The crowd at the Ritz were excited before the band even came on, knowing that they had sought after tickets for a unique, smaller venue. The only foreseeable problem with a live gig like this, is that no matter how good the performance, you always want more than just a handful of tracks; all that they could give having only released one album. The set was slightly predictable. Let’s face it, we knew that they would play everything they had and use the bigger hits to spread it out. Mid-set, the cover of the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army was well received; it was a welcome, revved up performance and added something different to the mix. Unnecessary Trouble was brilliant - a real sing-along track. But the big one was Hard To Beat; undeniably one of the tracks of the year, and fantastic live - taking the feeling up and down in all the right places. Cash Machine brought out the determined faces in the crowd; this is the track that genuinely seemed to have them in their hand; the sort which people can all identify with on a Tuesday night. Singer Richard Archer's sometimes softer voice really gained a bit of an edge with great gusto on album’s title track. Hard Fi were there for the music - just enough banter with the crowd to not be dismissive and lots of energy. A Mercury nomination proves that they are on the way, and I really hope that the tricky second album is another cracker. Come on with another great one boys, and you will be selling out gigs even quicker next year. | 
