Tonight the Beirkeller is subject to a severe disturbance in the fabric of time; not only are The Wonder Stuff playing, but it seems that all of the indie nerds from yesteryear have appeared. I was wondering where I’d put them. I could go on for ages with the ‘old’ jibes, but I’ll bite my tongue. The fact is that The Wonder Stuff completely rock the geriatric crowd tonight, dispelling any impressions that they are two-hit wonders.

One of the most striking aspects of The Wonder Stuff is their poly-faceted back-catalogue, from the jovial ‘Size of a Cow’ and the cheeky ‘Unbearable’ to the apocalyptic ‘Donation’, the band keep the audience on their toes with tonight’s generous set. However, you can see why the boys are largely ignored in present times with ridiculous last single ‘Blah Blah Lah Di Dah’ and moribund Radio 2 track ‘Sun Goes Down on Manor Road,’ which very nearly pushes the set into an early grave.

Tonight the band creates a warm and fuzzy friends-reunited vibe and the crowd just lap it up. On stage, lead singer, Miles Hunt, just can’t stop chatting (a stark contrast to the miserable violinist, who supposedly has realised that this whole retro-band thing isn’t as cool as she first thought), which is possibly a bad thing as no one stopped him confessing that The Wonder Stuff is his favourite band - that’s nice Miles. Self-obsessed comments and the occasional un-cool name drop (Levellers, anyone?) aside, tonight’s banter is enough to warm even the most despondent violinist.  

As the gash in the space-time continuum repairs itself and the punters from the 90s leave, the memory of The Wonder Stuff still sticks in my mind. Sure, the band are no longer under the lime-light, but who cares? Oh, and where was Vic Reeves?

(3/5)

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