Saturday 29/03/08 The Subways, Cage The Elephant, The Culprits @ Rescue Rooms, Nottingham

Essex boys The Culprits have all the swagger of a seasoned band about them. Singer Falk prowls the stage like a cage fighter looking for a brawl before immersing himself in the crowd. ‘Teenage’ kept the tension bristling under the feral vocals and crunching bass while ‘Kick Out’ channels Iggy and The Stooges in a twisted satanic ritual. Not afraid to get right up in your face and spit The Culprits play good old bone-crunching rock and roll.

Fresh from rocking SXSW festival, Cage The Elephant are on form, whispering "seductress, seduce me now **** me" with disturbing candour. ‘Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked’ dispels their buttoned up Kings Of Leon reputation for good, like Aerosmith backed by dirty blues guitars. Singer Matt Schultz whips around uncontrollably while brother Brad clambers over the drums. ‘In One Ear’ shows a whole lot more attitude, as they drawl, “I’m only playing music cos you know we ****ing love it”.
 
The motion starts to build in the crowd as the bass gets cranked up hair rufflingly loud. Bouncing along like a Benidorm era Beck they end on the rollicking stomp of ‘Judas’. With a reputation for wild shows, there’s the feeling they held something back, the best is definitely still to come.

Setting the tone from the outset The Subways blast onto the stage, singer Billy Lunn stripped to waist, with a fiery look in his eye. Time spent cooped up recording their new album brings out a stir-craziness that turns ‘Oh Yeah’ into a riotous blur of shouting and wailing guitars. Barely given time to catch their breath before ‘Mary’ sweeps the crowd up in another joyous sing-along. With the feel of a homecoming show everyone is eager for a good time and the drink is flowing freely.

Charlotte jumps and writhes around stage with her guitar like losing control of a wild beast, as the music too quickly spirals out of reach. "Older" numbers like ‘With You’ sit with consummate ease alongside new single ‘Girls And Boys’. Charlotte’s breathy vocals rub shoulders ear-bleedingly heavy guitars that start the crowd surfing in earnest. Fired up, Billy joins in, getting entangled in a wrestling match with a fan above the crowd. Drummer Joel relentlessly keeps pace, a lone observer in a sea of chaos.
 
As teenage classic ‘Rock and Roll Queen’ surges forward Billy launches from the balcony into the crowd, diving head long into oblivion. Sweat drips, limbs flail and madness ensues, as the packed venue becomes a sea bouncing bodies. Left breathless and begging for more, the crowd bear witness to the new improved Subways. The rest of the UK, and the World for that matter won’t know what’s hit them!