THE luggage carried by the Rubberbandits, who kicked off a nine-date British tour at the O2 Academy this month, must make for interesting scenes at airports.

Not only must the Limerick boys' suitcases contain their trademark carrier-bag face masks but also the delicate combination of a balaclava, Irish Tricolour, pornography and extra-large cigarette papers.

But customs officers needn't be alarmed by the props used in the band's set.

On the evidence of this raucous Oxford debut, Mr Chrome and Blind Boy Boat Club, aided by drug-addled paramilitary Willie O'DJ on the decks, have their tongues in cheeks and are winning friends on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Though best for known for Horse Outside, which reached number two in the Irish Christmas chart of 2010, the Rubberbandits are a comedy act with substance.

By the time that very song rounds off the night it's clear there's been surprisingly little filler.

As Goldie Lookin' Chain discovered, mining laughs from life in a provincial Celtic town can make for a fruitful but short-lived career.

The Rubberbandits, though, seems sharper than their Welsh forebears and, defying expectations, can actually sing.

I Wanna Fight your Father is a proper love song, while Up the Ra and Black Man – which thankfully both belie their eyebrow-raising titles with deft satire – are already sing-a-long favourites with the largely Irish crowd.

At this rate the Bandits can expect to have the contents of their suitcases nervously picked over at border controls in plenty of countries.