Mission of Burma @ Mono, 5 December

A decade into their second wind, Mission of Burma have arguably set the criterion standard for how to reform a cult act and not only preserve your reputation, but enrich it. Considering they originally split due to guitarist Roger Miller’ chronic tinnitus, the sheer volume tonight is a (welcome) surprise, with Bob Weston keeping the levels loud and the three onstage members playing with undiminished vigour.

While only an explosive That’s When I Reach For My Revolver triggers a room-wide response, there are pockets of enthusiastic appreciation for all corners of their set: a raw-sounding Dust Devil is the pick of the Unsound material, while 2wice (from 2006’s The Obliterati) further attests to the gnarled might of their post-reformation output. But it’s the still-fresh early cuts that leave the deepest boot print, particularly Dirt’s tense, incendiary riffs and a stomping Fame and Fortune in the encore. Mission still accomplished.