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Auntie Annie's is packed and the bands aren't even onstage yet, so things are looking good for Dead Til Friday's EP launch. Hotly tipped newcomers Mireau are the first band this evening. At first we're not sure what the hype is about; the band are full of energy onstage, but it seems to be to the detriment of keeping the songs in key. However, they quickly get it together over the next couple of songs, and by the end we're believing the hype too. They might lack experience, but that's something time will fix, and by the end of the show they even have the crowd singing along to the end chorus of 'A Guiding Light', which for a brand new band is definitely impressive.

Jackalfeud, just back from a week of misbehaviour in Poland, start off by apologising for how rough they look and feel. They have us instantly worried that we'll be getting a hangover impaired set, but our fears are obliterated in seconds, as they open with 'Beast' which quite literally is a beast of a tune. Having just released their own mini album Structures they have a catalogue of great songs, backed up by the momentum to bludgeon the crowd into listening and loving what they do. Rowan's vocals are clear and strong, and the band are as tight as the proverbial duck's you know what.

Dead 'til Friday are a band that can't be tied to one genre. Heavy hardcore riffs, rap metal breakdowns, harmonious vocals - they really have it all. So far they've managed to fit in support slots with And So I Watch You From Afar, Skindred and Your Demise, to name a few, but tonight it's all about them as they launch their second EP 'Water'. With a truly DIY ethic more punk rock than rap metal, they produced every aspect of the EP themselves, from the songs down to the misleadingly serene artwork.

Their stage presence is the first thing worth noticing, and they whip up the crowd like old pros, the atmosphere charged from the word go. It's a set that's full of surprises, too. The band confess to having rewritten the lyrics to 'Terror' just before coming onstage, as they thought they could make it better. Then we're treated to a flurry of their own songs mixed in with snippets of covers. EP title track 'Water' slips seamlessly into 听'Roots' by Sepultura, Metallica's''St Anger' leads into 'She's the Ideas Man's Daughter', and we even get treated to a full rendition of 'California Love' by Tupac and Dr Dre. It's a great twist, and we leave proudly clad in a new Dead 'Til Friday t-shirt with a certain amount of gangsta swagger.

Carrie Davenport