Run the Jewels @ The Garage, 10 December

A cancelled flight throws the fate of tonight's sold out show into jeopardy, but a panicked tweet from the duo's co-pilot / production-handler El-P confirms that Run the Jewels are only 15 precious minutes away from the venue – following a nine hour drive up to Glasgow through the treacherous winter weather.

Nerves of uncertainty firmly settled, El and Killer Mike triumphantly take to the stage, clutching the bottles from which their pre-gig drinks were supposed to be poured. Wasting no time, they kick into the eponymous track from last year's self-titled debut, prompting most in attendance to throw the RTJ gang sign (that's a thing already), but it's the ferocious bombast of new tune Oh My Darling Don't Cry that really sets people off – especially in its Mike-led, beat-frenzied final minute.

Save for the missing guest verses, most of the spoils from their two near-flawless records under this guise are truly let loose: Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck) sees the pair effortlessly trade off verses at breakneck speed, and the similarly vicious DDFH (Do Dope Fuck Hope) has Mike spit gritty underclass poetry backed by El-P's sci-fi beats. The more ferocious cuts are balanced out by the moodier, more serious material; a wave of raised hands sways across the room during Sea Legs, and the (relatively) lowered tempos of Blockbuster Night Part 1 and Early serve as well-sequenced ebbs to the rest of the set's relentless flow. The encore presents a coda of sorts; the sombre closers from both records cap off an astoundingly energetic set.

Simply put, RTJ need to be experienced live. Everything that makes this tag-team so appealing becomes four-dimensional in the flesh; the tongue-in-cheek arrogance, reflective social commentary and intelligent, rapid-fire wordplay. What comes through most, however, is an undying devotion to these rabid fans. With RTJ3 under way this January, you gather this furious alliance can only keep giving.