I must admit that I was not looking forward to this. The prospect of experiencing Andrew Steward's singing again - this time whilst he stood upon a stage in front of me and a hundred or so other people - was not a prospect I relished. I needn't have worried.

Striding onstage as the band ripped through their (two-chord) instrumental intro, Andy looked a study in cool (a real achievement, agreed everyone) and although he'd apparently come as Mr. Eldritch himself (circa 'This Corrosion': leather jacket, shades, etc) no one seemed to mind too much, au contraire, they lapped it up.

Speaking of The Sisters, mention must be made of the fact that this lot bear more than a passing resemblance to the erstwhile Kings of doom-laden Goth, this likeness being in no way diminished by the presence of sonic beatmaster Charles Manson and his 16-bit sampled machine drums. Still further evidence abounds in the shape of one Clifford Cloudburst whose particular speciality is blowing huge clouds of smoke all over the shop. Get the picture?

Anyway, on to the Acolytes' set, which tonight seems radically different to earlier appearances. They howl through their intro and barely pause before the surging, sprawling mess that is "Get Down To Lovin'" is unleashed, unfortunately minus vocals for the initial couple of lines.

Tonight they're more aloof and slower - though perhaps this perception is due to the inclusion of "Move Closer" (featuring Mark duetting on vocals!). Is this the result of Paul's departure?

The crowd are determined to enjoy themselves more than ever tonight, and the movement on the dancefloor is a marked improvement.

"Faster!" scream the omnipresent Macys.

"This one's called 'Bomber'", Andy replies.

The shouts of approval are drowned as the band launch into "Crazy Horses", the kidders.

The reason for the almost 'low-key' atmosphere possibly stemmed from the fact that as they attempted their second number, Charles appeared to become slightly temperamental and go on strike. A two minute pause ensued ("Panic Andy, PANIC!") whilst the band tried to sort out the problem ("Can we have some drums, please?") which was later attributed to the sound technician. (You just can't get the staff...)

Undaunted Acolytes fans refused to be disappointed and made a valiant attempt to keep the momentum going with chants of "Acolytes, Acolytes, Acolytes" and "Sexy band!".

After sorting out the problem the band returned to try and put it behind them. Their attempt was almost successful, but it was apparent that the wind had been knocked out of their sails. They were obviously disappointed by this and desperate to make amends.

They didn't quite manage it until after the set, following what appeared to be a heated discussion onstage (actually Alastair telling Andy the words and everyone else what to play), they picked up their guitars again to launch into a blistering version of The Stooges "1969" (a rather Sisters/Mission-ary version in actuality) with everyone dancing on broken glass, trying to catch a glimpse of the band through the smoke and Alastair battling valiantly against his legs before finally surrendering and collapsing onto the table at the back of the stage. Can't comment on this fully as we left in rather a hurry halfway through, but it certainly seemed like the night's high point.

Set: Intro, Get Down To Lovin', 3-0-0-1, Trans European Excess, Body, Move Closer, Meet Me (In A Godforsaken Place), Slow And Poofy, Crazy Horses, Death Train To San Francisco
Encore: 1969