I’M NOT a Swindon boy by birth. I was born and raised in Cambridge.

Most think it’s a quiet city. For the most part they’re right – the layout of the city centre has barely changed in centuries and today’s dons still wear the tweedish look of someone who eats out too regularly at another’s expense.

But in a handful of pub back rooms and venues across the city there’s a thriving music scene.

In my teens – glasses, bookish and with the fresh face of a choirboy – I used to love these sweat-drenched gig nights. A slew of bands came and went, from NME page-turner heroes to local legends like teen band Alpha Road.

I’ve not lived in Cambridge for years now. And I’ve never managed to find a gig that had the heart-stopping intensity of those early forays into East Anglia’s nerdy indie music scene.

But last night I think I found one. It could have been the number of sugar-stuffed WKD alco-pops I drank or the dancing with German friends-of-friends. But YVES were the real deal.

The Swindon three-piece hit The Victoria, Old Town, for the final date in their first headline UK tour.

YVES are a guitar band on the way up. This year alone they’ve released a new single – Hell From Your Hello – and are in with a chance of winning national competition Pirate Prodigy.

The band, led by Blunsdon 21-year-old Harry Roke, sing hook-heavy songs about losing loves and finding solace in the bottle.

It’s perfect for a packed night at The Vic.

The room fills rapidly after the departure warm-up acts GETRZ – a Swindon four-piece – and the insanely talented Bath rockers Farebrother.

The Vic’s sweaty backroom is standing-room only; a mix of youngish schoolmates of the band, double denim indie aficionados and middle aged men in Ted Baker shirts who glare at you for having the temerity to be under-30.

There’s only one problem with this level of popularity. It leaves us with very little room to dance. And the Breton-striped white youngsters in the front three rows are too cool to do much more than bounce on the balls of their feet.

We find a corner around the side of the stage, with terrific views of the band and room to dance. Whether it’s the multiple WKDs I’ve drunk or the dancing, but the gig passes in a blur - with head-banging riffs and drenched hooks.

In my book, that’s the mark of a great gig: dancing with people whose names you can’t remember to music you can’t forget.

For more about YVES, visit: www.musicglue.com/yvesband.