Gig review of Wildhearts + Hurricane Party + Terrorvision + Days Of Worth + The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster + Planet Of Women + Shortcut To Newark + Hanoi Rocks + Plan A + The Glitterati + The Grit + Tokyo Dragons + Robochrist

So this is what I missed Leeds Festival for then. Catching the train out to the coast first thing on a Saturday morning (well, halfway to the coast - due to trouble on the line I end up getting a bus from York) to see the last ever gig by both Wildhearts and Terrorvision, today has the omens of being a good day. And it doesn't disappoint.

Due to the aforementioned transport problems I end up missing Kid Ego and all but one song of Johnny Panic's set (though what little I do catch sounds promising enough in a sneered-up Stooges punk 'n' roll kinda way) so it's Robochrist (8) who kicks this whole shebang off for me. Clearly realising that this is a prime opportunity to convert more kids to the "thrash metal with kids' TV samples" cause, he doesn't disappoint rampaging through his set with boundless energy and earning a well-deserved mass ovation from the Second Stage crowd at the end.

Over on the main stage, the Tokyo Dragons (8) are holding court and put their recent label problems comprehensively behind them with arguably the best gig I've heard 'em play, firing off killer riffs and tunes with consummate ease. At their best ("Teenage Screamers") they sound like a band who should really be taking the British rock scene by storm rather than being banished back to the minors.

The Grit (6), in as a last minute replacement for Jackdaw 4, can't really follow that although it isn't for lack of trying - full marks to their double-bassist and his gravity-defying mohawk for a start. The only trouble is that their punkabilly set isn't really anything you won't have heard done better by other bands before (most notably the '80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster but more of them later). Good but not great.

This is the first time in over a year that I've seen The Glitterati (8) but they've certainly kept on getting better. Despite their album not really capturing their sound the way it should, live they absolutely tear the place up with the live versions of "Here Comes A Close-Up" and "You Got Nothing On Me" comprehensively smoking their studio counterparts.

The last time I saw Plan A (7) at Joseph's Well they put on an absolute blinder of a set. They don't quite reach the same heights today as they're hampered by the muddy sound mix but tunes like "She Said" and "Hey Ho" remain rough-cut punk gems and Jef Streatfield remains something that's all too rare among bands these days - a genuinely down-to-earth yet charismatic frontman.

The sound system also fails Hanoi Rocks (6) badly which is a real shame as the legendary Finnish glam-metallers are a fantastic live act on their day. However, with amp after amp and mic after mic going wrong, the edge gets taken off their set a bit despite Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy's undoubted charisma and the undeniable quality of tunes such as "Malibu Beach Nightmare" and "A Day Late, A Dollar Short". Hopefully next time I see 'em the technical gremlins'll do the decent thing and not rear their heads.

Shortcut To Newark (7) are a pleasant surprise - the name had me expecting emo-by-numbers but what we actually get is a good muscular dose of pop-punk which, unlike some of the less gifted proponents of this genre (3dB's Down et al), has a good mix of guts, tunes and singalong choruses. A band to quite possibly keep an eye out for.

I miss InMe's set to nip out for a quick snack and beer (well, I was always told growing up that "if you can't say something nice, it's probably better not to say anything") so the next band I see are Planet Of Women (7) on the Main Stage who put on an appealingly ferocious set of Cramps-indebted psycho-punk. It's a bit rough around the edges admittedly but there's plenty of promise there. Unfortunately their last song sees the tent quickly empty as an ominous bass rumble starts up on the Main Stage...

Yup, it's The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (8) back to claim more souls and kicking arse just as much as ever. With Guy McKnight and his men lurching around the stage like the Misfits possessed by Frankenstein's monster and cranking out top-drawer headbanger anthems like "Celebrate Your Mother" and "Rise Of The Eagles". We've missed these lads more than we thought it would seem.

Unfortunately, it leaves Days Of Worth (4) (the token emo band on the bill) sounding very much like fish out of water - there's plenty of earnest angst in their set but in the company they're keeping on this bill, it sounds totally out of place and sinks like a stone.

So once more unto the breech then for Terrorvision (9). The last gig they'll ever play and they certainly succeed in going out with a bang - right from the moment the opening riff to "Discotheque Wreck" fires in, tonight's set is one classic after another - if you're a certain age these are songs you grew up with and they still sound fantastic today - "Middleman", "Pretend Best Friend", "Celebrity Hitlist", "Josephine" plus the inevitable closing one-two of "Oblivion" and "Perseverance" and Tony Wright coming up with the stage quip of the night by saying "it's great to see so many people here to watch us and giving the X-Factor a miss!". Although the fact that Leigh's Malibu Stacey and Tony's Laika Dog have both put out excellent albums in the last year suggests that there is life beyond Terrorvision, what this reviewer for one wouldn't give to see them back for a reunion album some time soon.

It was always gonna be difficult for Hurricane Party (8), wrapping up proceedings on the Second Stage, to follow that but they put in a surprisingly good set. Although they do bear more than a passing resemblance looks-wise to early '90s glam metal laughing stocks Warrant, they power through their set with consummate ease throwing the sort of guitar hero shapes that you suspect they spent most of their teenage years perfecting in front of the bedroom mirror. Their set has the necessary attitude and tunes to back up the swagger as well with "Big Rock Show" and former single "Roadstar" being shamelessly good-time anthems. I await their soon-to-be-released debut album with interest.

Like Terrorvision before them, tonight is reputedly Wildhearts' (10) final gig but they're clearly intent on going out with a bang - there's enough pyros in their set to put prime-time Kiss to shame. Add to that several bouts of guitar-wrecking from the ever-hyperactive Ginger and some of the best Britrock tunes of the last fifteen years ("Everlone", "My Baby Is A Headfuck", "Caffeine Bomb", "Sick Of Drugs", "I Wanna Go Where The People Go") and it's the sort of headline set that every festival should arguably have. If they were planning on going out on a high, they sure as hell succeeded tonight.

All in all then, a damn fine way to spend a day at the coast. Any chance of another one next year like?