The excitement surrounding this show is unreal for a band who’ve been around such a short time as Surge. The release of their first 7” single is clearly quite a big event for the boys and the hype seems to have spread among their friends. It’s only fitting that such an occasion be marked with a suitable party and it certainly seems that, with the help of Keep Colchester Cool, there’s no shortage of energy this evening. Opening up the night on a more subdued note, a solo performance from Tapeface treated the audience to some luscious vocals, a selection of original tracks and covers, with a few influences (such as Daughter) firmly on sleeve. The songs tugged at the heartstrings although, solo, it was a significantly calmer start to the evening.

The same could not be said for Chasin Vegas who fired their way through their songs like it was the last day on earth; their upbeat rocky sound certainly warming up the crowd. They’re a fine tuned live machine, everything sounding perfectly on point as they run through their set. The crowd seems to be enjoying it too; it’s good to see so many coming to the front and moving along to the music. I’m sure great things are destined for Chasin Vegas in the near future!

It really feels like Surge have brought out everyone they know for this headline set. They’ve seen ever increasing crowds in the last few months but it really does feel like tonight is a special night for the four piece; their single launch in the venue that kicked it all off for them. They have no problem keeping the energy going as they take to the stage, working through their set of rough around the edges indie rock while throwing themselves around the stage. New songs and slightly older songs both seemed successful, the new single being greeted by rapturous applause. Even after they’d seemingly expired their repertoire, the crowd begged for more, which led to them replaying one track again – it’s rare to see local bands do encores but, on this occasion, it was deserved. Surge performed one of the best sets of their career so far.