Zen Baseballbat - Palmyra Square, Warrington

'

Not the Palestine flag,' moaned some idiot behind us. 'Leave the politics. Just play the fucking music.'

Which is an odd thing to say at a Zen Baseballbat gig: they are, and always have been, the ultimate underdog band and naturally they're going to stand up for the most victimised people on the planet. We moved away from the unconscientious objectors at that point but I did note they remained for the rest of the gig, apparently enjoying themselves, even though that Palestine flag featured heavily in a live performance that was, as lead singer Gary Gleavey stressed, 'for the people of earth' before launching into the much-loved Brown Cows of Elocution. Somehow in their mouths such sentiments manage not to sound contrived or trite.

Among tracks from the Nothing Worth Stealing we got the covers of Living on the Ceiling, a long-standing live favourite, and, even better, Take the Skinheads Bowling. Denied a proper soundcheck, the band battled with sound problems throughout and, as always, came out convincing winners. 

I've probably seen Zen Baseballbat live more than any other band: I can confirm they remain great.

Oh, and keep the Palestine flag.

Live: Devo, B52s, Rezillos, Lene Lovich at Manchester Arena

Bit of an unusual one for me. I'm normally more inclined to check out less established bands in smaller venues but, having missed the opportunity to see Devo when they were in the UK a couple of years ago, I was keen to put it right.

I'd always found the others on the bill appealing too and they certainly didn't disappoint. The B52s played most of the tracks from their debut album, the Rezillos fizzed on stage with the infectious energy they always brought and Lene Lovich was delightfullly eccentric, as you'd hope and expect.

But Devo's stagecraft is something else all together. They're sharing top-billing with the B52s on this tour and tonight it was their turn to finish the night off. Sadly, a lot of those who'd come to see the Georgians chose to bugger off, denying themselves the chance to see a band whose originality has never paled since Are We Not Men? dropped 48 years ago. 

The holding together of their unique musical philosophy during that time has been almost as remarkable as their ability to continue sounding as fresh as ever. Finishing off against a backdrop of a desecrated American flag and an emboldened 'Fight the Power motif, what they do and how they do it has never felt more important.