THERE is little middle ground for the NME tour, a travelling quartet of it-bands which tends to carry future chart-toppers or forgotten hopefuls.

Openers The Vaccines are a fine bet to end up in the first category, reeling off languid art-rock and spiky punk with nonchalant fluidity.

Curiously, they were the only traditional guitar band on the roster – Everything Everything followed, spinning out keys and laptop bleeps in a series of songs which sounded programmed for ringtones.

Their highly listenable set was the least convincing of the night, due to a lush line-up which consigned Magnetic Man to second on the bill.

A button-twiddling, back-to-basics dance collaboration between dubstep trendsetters Benga, Skream and Artwork, sent the packed floor wild.

The pre-gig intrigue had been in how Alice Glass, the rabid singer of headliners Crystal Castles, would pull off her catherine wheel live performance under the duress of a broken ankle which forced her to lurch onto the stage on crutches, but in the end it proved about as important as the colour of the strobe lights flickering above their brutal cacophony.

Previously used to playing Brighton’s smaller venues, keyboard overlord Ethan Kath seemed liable to blow the roof off at his discretion, wielding bass like a deadly assassin firing shots.

Balancing on her good foot, Glass’s glacial shrilling tore through a euphoric night worth savouring.