Hard-Fi @ Abc

Come on Glasgow, you want some? jeers guitarist Ross Philips. Of course we do, we're from Glasgow... we'll set aboot ye. The Staines boys showcase songs from their just-released second album, Once Upon a Time in the West. Richard Archer wastes no time in telling us it was number one in the midweek charts, only half-heartedly crossing his cockey fingers in anticipation of the weekend. The crowd gets going when they launch into Suburban Knights and the highlights of the gig emerge as now perennial favourites Hard to Beat and closing number Living for the Weekend. The sing-along Archer requests for 70s Ska inspired track We Need Love falls a bit flat but the song itself has potential single written all over it. Will the latest LP carry the same clout as Stars of CCTV? No matter, the energy and the atmosphere provided by Hard-Fi's live set means that a Mercury nomination does not denote a black hole into oblivion. [Julie Paterson]