Catfish and the Bottlemen, O2 Academy, Newcastle

IT`S not that long ago that Welsh Indie Rockers, Catfish and the Bottlemen were dreaming of stardom playing in car parks outside of gigs by artists such as Kasabian. They certainly must have done something right as their debut album, The Balcony, released a matter of months ago, cracked the Top Ten and now they have a sold out UK tour on their hands.

Showing that age is no barrier to talent, local ten-year-old super fan Tom Smith, opened the show impressively in what was a really spirited gesture by the headliners and warmed the evening up nicely before Washington`s finest, The Little Comets raised the tempo.

With only a single album to draw from, Catfish and the Bottlemen`s set was short but well and truly direct with no hint of excess fat to bog them down. With a style nodding towards a more edgy Shed Seven, the band was upbeat, energetic and firing on all cylinders with frontman Van McCann delivering the hazy, anthemic melodies of Kathleen and Pacifier with youthful exuberance. With the packed crowd singing every single word throughout the set, they at times drowned out the band. This was stirring stuff. Whoever said that guitar-based rock music was dead clearly needs to get out more.

The music business is littered with carcasses of those bands tipped as the next big thing. The band has proved that with a unique approach to marketing, combined with a strong set of songs and a pinch of luck that dreams can come true.

Mick Burgess