The reaction of tonight's crowd to the arrival of The Zutons is a sure sign that they are well on their way towards Mando Diao-sized star status here in Japan. And luckily for the sprightly Liverpool five-piece, unlike the Swedish chancers, there's enough substance behind the flashy funk-tinged on-stage aerobics to suggest that this could be more than a flash in the pan. What occasionally sounded a touch sterile on their debut LP "Who Killed The Zutons", here sounds fresh and lively. "Pressure Point" is a classic of course, as is "Remember Me", but it's songs like "Railroad" and "Dirty Dancehall" that really surprise; the former transformed from a gentle ode to slave labour into a powerful, affecting anthem, and the latter, contrived rhyming aside, staking its claim to be this generation's "Ballroom Blitz".

Despite the fact that the greater portion of the audience tonight have already seen what they came for, The Bandits are still worthy headliners, bringing with them all the sweat, grime and facial hair that those squeaky-clean Zutons boys (and girl) left at home. Singer John Robinson appears (as all great rock singers should) to be suffering from acute constipation his face screwed up and his arse stuck out as he half-struts, half-waddles around the stage. There's an acoustic interlude although thankfully it's short and lacking in Noel Gallagher-type pretension, and for the rest of the set they hammer and riff their way through an album's worth of fast, loud, dirty rock and roll, climaxing with an epic double-header of "On My Way" and "The Warning".

The Zutons join them for their encore, wearing silly hats and dancing untidily to a cover of The Clash's "The Guns Of Brixton" before "2Step Rock" blows the roof away. It's a timely warning shot across the bows of those who seek to write Liverpool off as a one-band town, and with a new album from Clinic on the way, the situation can only get better. -Ian Martin, Jun.06.04