Primal Scream

UEA LCR, Norwich

Over the past decade, Primal Scream's sonic experiments increasingly threatened to stifle their longstanding commitment to loose-limbed rock'n'roll.

And, while the recent Riot City Blues heralded a return to stripped-down fundamentals, the album received mixed reviews.

But if Bobby Gillespie and co feel themselves to be on the ropes, this urgent, electrifying set suggested that's just the way they like it.

Opening with the scuzz-rock of Accelerator, the band's three-guitar attack strafed the crowd with white noise, before reining in for the Stonesy lurch of recent single Dolls.

When Gillespie then walked offstage following a hurled pint of beer, it seemed that the gig hung in the balance. It may have been the best thing that could have happened. The band restarted, Gillespie threw off his jacket, and Primal Scream moved into overdrive.

Tracks from the new album were revitalised onstage. 99th Floor barrelled along with a loutish swagger, while Suicide Sally and Johnny Guitar possessed a threatening edge lacking from the recorded version.

The first encore of woozy ballad Damaged showed the band equally capable of deft, sensitive playing.

They finished with an ecstatic Movin' On Up, and Primal Scream, embodying both lairy aggro and a touch of the sublime, walked offstage, smiling.