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"Hello Glastonbury...oh wait," grins Tin Pot head honcho Anto O'Kane to the assembled masses of 16 punters, a few bouncers and your humble ATL correspondent. It's 9 o'clock and by all accounts the West Belfast trouble-makers have gotten the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Again. But that doesn't seem to matter too much to Anto's mob. It's been a long time since this writer last saw the Tin-Pot's and all those hoary old clich茅s about practise making perfect seem to be true.

The Tin Pot Operation in 2006 sound exactly like a band from Stiff Records circa 1982 (ask your Da). They're taking the scraps from Mick Jones' and Elvis Costello's plate and making it work. They also seem to realise that all the best bands were gangs. Like Lizzy or "Da Brudders" before them, the Tin-Pots are a bona fide bunch of misfits. At times the broad, Belfast accent grates a little, but hey, nobody's perfect.

New single 'Black Eye' is nothing short of monstrous though, as is the set closer 'Bored with Belfast' Tonight the Tin Pots scoop the award for 'most improved band at belFEST' by a country mile. Hopefully next year they'll be further up the bill. Bored with Belfast? Possibly. Bored with the Tin-Pots? Not yet.

When it comes to measuring up on tonight's bill, hard rockers Inch High sadly fall a little short. By the second song it's pretty clear that the band would've faired better on a bill with similar acts like Pay*ola, and so they fall on deaf ears. Still, they are the only act to get a few punters up to dance, so fair play.

Remember Portadown's Element? A few years ago Element were the toast of belFEST and now they're back. Kinda. In Case Of Fire are decked out in matching uniforms, the three-piece even have their own entrance music-which is great if you're a WWF wrestler, but not so much if you're in the middle of the bill playing to a half-full room. Still, the songs are big, booming numbers that rattle the teeth, but after a while they tend to get a little samey. File under promising.

Dutch Schultz are in a similar situation as In Case of Fire. They're a new band that are still carrying around the baggage of their previous incarnation, in this case it happens to be Throat. The band is big on grooves. Nah - scratch that. Dutch Schultz are nothing short of pummelling. Although it's all too soon to predict for the lads, 2007 should be a big year for them.

And so we have tonight's headliners The Dangerfields. Singer/drummer Andrew Griswold and his ever rotating band of musicians are probably the most misunderstood band in the country. Not quite punk, not quite metal, the Dangerfields are a hard act to pin down. Consequently, the group's following tends to be somewhat confused. But forget what you've read before. Forget the ever-present rent-a-mob and the predictable in-jokes, because when they're on form, the Dangerfields are one of the best bands in the country.

Tonight we have Simsie on guitar and the bassist formerly known as Wasp Boy providing the low-end. They open with '1955' and from them on it's a high-octane rock 'n' rollin' race to the finish. Sadly there's no 'Maniac' in tonight's set-list and the cheesy 'Rock Club' is as half-cocked as John Wayne Bobbit, but these are minor criticisms. If you've ever thought that Misfits and Motorhead songs all sound the same, then the Dangerfields aren't the band for you. The rest of you will lap it up though. 'Born to Rock?' Hell Yeah!

Edwin McFee

Photos by Mark Leetch







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