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Offshore 44 is a strange place for a gig. Amid the nautical paraphernalia that covers every available inch of this usually townie-dominated pub is a stage so small that the drum kit has to be set up at the side rather than the back. With a cramped live room that has all the feel of Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club, it’s a brilliantly off-kilter choice for brand new indie night Roxy.

First up are Newcastle’s ownNight Of Sevens. Ideally suited to the claustrophobic surroundings of Offshore, the band’s explosive drone-rock is simply breathtaking. From the minute front man Bobby takes the stage amid a howl of feedback to the final overdriven squeals of their incendiary set closer the band are mesmerising. Walking the same indie-psych walk that turned Kasabian into arena fillers, bigger stages surely beckon for the talented five-piece.

Fresh from a string of summer support slots with now-defunct Manchester rock gods Oasis, headliners Twisted Wheel slip effortlessly back into performing in front of an audience of hundreds rather than tens of thousands. Like the maximum r ‘n’ b of High Numbers-era The Who, the band’s explosive mod-punk cuts straight through the crowd. Loud, brash and loaded with swig-along melodies, it’s the perfect soundtrack for the clusters of drunken Fred Perry, Ben Sherman and Pretty Green-outfitted indie boys packed into Offshore’s back room.

Through the closing chants of “Whee-uuullll, Wheee-uuullll, Whee-uuullll,” it’s pretty clear it’s been a triumphant opening night for Roxy. A great venue with an even greater line-up, local outifits Love Bites & Bruises and Manila Chapter will have a lot to live up to next week.

For all of Roxy’s forthcoming listings check out their Facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000616591916

Oldham-based mod-rockers Twisted Wheel play brand new indie night Roxy’s launch party at Offshore 44 in Newcastle on March 3. Support comes from local indie outfit Night Of Sevens.

“Twisted Wheel have a tight sinewy sound that takes up from where the Libertines and Artic Monkeys left off and skews it with a Manc attitude and a curiously Johnny Cash-style stripped-down engine room of rock n roll.” (DiS)

“A numerology-inspired rock ‘n’ roll democracy, Tyneside-based outfit Night of Sevens unleash a fearsome barrage of apocalyptic psychedelia. Drawn together by a shared love of outlaw literature and socialist ideals, the acidic drone-pop collective are firmly in control of their own destiny.” (BBC Tyne)