The Parkinsons

You could call this X-FM EXPOSURE night bill quite an interesting mix. In fact, walking into the first band's set, "interesting" is a good word to start off with...Oxford band The Young Knives definitely look it. And their in-between song banter is a bit like the three Ronnies doing the Mark & Lard show, in a softer accent of course, but still. Then there's the uniforms. The references to Cowgirls in England. And that spoken-word song, with very bad poetry and very strange background noise. Yes, interesting. Good, though.

You could of course say similar things of the leather jacket, sunglasses-indoors, furry-hattedness of Glasgow'sV-Twin, but where the first band played straightforward fun-pop, V-Twin break out a wave of sonic confusion that really shouldn't work, but so does. Indie goes freeztyle jazz, via leftfield dance and, uhm, cowbells.

To create a V-Twin effect: Throw all the instruments you can fit onto a small stage into a blender, select SUPERSPEED and leave the top off. Watch it sonically decorate your room, and I dare you not to get dizzy. V-Twin try and keep a straight face throughout, but can't help succumb to a) the mounting heat underneath those hats and b) the fun they're generating. You can only keep your cool for so long, especially when your bandmates at the back keep giggling and fucking up. Yeah. Try not to love V-Twin live, I dare you...

Last up are the infamous.. The Parkinsons, no, not one of the current wave of "The (something-or-other-and-too-dull-for-words-really)" bands, but the real deal. Wise to stay glued to the sidewall though, unless you feel like rocking hard tonight. The first song hasn't even started yet and the singer's already on everyone's heads, dipping in and out of the crowd like a demented dolphin on speed and this is pretty much how it stays for the rest of the gig.

The stage is bathed in red light, and the band come on shirtless, it all looks like you've arrived at the rock concert in Hell, but let's face it, this is where the best gigs will be. And The Parkinsons believe in rock'n'roll. They believe in making a mighty noise, jumping around in search of pretty girls, dangling dangerously from speakers and raising the proverbial afterlife in general. And when things get too hot they ask you to shower them in beer.

There's not a note ouf of place, this is pure adrenaline coffee, and just watching it feels exhausting. Leaving the venue your eardrums are pleasantly exercised. If you didn't get bruised, count yourself luckly. Or maybe not,...