The Hamsters, The Brook, Portswood

THE Hamsters played the best gig at the reopened Brook that I've ever been to.

I know, you think I say that in all the music reviews. The fact is live music bores me more often than not.

But every single song played by front man Slim, drummer Otis and bass player Zsa Zsa was so perfectly performed I was enraptured for the duration of the show.

Starting with the classic Chevrolet, in which the song's narrator accidentally runs over his sweetheart, they played less Hendrix covers than at past gigs.

A few songs in came a rare choice of the 60s guitarist's track Izabella, which Slim said was just as relevant today as it was about war.

In the first half though, the musicians played a lot of new material from their latest album Open All Hours, such as Burning the Church Down and Wouldn't Lay My Guitar Down, which were both superb.

Later on came a few more of the Hendrix titles on which a lot of the Hamsters' reputation was built, including Stone Free and a Little Wing encore.

I didn't care which artists' tracks they were being played, however, because every song was transcendent, and Slim's guitar playing absolutely hypnotic.

It was the opening night for The Brook after extensive renovations in the last few months.

The Hamsters set a standard which will be hard to maintain for the rest of the season.

But if it is maintained, The Brook's reputation as a gigger's paradise will soar even further.