UEA LCR, Norwich

> UEA LCR, Norwich

A valuable lesson was learned at the LCR last night - beer and expensive electronic equipment do not mix. The Ordinary Boys were delayed for more than 20 minutes due to a serious technical hitch.

Fast and loud was the order of the day for the hotly tipped ska rockers, with the trumpets of recent album Brassbound abandoned in favour of massed guitars and rousing anthems.

Latest single Life Will be the Death of Me exploded in a wall of reggae riffs, and fired up the crowd, while Buzzcocks cover What Do I Get? paid impressive tribute to their punk influences.

Front man Sam Preston displayed a near missionary zeal, his lyrics damning, among other things, xenophobia and excessive moaning.

Best song of the evening though was Over the Counter Culture, the band's first big hit and blessed with a fiery chorus that briefly turned the crowd into a revolutionary mob.

The support acts were equally impressive, particularly openers The Automatic, who were bursting with energy and full of raw talent.