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The Orwells Tickets

The Orwells are punks in the proper, 1950s small-town America sense of the word. Dumb kids with no aptitude for anything, no respect for anyone and who everyone knows will amount to nothing. These are just some of the things that make them so great.

Frontman Mario Cuomo is a shambling, teenage good-for-nothing waster who seems to have spent very little time either learning the songs or practicing anything other than his trademark thousand-yard stare. When he calls out Arctic Monkeys for being predictable, it's good to see his band back up his words in a show where anything could happen.

A cover of Gorillaz' 'Feel Good Inc' barely gets going before it implodes in a hail of incompetence and incrimination. Rather than look apologetic, Cuomo brazenly declares "Blur and Oasis aren't shit compared to Gorillaz, how do you feel about that?" One day Cuomo will learn to pick his battles, I just hope it's not any time soon.

Guitarist Dominic Corso smashes his guitar into the ground half way through a song, before storming off stage. He returns shortly after, but petulantly refuses to even think about picking up his stricken instrument. Instead he screams along to a song that still sounds brilliant, even with one-fifth of the music apparently missing. After an accusatory 'YO!' from fellow guitarist, and also one of the coolest people in music right now, Matt O'Keefe, he finally decides to re-engage with the music.

He briefly mourns his broken axe, declaring "Ain't that a bummer". Rhythm section Grant and Henry Brinner, on bass and drums respectively, are the backbone that keeps some semblance of order to the show. They still manage to look achingly cool while actually playing the songs the way that somebody presumably once intended.

By the time a joyous 'Who Needs You' closes the show, all is well both on and off stage. The band has managed to defy the odds and deliver one of the most thrilling sets of rock and roll you could hope for. If you like bands who play hard, always seconds from disaster, The Orwells are the only show in town.