LOOKING like the love child of Nick Cave and a walrus, Jesse Hughes cut quite a figure on stage at the O2.

As ever, the frontman’s handlebar moustache was a conversation piece amoungst the crowd, although they hadn’t turned up to marvel at his facial furniture.

They were here for gritty, no holds barred rock ’n’ roll… and they weren’t disappointed.

Wasting no time, the band set the tone with Cherry Cola, an orgy of crunching power chords and distorted riffery that showed they weren’t messing about.

Cult classics not best sellers, the Californian four-piece pulled in a relatively sparse crowd, but the O2 had the atmosphere of a venue at full capacity. So Easy caused the moshpit to swell, the chaos was a stark contrast to the coolness on stage, where the band proved they don’t need Josh Homme to deliver a barnstorming set. The faultless romp through their brand of grubby rock ’n’ roll continued with the likes of Just 19, English Girl and Boys Bad News.

With a whiff of Jagger about him, Jesse flew solo for a superb cover of Brown Sugar in the encore.

Speaking In Tongues, played from one of the O2’s balconies, closed a gig from a band who couldn’t be more rock ’n’ roll if they were soaked in Jack Daniels.