Twenty-two years after their debut EP — and 16 since Kurt Cobain's suicide put an end to the first wave of grunge — Seattle scene pioneers Mudhoney are still alive and well.

Last night, they treated Belfast to an evening of blues-driven, trashy rock 'n' roll.

It was the group's first show in the city, and frontman Mark Arm and co arrived on stage at the Limelight to a packed, largely thirty-something crowd.

Dressed in plain jeans, tees and checked shirts, the quartet opened with a ramshackle rendition of Need from 1988's Superfuzzbigmuff.

Astonishingly, it fell apart after about 30 seconds, with the musicians collapsing in laughter and staring at one other in disbelief.

You don't get this with the Stone Temple Pilots.

In a surprising move, the band went on to play the rest of the debut EP in sequence, including a storming version of In 'n' Out of Grace.

Lead guitarist Steve Turner unleashed some mean wah-wah, Arm delivered his trademark howl and Dan Peters pummelled the drums like a man possessed.

Nirvana have the myth, Pearl Jam have the sales and Alice in Chains have the drama, but last night belonged to just one band.

Mudhoney proved that despite the increasing homogenisation of music there is still a place for scruffy nerds playing dirty, distorted rock.

ANDREW JOHNSTON