The Valentinos are sure doing something right, because their show last Friday night at Spectrum sold out as soon as doors opened around 8.15pm. It was a great billing with support coming from my current faves Young and Restless plus UK band Johnny Boy.

The room was decorated in flurotrash style with hundreds of glowing hoops hanging from the ceiling.

The early comers were treated to the usual mind blowing assault from Young and Restless. Elmo, who’d never seen them before was rather taken by their set, and it takes a lot to impress old Elmo.

Johnny Boy followed but started when i was eating over the road at Yoshinoya. I did catch them singing the song about the generation that bought all the shoes that you deserve, yeah yeah (mp3). So that was good.

Tim from Cut Copy and Nicky Van She DJ’d between acts but people were really too crammed in to dance. It seemed like an awfully long time before The Valentinos finally came on.

People love to write off The Valentinos as "fashion rock" but the fact is they know how to entertain. When the band has energy and looks like they’re having fun that mood is infectious.

I rather like their new single Rain (mp3 via Who The Bloody Hell Are They?) but was kinda dissapointed in the live version, with the vocals coming across quite thin and no match for the lush harmonies on the Pnau produced version.

As usual Dan Stricker on drums is a highlight, changing styles and keeping time like clockwork.

My photos of the night were pretty rubbish – so check out Matt for some Johnny Boy ones and Luke for some Valentinos ones.