The Happy Mondays @ Corn Exchange, 24 Aug

If the Happy Monday's were a cat, they would surely be on the last of their nine lives by now. But while their recent incarnations were haphazard and half-arsed, the fact that they have most of their original line-up on the same stage for the first time in a long time, and a new album on the shelves, suggests a band looking forwards rather than backwards. Not that anyone has come to hear the new stuff tonight - promising though it sounds - it's old beasts such as Kinky Afro and Step On that lead to the most spirited rug-cutting amongst the crowd this evening. Julie Gordon's soaring voice keeps things ticking over; Bez is back on top form, all flailing simian moves and that ever-present dead-eyed stare, shaking his maracas like it's 1991; while Shaun Ryder remains seated throughout most of the evening, advising any musicians in the crowd "not to have a big fook-off dinner before a show," and spitting out the street rhymes through his brand new set of knashers - akin to Uncle Fester after a (partial) makeover. It's good to have them back, again. [Barry Jackson]