First support band Thomas Tantrum - I've seen them somewhere before, can't remember where or who they were supporting last time. In any case they were awful - not only could the lead singer lady not sing, but she couldn't play guitar very well either. One to be avoided, boys and girls.
Next up Operator Please, an altogether different experience, a five-piece with a Beth Ditto from Gossip lookalike as singer/guitarist, and another girl playing violin (yeah I know, violin, but believe me as a live act it really worked).
Their sound was a bit reminiscent of Arcade Fire, mixed with a hint of The Pogues - in any case we enjoyed their lively set, and they certainly wouldn't be out out place supporting our boys sometime. TBC and Fatbusjim will either be pleased or horrified to hear their cover of Devo's Whip It.
The main event was The Futureheads, whose 3rd (and IMHO best) album "This Is Not The World" was released last week.
Lights down at 9:50, and they strolled onto the stage unannounced to open with Decent Days and Nights, swiftly followed by new song but already crowd favourite thanks to free download "Broke Up The Time".
The new album puts less focus on harmonies, and more on raw guitar work, and last night's set reflected this, with each song played fast at max volume. Perhaps the only exception was the current single "Radio Heart", a strange choice, as I think it's the weakest track on the album, so if you hear it played on the radio, don't get put off - it's ok, but the rest of the album is better.
Best bits - Carnival Kids, Man Ray, and Beginning Of The Twist.
Worst bits - My mate getting a boot in the face from a crowd surfer (the band made their feelings towards crowd surfers very clear too.
), and a short set with no encore. The crowd were really up for this gig, and the mosh pit was jumping and singing all night, so it was a bit of a disappointment that it was all over by 10:50. Assume it was due to the fact that they're supporting the Manics and Foo Fighters at a stadium gig in Manchester tonight, so didn't want to overdo it before one of their biggest ever audiences. 
In any case, the tickets were only £11, so I reckon we still got value for money, and as a bonus I saw at least 5 people who were older than me.
