Interesting thoughts from Reel Big Fish’s merchandise guy. It does seem a mystery to some of the more seasoned ska and punk enthusiasts why acts such as Less Than Jake, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and, indeed, Reel Big Fish; acts who’ve toiled hard for many years slowly working their way up venue sizes are suddenly gaining a whole new legion of fans in the last 2 years -and fans with far too much hyperactive energy than I’m sure I had at 14!

You could look to P2P file sharing or even the punk rock door that Blink 182 seem to have opened for the more inquisitive youngsters but if you ask the kids I’m sure the only thing important to them is the music and watching a band whose music can make them jump around, sing and maybe pull some tasty looking boy/girl in the pit!

Thankfully for them there’re two supports to RBF with tunes just as strong and infectious, and considering Sugarcult’s debut album hasn’t yet been released in the UK the audible chorus of youngsters down the front singing along to every song suggests a hungry yearning in the UK for as much pop punk as these kids can get hold of! And looking at the crowd pogoing along to the bouncy bubblegum punk anthem ‘Bouncing off The Walls’ it looks like the rest certainly aren’t disappointed either.

As talented singer Tim wraps his golden vocals around current single ‘Stuck In America’, the Green Day-influenced ‘Daddy’s Little Defect’ and the incredibly catchy ‘You’re The One’ the band are clearly both surprised and excited at their new-found popularity. Most definitely ones to watch in the future.

Drive Thru upstarts The Starting Line ply a strain of poppiness that’s in much the same vein as Sugarcult and pretty much all the other bands on Drive Thru but where they come up trumps is in their choruses, where the fresh-faced harmonies of 17 year old vocalist Kenny and guitarist Mike truly excel. The Astoria may be too much of a leap for the timid and, ultimately, inexperienced band but thankfully the likes of ‘Given The Chance’ and ‘Best of Me’ prove they have just enough good songs to back themselves up.

And so the evening’s main draw. Reel Big Fish. Back once again and seemingly bigger than ever. It actually becomes so packed as the crowd make their way to the front security decide to cordon off the downstairs area from any more trying to squeaze their way in. Finally, they walk onstage and, having each seemingly consumed approximately 3 litres of Red Bull they bound into a set full of dance-friendly anthems and littered with the occasional set classic just to keep the kids on their toes.

Although they seem to be running low on the kind of humorous onstage banter we’ve grown accustomed to with RBF guitarist / trumpeter Scott’s impassioned plea for everyone to join in the Anti-war demonstrations on Feb 15th does little to fan the atmosphere, getting probably the biggest cheer of the night, the band subsequently heading into a re-energised version of their cover, and rock-club regular, ‘Take On Me’.

Aside from the overly flirtatious ‘nurse’ tittering about at the back of the stage throughout their performance this was a truly enjoyable night with two talented new acts and one undeniable and enduring kingpin of the ska-punk scene. Marvellous.