I was lucky enough to pop along to J1 at the Junction in Cambridge last night to catch an amazing set from The Pigeon Detectives. The gig attracted quite a crowd of PD fans - young and old, groupies and parents, indie officiantos and hangers on - and what a crowd it was. The buzz of anticipation was contagious as me and my gig buddy weaved around the packed venue to scout out the perfect spot. As soon as the band appeared everyone went crazy. By the end of the opening song - the classic anthem I Found Out ("going out with, going out with..") - beer was flowing, water was flying overhead and hundreds of arms waved as the crowd pulsated in a bouncing, dancing mass of shouting lyrics and sweaty hair.

The performance was awesome - musically tight, exciting and featuring stage antics that made me smile, laugh out loud and gasp in awe. Okay, so I might be easily pleased (and shocked) but front man Matt Bowman's microphone spinning is amazing, if not a little dangerous (I was worried for the rest of the band, focusing intently on their own instruments as the mic skimmed their ears). Leaping energetically around the stage, blowing fountains of water into the air and never missing the chance to add a little gesture or well-timed grin, PD Matt was entertaining to say the least. Combining his strong vocals and spot-on lyrics with the mind-blowing musical skill of the rest of the band, the gig was definitely the perfect pick me up after a long Tuesday. Good humour, talented indie rock and a few hot sweaty pop stars always does the trick.

The Pigeon Detectives gave the best live performance I have seen in a long time. Highlights included uplifting and impressive renditions of some PD classics, my favourites being Romantic Type, This is An Emergency, I'm Not Gonna Take This and Keep on Your Dress. Having only seen the band at massive music festivals before, it was pretty cool to see them up close in a more intimate venue. Everyone was singing along and the lucky die-hard fans in the mosh pit got to share the band's water ... and to hold PD Matt up in a mid-performance crowd dive. The band showcased some new songs from the latest album, only released on Monday, called Up, Guards and At 'Em! (a treat for the ears as well as for the grammar pedants out there), which all went down well. We particularly loved She Wants Me, the ballad Turn out the Lights and What You Gonna Do? - an encore-extra to reward us for being such a fun audience.

The show ended with the amazing Take Her Back, from 2007 album Wait For Me - still clearly a firm favourite amongst fans, as we all gleefully sang along at the tops of our voices and marvelled at the band's unwavering enthusiasm and energy right to the bitter end. As a final encore, we were treated to the well-known hit I'm Not Sorry (also from their 2007 album) and the whole venue went crazy. We were buzzing so much when we left that we didn't even mind queuing to get out of the multi-storey car park for 15 minutes - it just added to the festival reminiscing I was indulging in... (except think quarter of a day rather than an hour!).

Another hit from the Junction - fab venue, fab band, fab atmosphere.