AFTER a £250,000 revamp, Fibbers, the much-loved York institution, reopened on Friday.

The layout has been flipped back to front and given an extensive refurbishment with a repaint, fresh lighting and sound, and a sparkling new bar.

There’s been a lot of bluster about it in York and it looks impressive, but the place is a rock club and no one comes to admire the surroundings. The place will stand or fall on the bands it books. In Manchester’s The Courteeners, it went for a safe option for the opening night. A guaranteed sell-out.

The band is late to the stage and the place still smells of paint. I’m trapped in bodybuilders’ corner, surrounded by skinhead muscle men, sweating profusely in the heat.

It feels a bit like a gym.

The ubiquitous “Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Yorkshire” chant starts up, followed by the riposte of “Manchester la, la, la”. But before War of the Roses II breaks out, The Courteeners arrive, and everyone gets arm-in-arm as the guitar kicks in.

The band has an army of intense fans and everyone seems to know all the words of the songs. Male friends, sodden with perspiration, yell the lyrics into each other’s faces. A group of girls gather at the back, a safe distance from the action.

The set goes on a bit too long for me, though I am in a minority. The Courteeners specialise at doing arms-in-theair, blokey, pub rock tunes, like a sanitised version of The Libertines.

The venue is new and edgy, the band is derivative and rather banal. Fibbers will do well, but only if the management avoids the pitfall of the previous one, which continually resorted to the tried and tested. There are some good acts coming up, and York really needs this venue, so let’s hope they do.

■ How Fibbers’ new owner, Tokyo Industries, sees the future of nightlife in York, see 7Days on Thursday.