playing a blinder, working awesomely hard and showing how powerful they've become. But it's hard to tell, simply because the sound is so enormous, you can't register dynamics or melody. But Kinesis are coming along nicely. They look great and make all the appropriate moves.

As they peaked, only 60-odd people were getting into Kinesis and the band felt the need to say who they were three times, such was the vibe of unfamiliarity. Is this being repeated throughout their tour? If *K!* had the humility or good sense to run the show in, say, The Freebutt or the Komedia theatre, we'd remember this steamy rock-out night for months. Instead, clumsy work by admin jerks has shat on a fantastic pair of bands.