Back in the days when it were all fields round ‘ere, there were more indie nights than you could shake a walking stick at. Hold Up! is pretty much the last man standing from that era, and has seen off many changes at Life/Arc over the years. Apart from a subtle change in music policy, the night is exactly as it’s ever been – rammed full of enthusiastic young music fans bouncing around with passion to the songs they love.

The new layout of Life means that the outside smoking area is perfect for fresh air and flirting, and the warren-like corridors are great for going on adventures in. Also the crowd is really friendly – or maybe just drunk, we’ve never quite been able to tell. If you like intelligent guitar pop at very loud volumes we can’t think of anywhere better to be on a Saturday night.

TOP TEN
Blood Red Shoes ‘Heartsink’
Pixies ‘Gouge Away’
Temper Trap ‘Sweet Disposition’
Field Music ‘Them That Do Nothing’
Friendly Fires ‘Jump In The Pool’
The Futureheads ‘Heartbeats’
Blondie ‘One Way Or Another’
Yeah Yeah Yeahs ‘Heads Will Roll’
Maccabees ‘Can You Give It’
Arcade Fire ‘Sprawl 2 (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’

FYI
NEXT EVENTS: Every Friday, Life
WEB: tinyurl.com/holdup-facebook
RESIDENTS: Muffy, Eddie The Goatboy, Dangerous Dave, Steve Conway and Dylan Wickham

PHOTO BY JAMES KENDALL