Saint Etienne/The Pastels @ The Art School, 23 June

So the referendum popped round and did a massive Brexit, right then and there on the living room carpet. It didn’t have to be this way, and both The Pastels and Saint Etienne know it; Stephen Pastel, then Sarah Cracknell make statements of positivity beneath projected representations of the EU flag, and whilst tonight isn’t about politics it does feature warmth and hope – elements that prompted many of us to vote Remain.

Warmth and hope being a fair summation of The Pastels live; always different, always the same (to borrow Peel’s famous quote on The Fall), the setlist is oh-so predictable – Slow Summits to start, Baby Honey to close – yet their endearingly ramshackle sound arrives adrenalized, a little more abrasive than recent live shows. A Glasgow audience might be biased, but they set up what follows perfectly (whilst also reminding us how important The Pastels are) – the bonus being a rare outing for Nothing to be Done, with Traceyanne Campbell from Camera Obscura on Aggi duties; a little bit of swoonage duly follows.

Saint Etienne, meanwhile – a shitty train journey (overhead cable problems at Warrington) triggering the late start, then technical gremlins making things start/stop, yet none of this really matters. A greatest hits jaunt it may be, but Bob, Pete and Sarah (aided by backing vox and multi-instrumentalists) are in resplendent form… Nothing Can Stop Us, Like a Motorway, You’re In a Bad Way, even Love Can Break Your Heart; it all rings true. Feels necessary. And with Sarah’s infectious panache (the feather boa comes out for Who Do You Think You Are) nothing about tonight feels nostalgic. The future is now – just someone tell the Brexiters?