Yuck are bloody cool, and there’s no denying that these Moth Club LP launch shows have been highly anticipated among fans. With the departure of Daniel Blumberg and arrival of new guitarist Ed Hayes in 2013, the past two years have seen a shift in direction for Yuck, a period of anticipation for fans, and with the release of the new album Stranger Things on Friday, an amplified excitement for the gig.

With support from Shark Dentist and Puppy, the beginning of the evening creates a buzz around new music, dismissing all ideas that nothing new is good and building up the perfect atmosphere for the main act.

To say the show was sold out would be an understatement. Rarely do you see people actually spilling out the doors at venues, others having to clamber on tables to get a view. Lots about tonight speaks volumes about Yuck as a band: the sheer amount of people there just the start of it. Very few bands – particularly not massive bands – could saunter on stage almost 45 minutes late and get away with it. Yet with Yuck there seems to be absolutely no bad blood and they get on with the show as though nothing had happened.

Playing through ‘Hold Me Closer’ and ‘Cannonball’ before launching into ‘Get Away’, Yuck proved they know how to work a crowd, and by practically ignoring two stage invaders, prove their completely cool approach to, well, everything. And as the crowd gets progressively rowdier in front of her eyes, her monitor played up and feedback blared through a couple of songs, bassist and vocalist Mariko Doi kept as composed as ever.

Yuck are an odd band to witness live – their offhand, almost too cool to care attitude is one that wouldn’t necessarily bode well for most other bands but musically they’re worlds above anything and else it’s tricky not to find them all slightly charming.

As a punk lover born 20 years too late, I was pretty ecstatic to learn that I was being given the opportunity to attend this show and hear songs that I never thought I would be able to see performed live. To begin with, the choice of venue confused me; with its black walls and sticky floors, The Citrus Club wouldn’t be my first choice for a standard night out. However, when I arrived I realised that as the backdrop for a punk gig it was actually rather perfect.

As the full line-up had not been stipulated until that night, I was not sure what to expect from the earlier bands. First up were Finger Halo, the latest project of Edinburgh’s musical legend Jo Callis, former guitarist of The Rezillos and keyboardist for The Human League. Jo describes this venture as “getting back to his roots” by returning to his original post as a songwriter and guitarist. Opening with their latest single 'Confusion', it is clear that Jo still has the ability to write an intriguing and well balanced song as well as perform like no time has passed. Sadly, as they slipped in to a two tune tribute to David Bowie it was impossible to tell what songs were being played and everything seemed to get a bit lost. By the end of their set however they managed to pull it back as they finished with a resounding cover of The Human League's 1981 song, 'Seconds'.

As the room starts to fill up, “melodic punk rockers” Shock And Awe take to the stage. Whilst they appeared to be a fit for this gig in terms of genre, I didn't think they were the right support band for this show. Although the lead singer’s enthusiasm was palatable the audience did not seem overly impressed with them, leaving a general feeling of disdain hanging in the air. This could however be attributed to the fact that nobody wanted to wait any longer than they had to for the final act to arrive. Perhaps not something you often hear of at a tribute gig, however …

The Ramonas walk out on to the stage with a tangible confidence, the audience begins to jump and scream before they have even picked up their instruments. The venue is packed from end to end with loyal fans, each more excited than next, bringing a gripping feeling of excitement and anticipation to the room. In true Ramones fashion, the band blast through 34 tracks with speed, precision and attitude, every song an energetic blast of nostalgia. They barely stop aside from when singer Cloey has a “brain fart” and forgets the words to 'Don’t Come Close'. Thankfully, she is quickly put right by a hat wielding man in the front row who obviously knows his stuff. The encore consisted of some of my own personal favourites including 'Blitzkrieg Bop' and 'The KKK Took My Baby Away'. It seemed to be over all too fast and knowing that they had such a range of classics to choose from, I found myself wondering how they ever managed to decide what to close the show with.

I really enjoyed seeing The Ramonas play, they owned everything that night; the stage, the songs and especially the audience. I felt like I had witnessed something special and I came away from the experience truly inspired.

Muriel Spark wrote that she disliked the word ‘experimental’ as an adjective for art because it implied that the outcome was a failure. Eleanor Friedberger’s New View contains songs as experimental as any of the eight-minute opuses on her albums with former band Fiery Furnaces, but ironically New View is not ‘experimental’ in a traditional way, and certainly not a failure. It’s an album of a woman singing twelve, strange pop songs, quite differently. New View is beautiful, but it’s not pop - it’s a three-chord, 45 minute Richard Linklater conversation. And that’s why tonight’s show is sold out.

