Electric Six grabbed the attention of anyone with ears with the attention grabbing likes of ‘Gay Bar’ (accompanied by an infamous music video of Abraham Lincoln pole dancing) and have stuck to the same comedic pop-rock formula for a total of (yes, really) nine albums. Their most recent effort, ‘Heartbeats And Brainwaves’, takes subject matters such as fire, nuclear war, dancing and fucking, and shoves them into a blender to see what kind of pandemonium comes out the other end.

Admittedly aged since those early days, sole songwriter Dick Valentine has survived various line-up changes and successfully continues his reign as the ‘Dance Commander’ tonight. Surveying his audience like a jaguar on heat, he prowls the stage with a pinch of Jack Black in his eye and a glint of The Grinch in his grin, sporting an expression that wavers somewhere between bemusement and sheer mania, proudly draped in a cape emblazoned with a large heart. Assisting in the shock wardrobe department is keyboard player Tait Nucleus, who sits intently in the corner bathed in glitter with his face painted ghostly white. Aside from ‘French Bacon’ singing the praises of “brand X spandex” the start of the show is a bit of an anti-climax; lacking pizzazz and quickly becoming repetitive.

Inevitably, however, an explosion of mass pogoing marks the opening bars of ‘Danger! High Voltage’, ‘Gay Bar’ is an absolutely unforgettable experience and ‘Gridlock!’ jerks into action like The Buzzcocks’ ‘Something’s Gone Wrong Again’ with a disco groove. Electric Six’s rainbow tinged funk is broken up with bizarre monologues involving Spain and drummers from Twickenham, as well as country music oddball of the set ‘Pink Flamingos’. “Damn you English and your eleven o’clock curfew. If we were doing a gig in the deep south we’d play until… twelve o’clock,” complains Valentine. Though thankfully, and much to the enjoyment of the crowd tonight, he still manages to squeeze in an encore.

Lydia Parry