Support band A, with their kinetic blend of Faith No More meets Rocket From The Crypt, impressed both with their spunky punky material and their jumping up and down aerobics. After years of watching insipid little support bands staring at their feet as they play their oh-so-serious music, A's spatterfest lunacy was a welcome jolt in the arm. On reflection, they were actually better than the headliners...

If ever a band could be said to be growing up in public, it is Symposium. Young enough to actually still be growing up, the punky 5 piece have had their every move chronicled, dissected and - in some cases - ridiculed. With some naive opinions and some decidedly non-rock lifestyles, Symposium could be accused of being too green - too foolish, even - and sometimes you wish they would keep their mouths shut and concentrate on the music (and a lot of it needs their concentration). However, you can forgive them plenty, especially when they're such a spirited bunch of young scamps...

Much has been made of the band's live reputation, and singer Ross's penchant for going a bit mental whilst on stage, but tonight there was little evidence of that, apart from a bit of spirited jumping about. Admittedly he did try to get up onto a ceiling beam, but the place was too hot and sweaty for that and he couldn't get a grip. Even at that however, Symposium's performance was energetic and exciting - they certainly believe in putting their all into a show.

Musically, their set was less exciting. "Farewell To Twilight" and "The Answer To Why I Hate You" both stood out, but only because of their familiarity. The rest of the stuff consisted of punk-by-numbers, with a noticeable lack of hooks or tunes. Big crunchy bass, punchy guitars and pummelled drums do not a great sound make, not unless there's some good melodies to back them up. Symposium should go back to school and pay more attention in music class.

Still, you have to admire their determination and vigour if nothing else. I just can't imagine the band ever releasing a classic LP, or in fact still being around in 2 years' time. A shame, as with the right material the band have the charisma, style and conviction to be first-class, As it stands though, their musical mediocrity looks likely to condemn them to obscurity...although I'd love for them to prove me wrong.