Hmm... once again I come away from a gig wondering whether the support bands were chosen out of a National Lottery machine. I don't think there was any method in the madness tonight.

Century Vision make early Oasis noises with irritatingly whiny vocals. I'm sure they're very good, and certain areas of the crowd seemed to like them, but they did nothing for me with their unambitious and derivative indie pop.

Carpethead sound like the Stereophonics with a talent bypass and a gratuitous Toploader-esque jangly keyboard monkey. It's bands like this that make me turn up late for gigs. Still, they slipped in a little ballad that sounded like The Driven, so it wasn't all bad.

Aah, Drowned. As the guy from the Hermit says, they're great value for three quid. For the uninitiated, Drowned are three lovely young men who look like they could be in a boy band and sound like they could be in Glassjaw. A seamless blend of more influences than it would be proper to mention, Drowned come across like an angry Nirvana with a strong nu metal flavour and a hint of pop in the mellow bits. Anthems "Web", "Alocin 200mg" and "Ruins" mingle with newer stuff like "Ice Warm" and "Thistle Pillow". Subdued Incubus-esque ballads suddenly gain energy and throw the crowd towards the ceiling. The unfeasibly talented Dave McPherson effortlessly wails and growls his way through each song, only pausing to mumble thanks and take a sip of water. And before you know it, they've gone on too long and it's all over with a quick burst of "Lava Twilight". Magic.