Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Two Step Club started way back in September 2005, the brainchild of local DJ Joe Dougan. Since then, the monthly night has gone from strength to strength, playing host to over 100 bands as diverse as London's Hell is for Heroes, Dubliners The Redneck Manifesto, and Japanese punk legends Electric Eel Shock. So the fact that such a successful event has invited three of Belfast's bands to play on one of its most highly anticipated dates of the year is a testament to the abundance of flourishing young talent on the local circuit.

It's been quite some time since a showcase of Northern Irish talent has drawn the level of interest apparent tonight. If The Limelight isn't sold out, it mustn't be far off - the club is buzzing as though it was playing host to NME's flavour of the month. And it's a tribute to how hard these musicians have been working over the past year. 2007 has seen Cutaways traverse the clubs of London, ASIWYFA embark on a UK tour and re-release a critically acclaimed EP, and Kowalski play a 30,000 sell-out Snow Patrol support slot as well as featuring in session on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio One. Not too shabby considering each band had still managed to further cultivate a growing local following whilst doing all this mad craic.

Cutaways are first on tonight's bill. Clad in especially festive attire, the fourpiece enter into the jovial atmosphere of tonight's proceedings by opening with a rendition of a classical Christmas opus. But it's not long before McIver and company are straight into fusing punk and surf rock in a fashion reminiscent of The Pixies circa 1988. The early-bird spot on any bill is never easy - the shorter set length, the disinterest of punters only present to watch another band, the sound technician's lack of attention to detail - but this persevering bunch don't any of these age old hang-ups stand in their way. They rattle through a short half-hour set buzzing with originality, their indie imagination particularly obvious in standout tracks "Race For Grace", and "Sixteen" - the band's most recent single in which McCrisken's harmonies are at their sweetest.

By the time And So I Watch You From Afar take to the stage, The Limelight is packed. The mishmash of postrock and indie bands in tonight's line-up has drawn a mixed crowd of kids who might not usually associate. So, ASIWYFA are forced to beckon the wall-hugging indie haircuts to the front of the stage before they get stuck-in. The new material put on display at Tonight The City Burns in October is on display again tonight. "These Riots Are Just The Beginning" sounds more brutal than ever, and is comparable only to "Clench Fists, Grit Teeth... Go!" - another track taken from the forthcoming ASIWYFA debut album, anticipated in spring 2008. The timings aren't exactly four-to-the-floor, but if experimental rock music is your cup of tea, then these guys will blow your head off.

It's only when the old favourites are wheeled out that things really start to get rowdy. "And The Voiceless", taken from the band's inaugural EP, is already being hailed by fans as a postrock masterpiece. Guitarist Tony Wright and his mohawk-sporting brother in arms, Rory Friers, stomp around on stage to their distortion driven melodies like a couple of the LA punks in the early 1970s. But neither the spittle nor sweat could detract from the unbridled beauty at the core of these songs. Nor could it detract from the unbridled beauty of drummer Chris Wee's chiselled torso, which is on show for the entirety of the set - much to the satisfaction of the females in the audience, and just one or two of the males.

All this fun would usually be enough for just one evening, but Joe Dougan has one final band in the bag for the lucky revellers of Belfast. It is Christmas after all. Kowalski, an unsigned Bangor-based indie band, are to headline tonight's gig. The fourpiece have received increasing media interest over the past 12 months, and it's plain to see why. These four guys tick all the boxes; they've got the tunes, the looks and the work ethic to make it all the way in this business. As they set up onstage, the crowd grow increasing unsettled, chanting the names of each band member in a manner only seen previously at Windsor Park. It's clear that amongst their humble following exists a small mob of extremist leftwing Kowalski fanatics, trained in anti-authoritarian Northern Ireland football-style chanting techniques. When the tunes eventually do begin, the whole place goes a bit nuts. The catchiest of tracks that Price and co have penned - "Seesaw", and the more recent "Oh My Good God" - has the entire club singing along. Not bad, considering this lot have yet to release a full length album. Another oldie-but-good, "Sunshine State" - taken from their eponymous EP - is outstanding tonight. The fusion of guitars evocative of contemporary US indie, and the spiderweb-thin lyrical melodies of English folk, works so well for this band.

A handful of special guests join Kowalski onstage, adding extra percussion and brass to a number of the songs. Vocalist Louise Cochrane offers her talents with elegant delicately in a duet with Price. After an encore forced by the audience's incessant demand, the evening's events draw to a close. And as the masses filter out into Ormeau Avenue there's confirmation that it was indeed a sell-out. The first unsigned bands to sell-out the Limelight in the past 15 years no less.

Roll on 2008.

Sully