GARBAGE, the Wisconsin based alt-rockers made a rare appearance in the North this week.

Appearing at Northumbria Institute, they brought their ’20 Years Paranoid’ tour, celebrating the 20th anniversary of their ‘Version 2.0’ album to town.

Scottish singer Shirley Manson had flagged for some months on Twitter that the setlist would revolve around the record and its b-sides so although disappointing to some, it was no surprise to see songs like ‘Stupid Girl’, ‘Only Happy When It Rains’ and ‘Cherry Lips’ given the night off.

Happily, ‘Version 2.0’ has more than its share of great tunes and, it’s refreshing to see a band delving into their history and revisiting lesser known and rarely played material.

Steve Marker and Duke Erikson alternated between slashing guitar riffs and keyboards giving ‘Temptation Waits’ and ‘Special’ a fiery intensity while bassist Eric Avery and drummer/producer Butch Vig are a formidable rhythm section ensuring songs like ‘Hammering In My Head’ and ‘Dumb’ sounded immense.

Manson remains the band's focal point though. Orange haired and with a war-paint stripe around her eyes she oozed in-your-face attitude whether she was laid on stage belting out ‘I Think I’m Paranoid’ or pacing furiously around her bandmates.

The show built to a terrific climax with a mighty version of ‘Push It’ followed by ‘When I Grow Up’ and ‘You Look So Fine’, the latter morphing into Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’. Encores of ‘The Trick Is To Keep Breathing’ and a cover of Bowie’s ‘Starman’ brought the evening to a close.

Dave Lawrence