Friday 02/03/07 The Rapture, Sh*tDisco @ Academy 1, Manchester

Usher in the supposed new rave revolution and suddenly all things New Wave New York are obsolete, yet we still remember the DFA days where any utterance from Murphy had your laboured punk shuffling in his tracky bottoms. The Rapture were and still are DFA’a premier export - angular, intelligent and funky with an emphasis on fun. Tonight is a chance for Luke Jenner and his rabble to stick it to the UK and its attempt to pigeon-hole a sound that transcends its New-Wave moniker.

First up tonight on the Academy 1 stage are Glaswegian quartet ShitDisco. Recently it has been difficult to avoid these boys, a treacherous touring schedule and constant media pummelling has taken its toll and a gleaming and polished ShitDisco has emerged. There’s still a lack of hooks but there is an overriding confidence that ShitDisco are onto something, and not just hanging on the coat-tails of their brother Klaxon.

The Rapture mean business tonight, from their opening cow-bell clunk their brand of funk-punk is warmly received. Latest offerings ‘First Gear’ and the smarting ‘Pieces Of The People We Love’ are perfect pinches of their androgynous rock. Both fairly inconspicuous on record, live they take on a more danceable tone, feeding from the yelps of their little weird lad (Mattie Safer). It’s latest single ‘Get Myself Into It’ and their greatest hit ‘House of Jealous Lovers’ that raise the already sweltering heat that inch hotter. Both built on an aural bombardment of their signature clatter and thump, these two, alone, on a jukebox could ignite a dance floor all night. New rave needs take a look at New York New Wave to take tricks on a party. Top stuff.