CityLife

The Stills

IN a dark corner of the Night and Day Café, there stands a man who is engrossed in today's issue of our sister paper the Manchester Evening News.

His disinterest goes to show that he is no fan of Prego, the first band to take to the stage, and who can blame him?

This band are so average they could start a riot, a nostalgic rebellion against indie rock normality in the spirit of 1977, an incitement to rip it up and start again.

They strive to the 1980s Anglophile revival pioneered by Interpol and Editors at the dawn of the decade, but in doing so, they condemn themselves to the pages of musical history.

In stark contrast, The Stills' headline performance is a surprising storm of rock 'n' roll showmanship, not at all what would be expected from this miserablist five piece from Montreal.

When they announce that “this song's called Panic”, the whole audience holds its breath, hoping for a Smiths cover version. Hang the DJ, hang the DJ, hang the DJ. But it is not to be. The overpowering percussive intro of Snake Charming The Masses resurrects the spirit of Radiohead's There There, and the urgent atmospherics of Snow In California's klaxon sounds are nothing less than terrifying.

Although they may be here to promote their latest album, Oceans Will Rise, it is singles such as Lola Stars And Stripes, Gender Bombs, and Still In Love Song from their debut Logic Will Break Your Heart which remain to this day the biggest crowd pleasers.

And, like Prego before them, The Stills are taking a sonic trip back to the future once again.