Friday 26/11/04 The Thrills, 10,000 Things @ Carling Academy, Liverpool

If 10,000 Things’ front man Sam Riley learnt anything about Liverpool on Saturday night – it had to be, don’t ask Scouse hecklers to ‘speak up,’ because “okay then…YOU'RE WANK” doesn’t half travel around the hefty Carling Academy as clear as a bell. He also needs to work on his comebacks; “um, no I’m not, I’m mint” is basically on a par with: “my dad’s bigger than yours” and didn’t exactly strike fear into the dissenters’ hearts. However, happily for everyone involved 10,000 Things were far from wank, and tore up the stage like an over-excited litter of piglets, trotters a-flying and funky, punky, ear-catching beats galore. Riley made up for his lack of acerbic putdowns with sheer exuberance and impeccable dress sense; red frilled shirt, black braces, linen trousers – one part 80s Flamenco dancer, one part Strictly Ballroom and one part young rock upstart. But Riley, thin linen keks and no underwear?! It’s not big (no offence meant), it’s not clever and frankly it detracts from your music.

10,000 Things’ sheer merriness seemed to rub off on The Thrills, who followed them up with an uncharacteristically bubbly and breezy show. The fact it was the last date of their latest tour gave a real end-of-term feeling to the whole night; the delivery was sweet and sincere and the audience uncynical and appreciative. They greeted ‘Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far),’ ‘Big Sur’ and ‘One Horse Town,’ like old friends and similarly gobbled up highlights from new album ‘Let’s Bottle Bohemia.’ ‘Whatever Happened To Cory Haim?’ already sounds like a classic while ‘Not For All The Love In The World’ wrenched out in Deasy’s characteristic, “I’ve just had root canal surgery without anaesthetic,’ whimper, was divine. Yeah, yeah everyone seems very quick to slag them off at the moment and admittedly their front man doesn’t have a mullet, snake hips or a skin tight leather jacket but who gives a shit, they’re sunny and charming and I’m starting to think a slightly wobbly bottom, and tucked in pale pink shirt accompanied by burgeoning man boobs are the way forward.