I was once given a right old ear-full by a mate for saying that the gig we had just jumped, danced and sweated to - Peter Gabriel’s first solo tour as I recall - was the best I’d ever seen.

“You say that every time” he moaned. He was right too, I did tend to get a bit carried away, but I couldn’t help it. Be honest, you know that feeling don’t you? Even in these ever more cynical times, its still a real thrill to come away from any gig that you’ve loved with an almost teenage rush of excitement and satisfaction.

So it was with Dr Feelgood at The Palladium on Friday night, because they were blistering! There was a sell out crowd at The Palladium, which always puts you nose to nose with the band without any of that niggling sense of discomfort about being the only one “down the front” and brings out the best in any band worth its salt. To kick things off, The Muddy River Band – Archie, Marion and Ian - did Bideford proud with a support set that was slick, tight and just a bit too short really but they were the perfect primer for what was to come.

Dr Feelgood draw on years (and years) of playing together. They’re professional enough to ignore a bit of feedback and instead they just got on with it. They strode, well squeezed, on stage and launched straight into All Through The City with its classic Feelgood groove that strolls and rocks at the same time with that gorgeous scratchy, trebly Telecaster sound that Wilco pioneered and Steve Walwyn has taken and improved and made his own.

Not surprisingly, they dipped into Malpractise and Down By The Jetty pretty regularly which was fine as we were treated to She Does It Right, I Can Tell, Back In The Night, Roxette - all classics – and more. Robert Kane leaps around like a kid, singing with an infectious enthusiasm. Every so often he pulled out another blues harp – pity he didn’t do more of that – and kept the whole thing bubbling nicely.

With Steve Walwyn, there’s no wondering about arrays of guitars and pedals. He just plugs his Tele - or his Strat for a bit of slide - straight into the amp and what you get is the sound he caresses from his guitar with no interference or effects. Great stuff and every so often, Kane would nip backstage for a swifty or whatever and leave Walwyn to get on with it. At one stage bass player Phil Mitchell settled down with his pint to watch too as Walwyn whipped out another blinding solo.

At the back, whilst he occasionally looked like he might be about to nod off, drummer Kevin Morris played with that same almost understated, strolling, rocking feel that underpins the whole sound and holds it all together. He has an incredibly light touch for such a solid drummer. A friend who saw a pic of the Palladium’s crowd on Facebook asked where all the young people were. We were all right in there mate, possibly casting the odd nostalgic glance over our shoulders but all loving a great band.

Dr Feelgood have their own unique brand of fresh, vibrant pub rock and r ‘n’ b that’ll never grow old and it was right up there with some - actually, luckily for me, many - of the best gigs I’ve seen!

Alan Mead.