Jonathan Geddes Star rating *** The ABC and the Black Kids seemed an ideal match. The venue does, after all, possess a large discoball and, while the Black Kids aren't musically inclined in that direction, the trendy Jacksonville quintet do focus on producing groove-laden songs aimed at getting people moving.

The gig's party environment only increased when the Ghostbusters theme was blasted out prior to the band's appearance, which made it all the more surprising that the group's initial songs were met with audience apathy. Some of the fault for this lies with the five-piece themselves, as the opening Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo) was engulfed by its own synths and Partie Traumatic sounded too much like a rejected B-52s offering.

Thankfully, as the performance went on the Black Kids did show substance behind the hype that has surrounded them all year. I've Underestimated My Charm (Again) was brilliantly invigorating, complete with its detour into a Lust For Life-esque bass line and Ronettes-style backing vocals.The providers of those vocals, Ali Youngblood and Dawn Watley, give the band extra pep live, dancing and clapping with an energy fitting the actual songs but lacking in the rest of the group's movements, sans the odd twirl from yelping vocalist Reggie Youngblood.

But it took superb former singles I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You and Hurricane Jane to truly enliven the crowd, the latter managing to be both a hymn of self-loathing and a suitably funky piece of pop. However, there was a frustrating lack of variety present, meaning that while the songs were enjoyable, they also seemed repetitive and the 50-minute set entertaining rather than excellent.