As the crowd glare at an empty stage, a recording of Mark E Smith eerily fills the room: "I was ten years old when I was born/ I was twenty years old when I died/ I was thirty when I was resurrected."

"Etc, etc, etc," follows the recording, and within minutes The Fall are on stage. The crowd – half cult, half curious - greet the band with a rapturous applause.

This gripping build up is prophetic of tonight's night's set: edgy and unpredictable.
Much of this evening's material is relatively recent – with numbers from Heads Roll (2005) and the band's forthcoming album, Imperial Wax Solvent.

What About Us has the crowd moving, almost violently in parts - huge middle aged men throw themselves into one another as if acting out a strange ritual. Smith rips through the song's central lyric What About Us as he twiddles with the volume knobs of band member's amps – an effective and unexpected interaction with the overall sound. The band – whose members all look to be in their twenties – punch out the song's visceral, punky-fuzzed riff.

Tonight's clincher is I've Been Duped, with Elenor Smith (Mark's wife) and keyboardist, singing the lyrics. Female vocals add a spiky quality to the track while the rest of the band – including Smith – sings the song's chant-lyric chorus 'I've Been Duped.' The song's catchy, raw sound captures a punk no-nonsense attitude, the type of song that would drive you to quit your job or swear at a policeman. Not many songs achieve this.

One hardcore fan in the crowd, when asked what it is he likes about The Fall, replies: "I don't know," and continues to bop about while singing the lyrics verbatim.