Live Review: Bluejuice, Sures, The British Blues

“You can stay up there up the back and drink your tea, but that's not what we're here for,” Jake Stone says, only half jokingly, to the oldies rattling our pacemakers during Bluejuice's set. “I will come and get you. These people will take me there to get you,” he bellowed, gesturing to those eager fans and under-agers who had danced hard down the front since 8.30. Leading the half-sized but fully-charged Metro into a frenzy, Stone seemed to literally bounce off the walls during the hour and a bit of new and old tunes, performed by a band wearing yellow neon in front of black backgrounds like a daggy Daft Punk. The 'coming to get the tea drinkers' was a threat nearly realised several times as he launched himself into the crowd and was surfed around, although the long-suffering roadies and security folk won that battle and Stone only made it a few rows back.

As well as newbie S.O.S, old gold like Vitriol, Medication, (Ain't) Telling the Truth and Act Yr Age (complete with its creepy-lovely forbidden love vid) all played into the hands of the hyped crowd. Also super were Cheap Trix and Facelift (again, visually enhanced), before going hard for Broken Leg then going home. Despite proclaiming that they have been quiet of late and “are no longer the hottest thing… you know, we're not Flume or anything,” there was no denying Bluejuice still has it going on. Prior to the headliner was a strange (but great) double feature of support acts – a folk-inspired The British Blues, and Sures who seriously looked like they were sporting a toy drum kit. It was punk and awesome, but it was strange. Finding a support for the likes of Bluejuice was always going to be a departure from the main attraction (now that TISM don't play anymore there's not much competition for novelty dance pop) but these choices were certainly eclectic. The former gave us tea drinkers some echo and acoustic prowess, while the latter just enough youthful mongrel and pop punk growl. A strange but cool combination of tunes all round.