The type of shouty punk/pop band which has long since seen better days, Elastica appear to have reached the point of no return. After a stylistic fall from grace in the Britpop stakes, the band needed to follow up their 1995 debut album with a corker. Alas, this year's The Menace album was virtually redundant by the time it hit the shelves, courtesy of a stop-start song-writing approach and a paucity of killer tracks.
Lead singer/guitarist Justine Frischmann looks the part - tight white vest, denim jeans hanging just so perfect around her hips - but she sorely lacks the iconic bite that down-on-their-luck punk rock performers should have in abundance.
While the gig overall wasn't helped by monitor and microphone fatigue, Elastica didn't help itself one bit by a stiffness that just couldn't be softened. Ironically, the best song on the night is the worst song on The Menace - a cover version of the 1982 Trio hit Da Da Da.
