The Rifles / Jersey Budd / The Maybes?

Liverpudlian five piece The Maybes? open tonight's proceedings, and their jangly, Madchester inspired sound is pleasantly distracting without ever venturing anywhere particularly original. Sounding a bit like The Magic Numbers, a bit like Inspiral Carpets, and a bit like Cast, it all seems like we've been here before, many times. The highlight of the set is the almost post-rock, My Vitriol-esque instrumental, 'Promise' which closes the short set.

If The Maybes? are derivative, Jersey Budd is a thief. During his forty minute set, he appears to lift wholesale from the catalogues of Springstein, Dylan, Weller and the rest, and the result is a terminally dull set, devoid of imagination, innovation or atmosphere. The one high point comes with the penultimate number, which gets people dancing for the first time, but this is not enough to even come close to saving this performance.

Right from the foreboding intro to current single 'Talking', it is clear that The Rifles are fired up and determined to start the long Easter weekend off with a bang. The fantastic ode to the groupie that is 'She's Got Standards' keeps the tempo up, and by the time the incendiary 'Local Boy' rolls around, the small room at the Academy is bouncing, and security are exchanging nervous glances.

Proving that The Rifles can play the sensitive card when cause demands, the Specials-esque 'She's The Only One' and the anthemic 'Spend A Lifetime' slow things down and get the ladies in the room swooning over Joel Stoker and co. It is in these quieter moments that the quality of the songwriting really shows through, and shows why this band are head and shoulders above more commercially successful contemporaries such as The Ordinary Boys and The Enemy, neither of whom can come close to matching the level of excitement created by The Rifles when they hit their stride.

When their debut album, 'No Love Lost' was released in 2006, The Rifles were heavily criticised for their clear love of the punk and new wave movements, and their sound is certainly borrows heavily from such bands as The Jam and The Clash. What The Rifles add to the mix, however, is what sets them apart. The excitement of this band in the live arena has to be witnessed to be understood. The passion and the power of this band is what sets them apart, and makes them such a must see act.

FUTURE GIGS