GiggingNI.com

The Maccabees

With Two Door Cinema Club; Panama Kings;

2010, and it would appear that the boys are well and truly back in town. Following a year dominated by the girls, from the quirky Florence to the electro stylings of La Roux, tastemaker and hipster bible the NME has decreed that 2010 is open and for the taking by a bright new wave of guitar-backed boys in skinny jeans brave enough to try their hand, inviting South London via Brighton quintet The Maccabees, tonight joined by local favourites Two Door Cinema Club and Panama Kings, to spell out its idiosyncratic vision of the coming year during the magazine's annual tour. If tonight, the closing night of said tour, is anything to go by, it looks set to be a good one.

Following a roaring set by the boundlessly enthusiastic Panama Kings, who drove an already excitable crowd into a state bordering on mass hysteria, came Two Door Cinema Club who, to my shame, I had yet to see live. Having heard extremely positive reports of their previous gigs, with even Kanye West granting them a recent honourable mention, I was eager to see if they lived up to the colossal buzz surrounding them at the moment, and to their credit, they didn't disappoint.

Racing through punchy electronic indie-disco staples such as, 'Do You Want It All?', 'Cigarettes in The Theatre' and the climatically surging maelstrom of bleeps and beats of latest hit, 'I Can Talk', in figure hugging, crisp suits that may lead many an audience member to believe they share a tailor with Spandau Ballet, the Bangor boys blow the crowd away, propelling their songs with a momentum and super-tight instrumentation akin to the live work of an early Bloc Party, that give this particular homecoming gig an air of triumph. As they retire off stage after a set that has seen them secure their place not just as a leading light in the local music scene, but in the entire UK, one thing's certain - they won't be playing support slots for too much longer.

No pressure then, for headliners The Maccabees. Yet they needn't worry; beginning with the unassuming yet compelling 'William Powers', as frontman Orlando Weeks yelps and stutters frantically over lithe, frantic guitars, drowned in nervy reverb, dancing the whole time like he's rigged up to a high voltage power supply and still managing to maintain his unwavering cool, it's clear that they can hold their own.

'All in Your Rows', a gem of an album track, sees the band showcase their astounding talent on a song positively rife with Smiths-esque witticisms: 'You left us standing with no understanding', and as its galloping, ridiculously danceable backing gives way to the quirkily sweet 'Precious Time' (any song that makes reference to Scalextric is obviously going to be an immediate winner) it seems that the band can do no wrong in the eyes of a crowd who are loving every minute. Although followed by debatably the weakest song in their repertoire, 'Young Lions', as the audience begins to wane amidst slightly lacklustre verses, this minor hitch is soon overcome. The band decide it's time to launch into the organ-jangling ferocity that impressed as their very first single, the smashing 'X Ray', sending the crowd into rapturous chaos, a wild moshpit ensuing right on time.

The sprawling shanty 'Can You Give it', arrives next, its billowing guitars and oddly soulful vocals lending it an almost cinematic quality, and confirming it as an audience favourite as it culminates in a group sing along. The highlight of the night, however, arrives in the form of the sublimely subtle 'Toothpaste Kisses', a delicately meandering ode to the simple pleasures of young love which sees Weeks' voice flourish, complimented by the skeletal backing of gently-strummed guitars and a sole ukulele, coaxing a cheeky wink out of the notoriously shy frontman as he intones, 'Cradle me, I'll cradle you' over the immaculately sunny harmonies of an acoustic backing. Even being played half to death on a recent Samsung advert hasn't dented the song's undeniable charm, something which the following 'First Love' also has by the bucketload, from opening jaunty, off kilter guitars to the smartly constructed bridge, 'And are you cool? Symmetrical? Hypocritical? Analytical? So critical', wailed in Orlando's distinctively punctuated South London drawl. A more reflective tone is observed on 'No Kind Words', the leading track from their recent second album, which sees heartfelt vulnerability replaced with brooding and steely determination, furrowed brows taking the place of the twee nostalgia which infused many of the earlier songs. Weeks and guitarist Felix White harmonise in melancholy, deathly, whispers, 'If you've got no kinds words to say, then you should say nothing more at all', and at this point, the band's astonishing tonal dexterity is evident; one minute they're whistling a breezy solo, the next smouldering with a captivating intensity, and even more remarkably, they manage to pull both off with inimitable aplomb.

What better way, then, to close a fantastic set than with debatably the stand-out track from 'Wall of Arms', the epic yet intimate, 'Love You Better', an anthemic, grandiose song reflective of the incredible maturity of the album, the gig finishing on a euphoric note with the audience hollering the closing refrain back to a smiling band. Charismatic, clever and quite possibly the best indie band to emerge in years, The Maccabees have played a blinding set, enough to brighten up anyone's Monday night despite the dubious lighting.

'Thank you so much, Belfast', murmurs an endearingly humbled Weeks, bowing offstage for the last time on the final evening of a lengthy tour. 'Have a good week, have a good year, and we'll see you sometime in the future.' At this point in time, the prospect of an upcoming visit seems very, very appealing indeed. Let's hope they don't take their precious time about making a return.