Traumatised by the support act, Will Haddadi laps up the driving live dance beats of MAiiANS as the band prepare to take a break

Instrumental dance group MAiiANS performed their last show – for a while, at least – at The Cellar in front of a packed crowd of fans and friends. And it proved a spectacle, showing the immense musical ability of all five members in an hour-long set.

The two supporting acts, Salvation Bill and Sshh! the Deaf Have Aids (Yes, you read that right) provided a satisfactory opening hour before the headline performance (aatisfactory being the middle point between good and indescribably bad; I’ll let you guess which was which).

Salvation Bill performed a host of trance-based, electric guitar-led songs accompanied by truly enjoyable vocals. Before him however, hidden behind an electronic mask with his memorable stage name moving across a screen on the front, Sshh! the Deaf Have Aids performed about 15 minutes of untouched, untarnished bass, centred around the unique theme of somebody being told they have Aids.

Eye-opening stuff... literally, in fact, as I found myself traumatically unable to close my eyes for the duration of his startling performance.

After the calming performance of Salvation Bill, MAiiANS took to the stage with keyboardist James Cunning, whom I’d spoken with earlier that day, welcoming and thanking the audience for coming. With two drummers (Callum Peaston and Matt Goolding) and two multi-instrumentalists (Sam King and Adam Jackson) accompanying James, and without the presence of a vocalist, their set-up was unlike any other I’d seen.

Regardless, nothing seemed to be a problem for the young group as the two drummers complemented each other with sublime style and James confidently provided brilliantly delivered hooks on the keyboard. Guitarist/keyboardist Sam King impressed massively towards the end, managing to play both instruments at once whilst Bassist Adam Jackson pulled out a trumpet for the fantastic penultimate song.

While USA-bound drummer Callum Peaston conjured up a breath-taking performance, it was the faultless blend of all five members that made this gig a pleasure to witness.

Sadly, MAiiANS will be inactive for at least the next year due to the indefinite departure of three of their members but for now we have their brand-new album MAiiANS to enjoy before they hopefully return with more music next year.