WILT, at The Roadhouse, Manchester

DUBLIN's latest rock export Wilt have joined the highly-rated band My Vitriol on the road.

This rotating co-headline tour isn't about just one band. With many of the venues selling out, the venue was packed well before the first chord had been struck in anger.

The success of Wilt's appearances with Idlewild and Moby has earned them a strong and expectant fan base. For despite the lack of radio play and with their debut album, Bastinado, only just hitting the shops, the kids already know and love their material. It seemed almost incredible that the joyous crowd could sing the songs almost word for word.

And when the invitation to get dancing came, the constant stream of crowd surfers didn't need asking twice. Enthusiastic youngsters were effortlessly passed high above the audience, before being hurled on stage towards their heroes.

Despite being a full-on rock outfit, Wilt refuse to bury the strong melodies of their songs.

The only problem they had was the time spent by frontman Cormac Battle tuning his guitar. Instead of passing the instrument to his roadie and playing the spare, he took time out while the other two performed a drum and bass improvisation.

CLIVE LAWRENCE