Saturday 27/03/10 Youthmovies @ O2 Academy, Oxford

Youthmovies are a band often-times labelled as 'prog', but that word's connotations of fusty bloatedness were blown away with an urgency more punk than prog during set-opener, 'Ores'. How the disparate elements (hand-clap interlude, moog-y-disco passage) sound so cohesive is a wonder. Unsurprisingly, it was a motley bunch attracted to this sound tonight. There was a biker dude unimpressed with the moshy kids, throwing them away and harshing the vibe, Altamont style.

It wasn't exactly a staid send-off for Youthmovies; there also seemed to be some sort of altercation between Al English and Yannis Philippakis over a guitar. You kindly agree to pluck out a few chords for your mates final gig and one of them looks to get a bit fighty. Andrew Mears said English didn't know where where he was. Possibly drunk and/or bumped head. Just as well the set was made up exclusively of 'Hurrah...' and 'Good Nature' material that Youthmovies have toured the living daylights out of. Songs hard-wired into English's head and fingers. He looked like a man possessed during the '...spooks the horse' solo, up on a plinth. This wasn't a historical re-enactment though, we got glimpses of an electronic, parallel universe future Youthmovies by way of Sam Scott's musical machinery. The intro to 'Magdalen Bridge' was transformed into a Cold War Sci-fi, beam-me-up workout. A sonic boom at the end of '...spooks the horse' was about three and a half on the Richter scale, sending shock-waves through the crowd from the ground up.

Five Years ago, The Edmund Fitzgerald called it quits with a gig supporting Youthmovies in this venue. Lina Simon's crowd-surf that night might have been bettered here, with a circular game of pass the Andrew. Performing on the floor was a fitting end for Youthmovies, with their commendably ego-free history of rotating support slots and playing the backing band. Community spirit and music which brought a tear to the eye and tingle to the spine.