Half an hour earlier, one Andrew Montgomery – the bookish looking former frontman of Britrock nearly men Geneva – wanders around the bar upstairs, his brow furrowed, laughing nervously as he chats with his band. This is Amityville’s first official gig and there are a number of Geneva die-hards scattered around the small venue waiting to see what the man has been up to in the intervening three years.

If he was worrying about the competition, he needn’t have bothered. Openers The Hush are a cut-rate The Charlatans with their very own 'The Only One I Know' thrown in for bad measure.

When Montgomery and co. finally take to the stage, the small downstairs room is near capacity. Pre-gig nerves expertly swept to one side, the band launch into their set like men possessed. If you missed seeing Montgomery play live in his last incarnation, watching him sing is close to a spiritual experience. That voice, a George Bush-annihilating multi-octave weapon of mass destruction, as potent and staggering as ever, swoops and churns over the crashing guitars of partner-in-crime Stuart Peck.

The best song is probably 'All I Ever Wanted' on first listen, a cacophonic whirlwind of guitar noise and keyboard counter-melody. Halfway through, it briefly becomes impossible to determine which octave Montgomery is singing in. After five short songs it’s all over and we leave the remaining bands to their fans. Anything coming after would have unnecessarily diluted the experience.

Amityville: not the horror at all, then.

Photo by Haze.