Live: Inspiral Carpets at The Leadmill, Sheffield

Inspiral Carpets / The Leadmill, Sheffield / 3 March 2012

Last night I fell through a psychedelic wormhole. A frantic swirl of keyboards in a tie-dyed vortex and I found myself in the early '90s, right in front of the Inspiral Carpets.

Their first gig together in four years saw them get the one-time bugged out baggy kids popping and a-nodding as they headed back to their early roots as a punchy garage band.

The band were greeted with moos from the audience as video screens took us on a journey back through time. And they bought out the big hits - Joe, This Is How It Feels to Be Lonely, I Want You and Saturn 5 all present and correct - but they also did some of their earlier, less well known numbers and a two brand new songs to boot.

This was exactly how you hoped it would be, while Clint Boon created surging melodies that cause the soul to soar and the foot tap, Craig Gill (drums) and Martyn Walsh (bass) get the heart racing with a steady backbeat and signature fills. Graham Lambert (guitar) tops it off, guitar riffs dueling then dancing with the keys.

And what then of singer Stephen Holt? Returning to play live with the band for the first time in nearly quarter of a century as Tom Hingley did vocal duties for most of the band's duration but announced his departure in 2011. Was this a stand-in or an oddity that made the songs just slightly not right? Not at all, Holt has a presence as a frontman and it was clear the whole band were not just comfortable with his return but they were all loving playing together.

The Inspiral Carpets have never really been away but this was a welcome return to the live scene and a long-ago line-up. There may have been a few tuning issues here and there, feedback squeals breaking through the magic but last night the Inspiral Carpets were the psychedelic masters of the chaotic keys, the undisputed lords of baggy, Madchester Dons.

*Their tour goes on throughout March and they'll be supporting Madchester reformers the Happy Mondays on tour in May. They'll also be all over the summer festivals so you've no excuses not to catch them play!