The Hydrant pub on the London Road played host to some sleazy garage band rock’n’roll last night Five raucous and talented bands for free made for an energy-filled noisy bargain of a night.

First up was Thee Mouldous Hypotenuse, who played electric garage-style blues songs with passion and verve.

Next up the hardest-gigging and hardest-rockin’ band in town, Deadbeat Descendent. They’ve been described as a combination of the Stooges and the Fall, which is pretty spot on. They put on a pretty lively performance.

Out-of-town mayhem came via the Silver Brazilians who produced a blistering live show of excellent bluesy swamp rock. Powerful songs – and enough charisma to break into a version of the Beatles’ Happy Birthday mid set when they heard there was a birthday celebrator in the audience!

Next up were Clowns, one of the best live bands in town, with their spikey and sharp post-punk pop songs. The vocals suffered a little from the Hydrant’s sound system by this point and couldn’t seem to keep up with lead singer Miles’ leaping off the stage and dashing into the audience, but it was great fun. They ended a wonderful set with their classic ‘She calls me a Clown’.

Last to play were the headliners Mudlow, taking us past midnight and into the early hours. More bluesy garage band sound, loud and fast as it ought to be.

All photographs by Jon Southcoasting