Twenty Years in the Indie Disco Machine…

Miles Hunt, singer of The Wonder Stuff, is in a good mood. In front of some four thousand fans, with a a mammoth 26 song set, he's on the red wine and shouting his mouth off. As usual. After all, It's not everyday you get to play your hometown, fans commuting from all over the country to see you.Anyone would think it was Christmas.

With a six act supporting bill spread across three rooms, it's more of an indoor festival than a usual gig. Jim Bob (From Carter USM) went down especially well, but local heroes The Twang were the main draw in the big room. Big enough to headline here thamselves and much much improved from when I last saw them two years ago, and they opened up the new Academy in their own right recently, The Twang made the shambles they had been two years ago seem like a distant memory. It's a long way from being a huge fan of the band as a young 'un…to playing on the same stage supporting them.

And For the second year in a row of what seems to be a christmas tradition of holding a big party whilst playing one of those old albums in full, The Wonderstuff are back- and this time, recording a live DVD. Tonight, it's the turn of grebo folk classic "Hup!" in its entirerity. Being chained to a certain set of songs can have its drawbacks, as what works well of record doesn’t always translate to a dancefloor four thousand full.

After a slow and sluggish start with "Thirty Years In the Bathroom", the long time favourite "Radio Ass Kiss" sees the crowd moving and grooving. It’s twenty years in the indie disco machine, baby, and a collection of bittersweet regrets to come on stage. Songs such as "Unfaithful" (dedicated to Tiger Woods) and "Piece of Sky" touch the heartstrings, and"Can't Shape Up" touches both that and the dancefloor. It's been a very long time since these songs have been played on stage, and much to the delight of many present, the band are on fine form.

Any gig though, isn't just down to the people on stage. It's also down to everyone else in the room, and tonight the receptive, ecstatic audience gave it their all. Much to the delight of Miles, who says it's nights like these that he used to dream about when he formed a band. With a nod to other local legends Pop Will Eat Itself [via a cover of their "Inside You"], it’s the singles from those days when the Stuffies were the biggest band in the land that go down in a greatest hits encore that’s longer than the gig itself. "Circlesquare" is a baggy folk groove - imagine the Happy Mondays mixed with the Waterboys, in its own bizarre way - and "On the Ropes" is a stormer.

The fall flat on your face response to the next song ,"Last Second of the Minute", shows though just how few of the fans are familiar with the more modern songs. And then comes the oldies again, and Predictable it may be, "Here Comes Everyone" is loved like an old friend, and "Caught In My Shadow" sees Miles reminiscing about old record shops long moved on, and shooting a video in Pigeon Park. "Mission Drive" sees the crowd going nuts.I

ts not just the band themselves giving it everything, but everyone in the room. It'll be a long while before the academy gets such a raptourous response. Its the peak of the night, in a night full of them. But no Matter how long they played, it seems odd to miss a few favourite old classics out. "Who Wants To Be The Disco King?" in particular, is notable by its abscence.

However, before too long, it’s the end and though the band are firing on full cylinders in the best show I've seen them do in a long time, the crowd starts to slacken out. And its soon obvious, logical, and entirely predictable why.

Going on stage so late - 10PM - sees the crowd thinning out as the night goes on. So by the time the band finish at quarter to twelve, a large number of people have had to leave to make the last bus home. It's pointless to go on so late that the very people who've paid to see you and enjoy and waited a year to see you are forced to leave because they've jobs in the morning and the last bus home is about to leave.

To show a little consideration by going on slightly earlier, meaning people would get to see the band they've actually paid good money to see, would be a small effort to make, but mean that many people wouldn’t leave the gig with a bad aftertaste in their mouth. The same happened last year, and you'd hope the band had learned. Please next time, just think a little for those of us with jobs to go to in the morning, or those reliant on public transport.

In a mammoth set full of much loved old songs, the band and crowd both had a grand time.Marred only by a late start time meaning half the crowd had to leave before the end, it’s a true hometown hoedown. And it's a great show to capture for DVD.

So, Same time next year, anyone? See you there then.I'll be the one down the front with the faded old t-shirt….

Setlist: Thirty Years In The Bathroom / Radio Ass Kiss / Them Big Oak Trees / Golden Green / Cartoon Boyfriend / Unfaithful / Piece Of Sky / Let's Be other people/ Don’t Let Me Down, gently / Can't Shape Up / Room 410 [long] / Goodnight Though

Encore: Gimme Some Truth (Jane Says) / Inside You / Circlesquare / On The Ropes / Last Second Of The Minute / Here Comes Everyone / Caught In my Shadow / Mission Drive / Size Of a Cow / A Song Without An End / Give Give Give Me More More More / Unbearable / Ten Trenches Deep

Photos from Putney, 2009

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