The Go! Team, The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth

The Go! Team have consistently been one of Britain’s most unique bands, serving mash ups of genres that, over time, have also seen them become one of the most recognisable. Not that the humble surroundings of Bournemouth’s Old Fire Station would let you know. On a weekend it houses sweaty and drunken students, but tonight, it houses sweaty and drunken couples.

And yes, the fact it’s Valentine’s Day has not gone unnoticed. Before the band even clamber onto the stage, roses are tied to microphone stands and the lights hover on a deep red. For the singletons – and to be fair there aren’t many - it could all come across as bit too sickly. If you’re expecting a saccharine sweet set though, think again.

What better song to whip a crowd in to pulling shapes than ‘T.O.R.N.A.D.O’, their latest blistering single, which sounds as good live as it does on record Except here it has excitable singer Ninja in person, jumping all around and a crowd that aren’t quite sure what to do. It’s easy to feel sorry for the audience, by the time they’ve realised its ok to dance, Ninja’s already rapping the lyrics to ‘Grip Like A Vice’, with the rest of the band jumping around like the floor’s on fire behind her.

It’s obvious that the time spent touring, between their second album and their third, has helped them develop into a live band that is immensely slick. ‘Huddle Formation’ sounds as vital as it did back in 2005; the child-like chants warmly tug at memory, while the synchronised jumping throughout ‘Grip Like A Vice’ shows that they have a keen eye for putting on a show.

The new material slots in nicely with the old material, but it just can’t conjure up the same type of emotions that ‘Bottle Rocket’ or the aforementioned ‘Huddle Formation’ do. For example, ‘Buy Nothing Day’ is sandwiched between ‘Flashlight Fight’, which brings a welcome injection of noise and venom to proceedings, and ‘Bottle Rocket’, which brings the charm by several buckets. In comparison, it’s pleasant, and the surfer-pop vibes are lapped up, but it feels as if The Go! Team are merely coasting, building up to their next big song.

It’s more a problem with the new material than the band themselves. The material is decent, and songs like ‘Running Range’ which doesn’t sound so similar to their older material fare better, but some of it sounds just a bit too similar to the past. As much as it’s easy to get swept along in how joyful it all feels, by the time ‘Apollo Throwdown’ comes around, it feels like The Go! Team are showing the slight strain of coming up with new ideas.

Even with these nit-picks, there’s enough playful appeal to ensure that the entire gig is a wondrously joyful affair from first note to last. The Go! Team may not be the zeitgeist blog heroes that they once were, but live, they have a love for music that’s more infectious than anything found on 14th February.