It’s worth mentioning that the ‘Slum’s reviewer for the night is a girl on the wrong side of 5’2” tall, so we’re slightly dreading the crush that might ensue when Foals come on stage. As their sound is hardcore and intense we’re expecting the crowd of mostly big indie blokes and over-excited lads in hoodies to get pretty physical. When they take to the stage, it’s obvious Foals are serious lads and they’ll be no tomfoolery on the menu tonight. It takes a while for them to get in the zone, drummer Jack starts to bang out rhythms, basses are tuned, levels checked and singer Yannis tensely paces the stage, mounting speakers and screaming randomly in to the mic. They crash in to hits such as Cassius, Balloons and Two Steps which pleases the crowd no end and so tight is their concentration they rarely engage with the audience, instead looking inwards at each other, base guitars strapped high with sweat literally pouring off them. It’s high-energy and frenzied and the crowd are a mixture of entranced and possessed- the moshers look like they’re about to cause each other some serious damage. We’re impressed more than we expected to be and it’s one of the best, most solid live performances we’ve seen in ages - newcomers Black Kids have a lot to live up to.

There’s been so much written about Florida’s Black Kids that we’re interested to see if they can cut it live or it really is just a bunch of hype. Like many cool American bands (The Killers, Kings of Leon, Scissor Sisters) they’re enjoying success on this side of the pond first and debut single I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You has been hammered on the radio. Seeing them in the flesh is a bit of a surprise – they look like a bunch of geeky high school kids performing out of their garage for the first time rather than the next big thing in music. The song-with-the-very-long-name and current fan fave Hurricane Jane are the two spikes of the night that get the crowd singing along but it’s a lukewarm reaction compared with Foals’. Whilst their 80’s synth pop explosion will probably be huge we weren’t exactly blown away by them but it’s early days yet.