Leftfield @ UEA

There was much anticipation for this gig, and that was palpable upon arriving at a full but not sold out LCR to see Leftfield. They haven't played Norwich since '96, and it was clear that the audience, mainly made up of what looked like original fans rather than new converts, were well up for reliving the heady days of Leftism and Rhythm and Stealth, Leftfield's first two albums. But we were also intrigued and excited to hear some bangers from his fantastic new album, Alternative Light Source, at top volume and en masse. We still remember little fish, big fish, cardboard box and are up for demonstrating that tonight.

Rapturous applause and whooping carries Neil on to the stage, and what a stage it is tonight. Magical moving screens, a great light show and projections ensure there's something to watch as well as listen to. As well as Neil, centre stage, there's also a chap on a proper drum kit and a chap on what looks like synths and laptop, boosting up the sound level and the live experience, although, oddly, they'e behind screens so we sort of forget they're there for most of the time.

Leftfield run through some great tracks, starting off with one of my faves from the new album, Bad Radio. I've listened to it a lot recently, loud, in headphones, and it sounds wicked. I had heard tell of the extreme volume levels at Leftfield gigs, to the extent that plaster has fallen from the ceiling before. So I expected this very loud and intense track, played live, to lift the top of my head right off. But tonight, the volume levels were at 10, instead of 11. Well, not until the encore, but more of that later. Another of my favourites, Little Fish sounds great and when I hear the opening notes I'm immediately pumped for the harsh discordant arpeggios throughout the track hitting me hard, but because the volume's not quite big enough, it misses my mark a little. I want it to lift me off my feet, and pound through me violently, and although the sound is clear and sharp and there's loads and loads of energy buzzing through the room I guess my ears were greedy for more. Everyone's having it extremely large, sweating their souls out; there's a happy vibe in the audience and it's great to see so many people enjoying themselves with such abandon. Standout tracks include Chant of a Poor Man, Space Shanty and Afrika Shox; sometimes you just want to hear great tunes played where you can really let go, and this was the beauty of tonight. Seeing an electronic act live is such a different experience to seeing a guitar band, but both can be equally great, just for different reasons. We had a couple of guest vocalists on a couple tracks, and that provided a nice focus to the stage during those songs. I would have loved to have heard Open Up or Head and Shoulders, but no doubt they were missed out due to the very unique voices of John Lydon and Jason Williamson not being available.

It's during the encore of three tracks including Phat Planet and Song of Life when it gets seriously, and finally, full on. The bass is ramped right up to where it should have been all along, and I can finally feel it pulsing through me. It starts to hurt my ears, which is just how I like it. THIS is how it should be. Everyone's getting physical down the front, bodies pushing against each other with such love and joy at being there. We've reached our nirvana. Neil's hit our spot. No wonder then, that we cry for more at the end of the gig and he looks genuinely sad that we can't carry on together into the wee small hours. A really pumped, classy and enthusiastic return from Leftfield; let's just hope he doesn't leave it 19 years to come back again. He's proven he's still raving after all these years, and we love him for it.