Last night I went along to The Rage Into Spring, the latest show from the folk at The Rage. A pretty good line-up it was too, once the assembled crowd had chowed down on little bowls of salmon and potatoes. Oh yes, this is grown-up gigging alright. Why, there were actual grown-ups there, by which I mean men in their 50s. One of them was dancing up a storm, actually.

Anyway, onto the music. Tom Hatred and the Angryband were first up, ploughing a pretty Morrissey-ish furrow with a song drolly describing that Cupid chap as "a bastard".

Anyway, onto the music. Tom Hatred and the Angryband were first up, ploughing a pretty Morrissey-ish furrow with a song drolly describing that Cupid chap as "a bastard". Perhaps a more accurate reference would be Richard Hawley fronting The Housemartins. None of their songs blew me away, but they're a likable lot.

James Yuill is probably going to be blighted by comparisons to Stephen Merchant for the simple reason that he is tall, blond and works the geek-chic angle. His music is definitely more likely to appeal to hipsters than nerds though, with his combination of beats, acoustic guitar and melancholia recalling the likes of LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip. A cover of "Packt Like Sardines In a Crushd Tin Box" went down particularly well.

Next up were The Clik Clik, who have already been tipped for the top by the likes of Popjustice among others. Any cynicism at their distinctly nu-rave appearance was soon swept away by a terrific performance - my only complaint would be that it was too short, which is pretty good as negatives go. I'd been underwhelmed by their songs before seeing them live, where they took on a zesty - yes, zesty - new dimension. Bravo The Clik Clik. They shall go far (just try and see past the clobber).

The Crimea were the last act, and were going to have a hard time following such dynamic young scamps. Their closing-time epic rock has never really struck a chord with me, and this set didn't win me over - they're undoubtedly a competent outfit but the songs continue to fail to grab me. Soz.

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