Our Perfect Disease or Walking Disasters?

Bringing their caffeine-coated indie-pop to Glasgow, The Wombats hosted a hyperactive party for the school disco crowd.

It was evident school was out for an October break last night from the inebriated youth snaking up the front of Glasgow's O2 Academy, wedging a ticket too close to my eyes to focus and slurring, "Want to come to Wombats?"

It was a lovely offer from the youngster, who I imagine was refused entry for his current condition, though luckily I was sorted already and from the sound of things had arrived just in time for the party.

Beginning on a hyperactive rendition of Our Perfect Disease with playschool synths aplenty, the crowd bounced in their Topshop finery with hands in the air  and hair fashionably messy.  The jangly indie-pop of The Wombats appeared to be bang on trend and you can imagine why with their E-number infused sound , angst and  ability for anyone to sing along to every song  with a contagious "oooh" even if you don't know any of the lyrics.

Keeping on the upbeat off-beat, Kill The Director, an older hit, was sprung on us next and had the audience singing along at full volume until the rowdy chant of ," This is no Bridget Jones".

Continuing on the subject of girls, Party In A Forest (Where's Laura) and Patricia The Stripper are sung at lung screaming levels, a pop-sermon for the school disco crowd. The repeat chorus of "Laaau-ra" gives the waltz a nauseating bad-dream feel where the only things missing are the clown masks.

As the set progresses with one quick burst of a thrashing track after another, the strain in the lead vocal becomes more and more apparent. Matthew Murray's voice goes unnoticed by fans who are generally shouting louder than him and dancing violently,  but thick in accent and struggling,  it really begins to get more abrasive than the sandpaper aisle at a B&Q megastore.

No one seems bothered though, and the show continues pretty much like forward rolling down a mountain with the odd  gentle slope to catch a few breaths on, before hurtling at full speed all over again.

One of these heart rate stabilising moments is This Modern Glitch closer, Schumacher The Champagne. This is the track where the crowd start to pair off before the jubilant chorus of "Take me as I am or not at all". In terms of The Wombats, I know where I stand on that one...

Back to the twangy-jangle-pop of Techno Fan, the onset of some spectacular lasers form a lid on the melting pot of the crowd. This is the beginning of an energetic run home for the relentless Wombats who trail through their best known tracks including Moving To New York and Tokyo-Vampires & Wolves.

Interestingly the cartoonish trio end Moving To New York on a mega-riff, a bit like they're doing Rage Against The Machine on Stars In Their Eyes. Known for saying the were initially a bit of a joke band when they first began back in 2003, I wonder if this interlude is homage to their comic beginnings. I certainly hope so...

Closing with Anti-D and Let's Dance To Joy Division, my favourite thing about tonight was definitely the visual rather than the audio, with a simple but fitting display of images and spectacular light show. Fans on the other hand adored seeing their heroes live, giddy in their own perspiration as they left the venue dishevelled and smiling.