It's Wednesday night in Manchester, the Academy 2 is packed to the rafters with leather clad rock fans and the tragically hip alike to worship at the alter of one of the best stoner rock bands of all time - the mighty Monster Magnet.
The evening kicks off with a confident set from new kids on the block, Lions, who well and truly blow the dust off the speaker systems with pummelling tracks from their debut album.
Next up is the recently re-emerged  Karma To Burn to get the crowd nodding with their brand of bluesy rock metal.
Time to refuel on beer before the main course...
When Monster Magnet surfaced on the post-Nirvana mainstream with Dopes To Infinity in the mid 90s frontman Dave Wyndorf was the cool, slim, mysterious figure that summed up most band's frontmen of that era, fast forward a few years and Wyndorf takes to the stage as the 'been there, done that' rock icon.
The set opens with  rousing stomp through the title track from Dopes To Infinity. The sound is as heavy, dirty and down right groove laden as ever.
Magnet have added some new personnel in recent times, but six stringer John McBain is still layering the tracks with his slick solos and guitar fills.
One thing that sticks out about tonight is the high number and sheer quantity of rock babes in attendance, something that hasn't escaped rock god Wyndorf's attention.
'Magnet proceed to send the adoring fans in attendance into a state of interstellar bliss with tracks 'Superjudge' from their landmark third album and the riotous 'Spacelord' there are more tracks from Powertrip and Superjudge to follow.
Monster return to stage after a brief refuel of their own no doubt, to play a lengthy encore.
We are treated to a space jam session, Monster Magnet style, Wyndorf oozing charisma and almost bordering on evangelism.
It's a welcome return to one of the best live rock bands in the stratosphere.
10/10 Carlo

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