Maximum crunch

As expected, Irene's was rocked and rolled by the one-two punch of Muffler Crunch and Maximum RNR. There was a slight delay before Muffler Crunch as Luc worked through technical difficulties involving his guitar. I'm not sure whether he fixed it to his satisfaction, since by its very nature he gets bucketloads of feedback from the battered acoustic, but I thought the MC2 sounded as solid as ever. As usual, the show ended with Luc standing on Angie the Barbarian's drums and sending much of the kit toppling over as the soundman scuttled in to save his microphones.
As for Maximum RNR, they ripped it up. I can't recall when I last saw them perform live - I think I've seen them at Babylon, but can't figure out if that was before or after their opening slot for Electric Frankenstein in June 2004. I may have to peruse my archives and see if I can find any Babylon shots. Hmm ... Anyway, they charged through a blazing set of twin-guitar rock that has the sizeable crowd thrashing about with some abandon. They also tore it up for a pair of encores.

• Show reminder: Bob Wiseman, Wax Mannequin and Ennuie play Zaphod Beeblebrox. Nero plays the second of two reunion shows at Mavericks, this time with Acres.