Bis

It may be the last ever London Bis gig, but it's no funeral wake, it's time to party!

Motormark try their best to kick off the party, with their keyboard, guitar and sample-based pop. There are bits of noisy Sonic Youth, 60's sugary pop vocals and masses of Bis influence. It's loud, it's funky... and no-one dances, because we are here to see Bis!

As Bis come onstage, I notice how much older they are and how much older everyone in the venue is. Gone are the brightly-coloured bracelets and masses of pick'n'mix, here are grown adults with things to care about, jobs to go to and bills to pay, a bit like your dad going to see The Buzzcocks' reunion tour.

But this is a trip down memory lane to a time where all we cared about was getting the next issue of your fanzine out on time or getting that homework done. The hits are played and we jump up and down, dance and sing along to every word 'til our throats are sore. Bis are enjoying this so much they decide to (jokingly, unfortunately) retract their splitting up statement and carry on having fun as Bis.

Songs like 'Icky Poo Air Raid' are played for the first time in years; so long in fact that Manda has notes written down. When she pulls out a megaphone, we know its time for 'Monstarr', though it must seem a bit odd singing "can I not be normal cuz I'm not a size 10" when the intervening years have seen a diet regime enforced that has effected exactly that.

With nothing to promote it's all classic Bis; 'Kandy Pop', 'I'm a Slut' (as recently featured on As If, you know) 'Sweet Shop Avengers', 'EuroDisco', 'Skinny Tie Sensurround', 'Making People Normal' and a couple of tunes from that difficult third album, 'Return to Central'.

I leave the venue with my ears ringing and my clothes soaking wet, and I feel like I'm 14 again. An amazing way to remember a band that soundtracked my teenage years.