It’s a tough job to rouse crowds at 12.30 on the first day of a three-day festival but The Subways, a trio of English indie-pop post-adolescents, played their set at Lollapalooza 2006 like they were closing the weekend. Before the clock struck one, front man Billy Lunn climbed the scaffolding beside the stage to watch the audience of a few thousand pogo-like punk rockers. Then he flung himself onto the stage from 10 feet up. Careful Billy.

The near-ish broken leg experience seemed to rile Lunn up, cuz back on stage he grabbed the mic like a bullhorn and screamed, “You all look pretty beautiful to me, I want to fuck you all.” Charlotte Cooper on bass, sporting tiny white shorts and cowboy boots, was bouncing and bursting with energy through the set (she has a voice that deserves more solo time). All-in-all, the band sounds surprisingly tight considering their relative lack of experience.