Eleanor’s first London show is in Hackney, in an ex-service men’s member’s club - the MOTH club (christened in 1927, an acronym for the ‘Memorable Order of Tin Hats’). The venue was in danger of closing last year, so sadly had to open its doors up to the hipsters of Hackney. Hipsters generally don’t wear tin hats, but they do like going to hipster gigs, and despite staunch regulars at the bar grumbling about “the type of people you get on nights like tonight”, the club is heaving this evening, so hey, it’s not all bad, guys. The back room with the stage in is a gold glitter-ceilinged bingo hall. There’s an old machine gun hanging from the ceiling. It’s great.

Friedberger takes the decision to sit on a stool in the middle of the stage for the majority of the set, playing by herself without a backing band. The songs are conversational, but the conversation is wonderfully strange. She opens with ‘He Never Told Me About His Mother’, her audience swaying left and right like beardy reeds. “Have you seen the movie yet?” she asks. “There’s a lot about it in the press.” Yes, I have seen the movie thanks Eleanor. Solid performances, shame about the Oscar snub. “I’m opening a tree museum, that’s my new hobby.” Oh right, sounds great Eleanor. What’s a tree museum?

Friedberger ends her set by coming back onstage for an encore and asking her audience, “What should I finish with?” The answer from the crowd is a resounding “My Mistakes” her first single from her first album, back in 2011. “Oh but that song only has two chords!” she replies. But she sings it anyway, because Eleanor Friedberger is lovely.

Frank Turner And The Sleeping Souls are greeted with a rapturous reception for their first Dublin gig since 2013. Turner is jumping around enthusiastically from the opening chords of 'The Next Storm', skittering around the Academy stage delivering every line with the gusto of his hardcore days. His stage manner is a mix of Elvis and Paul Simenon. Trusty guitarist Ben Lloyd leaps about the place looking delighted about the whole thing.

'The Road' follows without pause. Turner is here promoting his sixth album, Positive Songs For Negative People. The records are good but these songs were written to be played live. After standing astride the barrier for 'Losing Days', Turner finally stops to introduce himself and the band. This is gig number 1831 according to his obsessive accounting of his shows. Anyone curious to see the full list can look here. 

The conflict between his everyman persona and his natural showmanship is illustrated well in his interactions with the audience. In rock pantomime style he divides the crowd into two teams with Lloyd and bassist Tarrant Anderson as team captains to see which side of the room can display the greatest enthusiasm.

Given the thrall in which the crowd are held by the tunes tonight and the exuberance of the sold out show, the well worn routine is probably not needed for this show. Every word is sung back from the old songs and the new. The crowd are onside from the off with hands clapping, arms waving, and the pit is heaving.

It's funny during 'If Ever I Stray' hearing Irish people sing about the English channel but shows how far we've come and the unifying power of Turner's music. The same could be said for 'Long Live The Queen'.

He straps on the electric guitar and plays the opening chords of 'Back In Black' and the first verse of Thin Lizzy's 'Jailbreak' to much amusement. Turner's throat is hurting and his voice audibly cracking but it doesn't deter him from giving it socks. Those around me in their No Means No and Bad Religion t-shirts appreciate it greatly.

There's a solo set half way through before the rest of the band suddenly reappear from the shadows mid-song. 'Glory Hallelujah' is an atheistic gospel singalong performed by both the band and the audience with an evangelical zeal. It's everything Richard Dawkins said in The God Delusion condensed and made into an affirmation and celebration of life.

With a band like The Sleeping Souls behind you it's impossible to sound bad. The songs run the gamut from folky stompers to punk thrashers via heartfelt confessionals, with shredding electric mandolin solos.

The high tempo is maintained during 'Recovery' with a competition between the two sides of the room to win a signed drum skin. It's a rousing rendition. There's the traditional sit down/stand up routine for 'Photosynthesis' before the main set closes with 'Plain Sailing Weather' and 'Get Better'.

The inevitable encore starts solo with 'The Way I Tend To Be' and early tune 'Love, Ire And Song.' They have played for two hours with a setlist covering Turner's whole solo career, drawing heavily from recent albums England Keep My Bones and Tape Deck Heart as well as the latest, and still muster a big finish with a stage diving, crowd surfing 'I Still Believe' And 'Four Simple Words'.

Our throats are shredded from singing. Our limbs tired from dancing, and palms sore from clapping. But our sleeping souls are aroused and the communion of the show follows us home. A top show from a top showman.