T on the Fringe: Dirty Pretty Things @ Corn Exchange

As a rock band, it's expected that you'll keep your crowd waiting long enough so as to heighten anticipation and capture that moment just before frustration, when the wave of fervour amongst the assembled can be ridden successfully. However, when playing to an Edinburgh crowd, with curfews aplenty, such tactics can backfire. The 'Things leave it a full 45 minutes after their support to enter the stage and thus have to undoubtedly leave some tunes out whilst blazing through the remaining numbers. Of course, this kind of approach suits such a band and the opening flurry of Deadwood, Doctors & Dealers and new single Wondering are riotous fare. However, such energy was never going to be sustained and sure enough the set falls a little flat later on. Only a rousing Bang Bang You're Dead and the now stock Libs offering Death on the Stairs manages to pick things up again. A tired looking Carl Barat, resembling a wounded soldier, with union jack sling preventing him from usual guitar duties, fairly sums up the end-of-festival vibe with little banter, whilst an almost identical set as their last Edinburgh appearance leaves us asking whether it was worth the wait. [Jon Seller]