It's been a long time since The Breeders last managed to play more than a handful of shows, let alone release a record. However, the Deal sisters certainly haven't spent the intervening years learning the art of stagecraft, a point highlighted when Kim interrupts the soundcheck to squeal "Is this Devo?" over the PA.
There is still the same loose, almost shambolic air to proceedings as there was last time around: Kelley still spends more time smoking than playing her guitar, everyone still glances slightly nervously at everyone else when they reach a tricky section or time change and Kim still makes unintelligible between-song conversation with the audience.
Of course last time around, The Breeders were the toast of the alternative set. They had produced one of the defining songs of the grunge era in 'Cannonball' - tonight received ecstatically when it pops up mid-set, complete with Kim's deranged and distorted vocals. But while new album 'Title TK' is hardly an earth-shattering return, 1993's 'Last Splash' wasn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination either.
Wisely, they stick to the best of both those albums. In fact, the lo-fi likes of 'Huffer' and 'Off You' offer a good contrast to the slick harmonies of 'Divine Hammer' and the garage rock of Kelley's 'I Just Wanna Get Along'. And, emphasising the fact that some songs are too good to omit even though they were recorded by another band altogether, they pummel The Amps' gloriously deranged 'Tipp City', the missing link between the Breeders of old and the current line-up.
They also prove that they're all punks at heart really when Kim lets bassist Mando Lopez blast through his former band Fear's classic ode to nihilism, 'I Don't Care About You'. The Breeders do care, though, albeit in a slightly drunk and slobbery way. They may sometimes feel like a sisterly in-joke up there but, on this rejuvenated form, it's good to be back in their wacky world.
