When I saw the bill for this gig I nearly wet myself. Jamie Sutherland from Broken Records, Sebastian Dangerfield, Edinburgh School for the Deaf and the greatest band on the planet right now (maybe) PAWS at Edinburgh School of Art’s, Wee Red Bar. All this for a measly £7. No way on this planet was I missing this one.

I get in nice and early, as the gig is a sell out and I want to make sure I’m near the stage. Thanks to a strict venue curfew on live music of 10pm, there’s going to be a sharp turnaround to the bands tonight. First up is Jamie Sutherland. Think Thor with Sean Connery’s accent and you’re not far off. He’s flying solo tonight, taking a break from recording the new Broken Records album. He delivers a really good set of beautifully pitched songs that get the night off to a very pleasing start. As he says mid-set, he didn’t want to simply play “watered down versions of Broken Records songs”. He did deliver some genuinely heartfelt moments that went down really well with the crowd. So far so good.

Next up is local band Sebastian Dangerfield. I confess I don’t know much about these guys short of having heard the name mentioned a few times. I needn’t have worried. The four lads before me deliver a well pitched set of indie pop tunes. As they play through their set, I can’t help but feel that media darlings Bwani Junction (another local band) should sound like these guys. Having now seen Bwani Junction twice I’d say they share a space with Sebastian Dangerfield, but it’s the boys on show tonight that deliver the better brand of indie pop. They are tighter and just seem to be better at deliver tight pop songs. They do rock out on occasion though and once again, it’s to a very appreciative audience. Not bad going from the first two acts tonight.

My ears literally quiver in anticipation of being blown off as Edinburgh School for the Deaf set up. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, given the line up changes the band has gone through. Two songs in and my ears literally do get blown off by a screaming wall of feedback from the guitars. It’s so intense it almost ruins the song, and my hearing, in the same instant. Thankfully the band ease off a little and settle into a brilliant set. They’re all very energetic, with the guitarists and bassist thrashing around, waving their guitars in the air. The end of the set is spectacular. At one point the bass guitarist is atop his amp, rubbing the guitar along the lighting rig. If that’s not enough, the drummer grabs a snare and plants it in front of the stage beside the front row. Not too outlandish from the drummer so far, but he then proceeds to literally beat the thing to death. It’s brilliant. I should add that there’s no stage as such. There’s mic stands and monitors for the band, then inches away are people! (including a guy who I swear cries during Edinburgh School for the Deaf) The finish up to a roar of approval from the packed crowd.

Now, I’m not prone to going mad over bands I go to see (Pavement and Grandaddy aside), but I am like one of those kids in the Disneyland Paris advert on TV tonight. The reason is simple. PAWS. I’ve seen these guys three times before tonight and each time they have been a little mental. Playing in the audience, giving a guitar to someone in the audience mid-set and throwing a guitar into the drum kit. These guys bring it when they play live, hence the excitement. Oh, and they are brilliant too. The place is rammed when they get on stage and for the next 30 minutes they go about showing why Fat Cat Records have just signed them. Philip leaps about the stage as if Keith Moon’s spirit has possessed him. His hair is green and covers his face for much the set. The rest of the time he is leaping around the stage making his guitar do wonderful things. He brings brooding intensity to the band, but he is a great frontman. Josh pulls the best “drum face” ever and makes a hell of a racket behind his kit, setting the pace for the trio and it’s a pretty fast pace. It’s such an energetic set, bassist Matt even ditches his beanie midway through. There’s plenty of familiar songs for fans of PAWS and a rather brilliant cover version called ‘Chair’, by a band called Big Deal who Philip informs us helped on the recording of the album.

These guys are special. Channelling the best bits of Nirvana, Pavement, Sebadoh and The Meat Puppets, to name but a few, this feels like the beginning of something very special. Tonight will be one of those “were you at the PAWS gig at The Wee Red Bar in 2012?” moments you want to be a part of. The set ended at 10pm, with the band wanting to play on, but these rules are strict so the set ended on time. It did end in a blaze of glory for Philip’s Fender Jaguar. He was leaping around like a guitar wielding dervish when, during a particularly low swing of the guitar, it hit the ground and the neck broke. He then took it off and launched it towards the back end of the stage then walked off stage leaving Josh and Matt to finish the song. A chaotically brilliant ending to a blistering set. The best bands are the passionate, raw, in your face bands that give it everything and PAWS are the very epitome of this. With a debut album due out in the Summer, the sky is the limit for these guys. I can’t help but feel that Kurt Cobain would surely love them. I certainly do. Do yourself a favour and check them out if you don’t know them already. Massive kudos to Stuart Lewis aka The Tidal Wave of Indifference for putting together such a good line-up.

Steve Mcgillivray