大象传媒

It's the start of what is going to be a long sunny weekend, so what better way to begin than by going and trapping yourself indoors in a hot sweaty room and quaffing large quantities of dehydrating drinks? Well, if you insist... and it's no chore with a line-up like this. All three are capable of headlining venues, so to bring them together makes this pretty much unmissable.

And mentioning our openers, ATL is disappointed to note that their (infamous) pole-dancers have failed to appear. Despite the venue having poles in it. 听The pole-dancing track does appear however, and proves that 'It Bends In The Middle' needs no visual stimuli to add to it. Dropped in after the likes of 'The Feel' with its rocky, driving, pulse and 'Slice', a song about killing (could any psychiatrists please contact the band, there may be slight problems), this band are continuing in the tradition of Ash and Therapy? in terms of power-pop-rock-trios from our little neck of the woods.

Sandwiched in middle, possibly bending, are Mojo Fury, who have been quietly gathering themselves for an assault before unleashing their album on us. Walking on stage and cutting out an unwelcome Ghostbuster theme (ATL doesn't do irony, or ironing) to be replaced by their own, much more welcome, noise. It's grungey, with funky riffs, and a sneering, smiling, despairing vocal, all barely maintaining control. 'One More Time' is a seductive blend of jerky angularity and more traditional rock of many tones, in particular the 1980s American lo-fi college and grunge scenes, as Mojo Fury re-assert their position among the next generation of post-grungers infesting the city (such as A Plastic Rose and Ablespacer). Temporarily ditching his guitar allows front-man Mike to roam the stage, a manic presence during the raw wonder that is 'Everything'. Closing with 'Thank You' provides us with a chance to catch our breath, a slightly more sedate number, promising us a more than promising album, before leaving with a happy burst of noise.

"Could the supervisor please report to Cashier No.9?" This was not, unfortunately, broadcast during the brief technical delay to the start of the set. However, once normal service is resumed, it's into the slightly twisted, demented post-country funk, all rolling rhythms and no songs about dogs named Blue. A new track, 'Kill, Cut, Burn', has the same slightly understated leanness as before. Our familiarity with tracks like 'The Lighthouse Will Lead You Out' and '42 West Avenue' make them much more instant but there's no danger of contempt breeding here, as Cashier show that the prospect of an album has tightened them even more, and the originally rather sparse tracks now have the benefit of the live full band experience, bolstered into much bigger songs than from when they first appeared. 'Jump The Queue', for example, was a fairly delicate, almost Beach Boys affair, now it's a screeching jumper with big crashing drums. Closing with a similarly raucous rendition of 'Boom Boom Ha Ha', we're left wanting more, wondering where the rest of the set has gone. It's only this that let's us know how young the Cashier No.9 project is as they don't yet have enough quality material to play a long headline slot. Yet.

William Johnston