CSS @ Drygate, Glasgow, 22 June

Formed in São Paulo in 2003, CSS (Cansei de ser sexy, or ‘Tired of being sexy’) encapsulate a free-spirited spontaneity. “CSS always had this stance of not taking itself seriously and it is still true”, iconic lead singer Lovefoxxx (Luísa Matsushita) recently explained. Just over two decades, four albums, and countless live shows around the world later, even as their sound has evolved and grown and the music landscape has changed, they’ve indeed remained true to this ethos. Tonight in Drygate marks the band’s first UK shows in eleven years – as part of their aptly named 'It's Been a Number of Years Tour 2024' – but any allusions of this being a night of mourning are quickly dispelled, as the band brings out one of their most iconic hits, Music Is My Hot Hot Sex, early on.

Crammed into the sweaty, intimate venue, the crowd’s response is electric, all ecstatic cheering, dancing and singing along. If we’re going out, we’re going out with a bang, and the momentum only continues to grow and swell as the band transition from the dancey grooves of Move into the anarchic clashes of Fuck Everything. The raucous, fresh energy from the stage to the floor tonight makes it feel like we could be watching a band in the peak of its early heydey, yet the kinship, love and dexterity radiating from its members on stage is one forged from years of friendship and collaboration.

There are welcome surprises peppered into tonight’s set: City Grrrl gets a shoutout to Glasgow; and at a brief interlude Lovefoxxx banters with the crowd, challenging people to name five Motorhead songs. Her charisma and skill as a performer are in full swing and it's hard to take our eyes off her as she channels everything from braggadocious rapping in Portuguese, to impressively versatile vocals on the band’s infectiously fun rendition of Madonna’s Hollywood. The peak has to be Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above, guitarists Luiza Sá, Ana Rezende and Carolina Parra expertly shredding and adding new dimensions to the instantly recognisable hit. Near the show’s close, Lovefoxxx leaps off-stage and crowd surfs to arms awaiting eagerly outstretched – for a moment in time, we’re all a huge extended band, honorary members of CSS.

Tonight is one of the most fun gigs I’ve experienced in a while. As if pre-emotively warding off any sadness at the show's end (any mention of nearing the set’s close are met with playful boos), the finale sees the band conga-lining off stage to Vengaboys' We Like to Party. While it is, in a sense, a bittersweet return, as this tour is likely to mark the band’s last, this impermanence fits perfectly with the band’s raison d'être: capturing life in all its messy, real glory.