If AVO-8 find a following whose enthusiasm for the music matches their own, they may well have ‘cracked it’.

True, the Venue hadn’t reached capacity and it was Wednesday, but who cares? Certainly not the Avos, they take the stage to deliver their songs with real punch and undeniable conviction.

Jan and Claire lead the attack with comfortable ease and a sense of fun which spills from the stage to the dance floor and back again! ‘Don’t call it hard edged pop’, okay I won’t, suffice to say Stevie Hastie puts guitar where it should be while rhythm boys, Gourlay and Glen trade niceties for honest thump. Tracks from their ‘At the Pier’ cassette EP are featured with ‘Pink’ and ‘The Voice’ showing up as strongest. Other highlights include a re-worked version of ‘Revenge’ and the impressive ‘Big Car’. Indeed a night with AVO-8 defies you not to at least indulge in some serious foot tapping! Plans for a vinyl product later this year may well take shape soon. Oh and don’t forget your lapel badge, because, fashion lovers, without it, you could be ‘nothing at all’.

Robert Read