We had seen Land Of Rubber Men before at the ABC2 last November, and almost a year on, we were quickly reminded of their talents as they played a line of tracks from their forthcoming debut album, plus we got a cracking rendition of Moonshine.

Angus Burns had a weird charm to him, but more importantly, he was a capable vocalist and guitarist, and the rest of the band were just as good; Fraser giving us smooth bass lines, Angus Morton being cool on the sax, and some sweet drumming from Matthew.

Most of their numbers had pretty easygoing rhythms and a sort of chilled quality to them, although there were one or two where they broke out with bouncy, energetic spurts, but all were great.

Overall, it was the ideal way to get the crowd warmed up and the night kicked off. We’ll certainly be making a point of grabbing their record as soon as it is out.

Right from the get-go, Honeygrip unleashed into a set of smashing tracks, mainly from their debut EP, with the majority riding off an insane energy.

Jamie, who was wearing the most colourful of attires that would make even 70’s-era Billy Connolly jealous, had a hell of a powerful voice that he put to use. The riffs from Kyle and Michael were superb, and the rhythm sections courtesy of Alex and Garry were just blistering.

The guys were really animated and had an appealing presence on stage that obviously rubbed off on the crowd. Capping off with the awesome Tequila, where they were joined by the legendary Uncle Funkle, who got real intimate with Jamie, it was a tight performance that could easily conclude a gig any other night without a doubt.

It was going to be a struggle for headliners New Vice to follow that, but in their defense, they are another kettle of fish altogether. As amazing as Honeygrip were, this was a case of them being a unfitting support for the bill.

But with all that said, New Vice did put on a good showing. Their rock and roll sound had this jazzy essence to it with a slight hint of blues, and compared to many of the other acts on the scene right now, this really felt like something different to us.

The harmonies were solid, the sax and guitar were stylish, and the beats were genuinely toe-tapping and catchy. Even Uncle Funkle returned to the fray, where he and his dreaded friend put on a theatrical dance along to the group, in which the crowd were entertained by.

Sure, this wasn’t the same craze put on by their predecessors, but it was still an enjoyable, easy listening affair to finish off the show on a positive high.