The Lemonheads - The Liquid Room, 8 May

Following a lacklustre set from an uncharacteristically blasé Icarus Line, Evan Dando takes the stage in front of a palpably expectant Liquid Room. To his credit, the Lemonheads' frontman – tonight sporting a rather incongruous woolly hat – puts up a good fight, airing many of the old classics and introducing us to a clutch of driving new numbers. Unfortunately for Dando, there is a yawning chasm at the heart of his performance; a definite sense that something is just not clicking. Maybe it's the muddy sound, but only one song – a fabulously melancholy rendition of My Drug Buddy – comes anywhere close to making the hairs on the back of this reviewer's neck stand on end. As the set drags on, an acoustic interlude comes as a welcome respite, but even an intimate rendition of The Outdoor Type sounds strangely flat. Sadly for all concerned, the crowd's obvious affection for Dando makes his workmanlike performance seem doubly disappointing. [Jay Shukla]