S*M*A*S*H At The Water Rats

For those of you who don't know, S*M*A*S*H were at the forefront of the early '90s, pre-Britpop New Wave of New Wave.

It's nearly ten years since I got blown away by them in Brighton - a power trio of post-punk attacke with some of the most fragile and sensitive lyrics I've heard. They split mid-90s due to personal demons but now, post-junk, they're reformed and Ed, Rob and Salv are back on stage.

Entering the Water rats was like entering a time tunnel. The smoke, sweat and beer smells took me back to my days of backroom gigs and smoke filled nights. Yet there was a lack of 17-year-olds - we were all 25 - 35.

The Souls - S*M*A*S*H's main support - are worth a mention, so look out for them -  a punchy trio peddling urgent angst soul-influenced indie rock.

Whne S*M*A*S*H entered the spotlight I felt a weird tingle of anticipation and Bang! - Ed lifts off with drugs Again. He's only warming up - no scissor kicks, windmills or posturing. It's as if he's exercising demons - which maybe the case, when you listen to him sing about unrequited love, drug abuse and close friends' suicides.

By the end of the opening sng he'd settled in and was up to full-tilt maximum S*M*A*S*H - Tidal Wave, Lady Love Your C*nt, Another Love and finishing on Real Surreal ... before coming back to the usual climax of Revisisted No 3 spliced into I Want To Kill Somebody. An impromptu stage invasion ensued with Fan #1 taking the mic to re-affirm the song's hitlist of Maggie Thatcher, Jeffery Archer, H#John Major.

As it's Valetine's season, last word to Ed: "The best poems in the world/ are written by a boy about a girl." Great to see him singing again.