Friday 21 October 2005, Reading University, Whiteknights campus The soundtrack to my summer was an album filled with great melody, glorious harmony and guitar playing that the likes of The Byrds or Johnny Marr would be proud of. It was, of course, the debut album from The Magic Numbers and was the perfect album to have on the CD player of my VW Camper van. So, from the glorious summer to an autumnal night at Reading University. The Magic Numbers, who are brother/sister Romeo and Michele and brother/sister Sean and Angela, are very pleased to be playing their 60's inspired harmony-laden melodies as they clearly enjoy playing and entertaining the crowd, smiling as they were through the whole gig. From the opening chimes to the closing chords of Romeo's guitar, the band had the crowd in the palms of their hands. Even the security guys took notice of them. When a member of the audience was ejected for throwing a headband on stage the band asked for him to be re-admitted and he was! The crowd loved every minute of the gig and the band fed off the crowd's enthusiasm for them. For most of the set there was a look forward to their new album, interspersed with a couple of very old ones, and a great version of Neil Young's Cowgirl In The Sand, the band showed why they were Mercury Music Prize-nominated and why the album was so well received. Some of the quieter ballads lost the crowd however and a cynical man may have used the word 'boring', but it just took a fast-paced riff the band to get the crowd going again. The band come across as real people; people who just want to make their sort of music. There was no ego, despite what the media may have said over their Top Of The Pops incident in August (they walked out after presenter Richard Bacon alluded to the band being fat). So, summer may be over, but this is a band to keep your eyes on. I believe the next album will be a big hit and their next single Love's A Game really should make it in to the top 10. | 
