Valentine's Day is an unusual choice of date for a gig night -- surely lovers everywhere should be tucked up in the warm. But the Mullah's harem is a distant prospect, so Cargo has to make do. Surprisingly there seems to be a large turnout in spite of the bad weather. Those that have braved the elements are rewarded by the energetic spectacle of a Noblesse Oblige performance.

Although the band cite the camp operatics of German singer Klaus Nomi as an influence, it is hard to discern. If anything, I am reminded of Joy Division and not just because lead singer Sebastian bears more than a passing resemblance to Ian Curtis. The sound of Noblesse Oblige is however more pastoral than that of Joy Division -- no doubt a product of not being brought up the industrial wasteland of 1970's Manchester.

The key to Noblesse Oblige's talent is energy. Valerie and Sebastian are driven people, moving around stage, taking turns on vocal duties and changing instruments constantly. They go through endless permutations, but not sacrificing consistency. There are some nice touches such as Valerie drumming live over the artificial sound of drum machine -- which works surprisingly well.

The only bum note of the night perhaps comes when they perform their single track 'Daddy (Don't Touch Me There)' -- which sounds more like a parody of contemporary music than a song in it's own right. It's the sort of thing Chris Morris might have come up with for an episode of the comedy series Nathan Barley. It fails however to puncture the sense of awe and majesty that Noblesse Oblige engender.

After all, privilege does entail responsibility.