In the near 40 years since the inception of The Lemonheads, Evan Dando has carved himself out as one of the enigmatic and captivating frontmen in rock. Since the release of their first album, ‘Hate Your Friends’ he has perfected the art of the 3-minute alternative pop song. It was with the release of 1992’s seminal, ‘It’s A Shame About Ray’, their first release in a post Nirvana grunge scene, that the band truly took off.

The band, and Dando, have seen their share of highs and lows in the years since the album’s release, but tonight they turn back the clock to celebrate this true classic of an album.

Opening up the evening was a truly beautiful rendition of, ‘The Outdoor Type’, Dando’s voice was as honey sweet as it has ever been, with him having an effortlessly immense stage-presence. Although The Lemonheads are most well known for their punk-rock screeches, the soul of the band lies within these acoustic portions.

Tracks such as, ‘Into Your Arms’ and, ‘Being Around’ were given the acoustic treatment, each dripping in sentimentality and vulnerability, as Dando performed with the quiet sensitivity not expected from a grunge god.

Before long the rest of the band joined Dando on stage to perform a blistering rendition of album opener, ‘Rockin Stroll’, the iconic riff instantly transporting the audience back to 1992 in all its college rock brilliance. The overdriven guitars came racing out of the speakers with a true snarl whist still maintaining that jangle-pop edge.

The band fired through the album at truly a break-neck pace, with the iconic title track soon whipping the crowd into a frenzy, with cheers filling the venue as soon as the first note rang-out. It was a sight to behold seeing hundreds of arms aloft, swaying to this melodic masterpiece.

Set closer, ‘Frank Mills’ turned out to be an odd highlight of the night, with the album closer being unquestionably the most well received song of the night with audience desperate to serenade the band with the odd, humorous and heartfelt tale the song tells. And with its slow, closing bars it brought the curtain down on, ‘It’s A Shame About Ray’.

However, after another brief acoustic interlude, the set took a turn for the worst. Half way through the second full-band set a commotion within the crowd caused Dando to erupt. A cloud had seemingly coming over him from the outset of this second set, and he unleashed on those being kicked out. Screaming, “fuck you, you suck” at them before storming off of the stage in somewhat strange circumstances.

It is important to state that this odd ending should not overshadow the rest of the evening. A blip on the radar this may have been but the rest of the show was stellar. Dando proved why he found himself to be the teen magazine face of grunge. Although more weather beaten now than in his 90’s heyday, his voice, his songs and his soul are perhaps more infectious now than they ever have been before.