Kat Nicholls went to meet Washington-based Holy Ghost Revival at The Joiners on the Southampton leg of their UK tour. Then she took them off to the Netley Abbey Ruins - a suitably spooky crumbling monastery built by Cistercian Monks in the 13th Century.

I got to The Joiners in Southampton in good time, eager to meet the HGR - a glam rock band from Seattle on home turf! Unfortunately unhelpful bus drivers (typical around here), angry commuters and an obnoxious sound guy did their best to sully my mood (maybe they took exception to my g.l.a.m. wear).

By the time I arrived the band was doing sound check. I was feeling pretty shitty but within minutes of finally being introduced to Conor, the dishy lead singer, I was once again fabulous. SO polite and helpful for an American – who said they were all loud, obnoxious fat people anyways? Not me.

We had some time to kill so I took the band to bask in the splendour of the Netley Abbey Ruins at night. The abbey is said to be home to a number of ghosts, including a paedophilic monk and an old lady who he buried alive in one of the walls. Tonight though the ruins were complete with festive white lights and flickering Medieval torches. I asked the band a few questions under the moonlight.

Wow, the green room's just like the one in that Sid & Nancy film. British people are so edgy

DP: So how is the UK tour going?

HGR: It's going well, although we've been playing places that are a little too big for us. We kinda threw the tour together quickly but it's been a lot of fun. We've been touring with The Draytones, who are an awesome band. We played with them last time we were here and got along really well.

DP: What's the fan base like here – do you have a big following?

HG: No, not really! We've got some friends in different towns. This is our third time here and certain towns we always come back to, like Newcastle and Dundee, oh and Guilford as well. It's cool – a little off the beaten path – but a lot of people there are into punk and rock.

DP: Where did the name come from?

HGR: It came from this big banner in Seattle. It was in a shitty part of town with drug dealers and it was kind of a rehabilitation centre, trying to save the lost souls – we saw the banner and liked the name.

After a brief séance we managed to rouse a couple of old monks from the dead. We all played a little tag together, but soon HGR got bored so we decided to head back to The Joiners.

HGR were not lying about the small UK following. The Joiners was fairly empty the whole time. Despite this I have to admit, it was possibly the best performance I've seen all year. The band did not give one solitary shit about attendance figures - they just enjoyed their last show of the tour like it was the last show on earth. Conor made use of all the free space and ran amok around the audience, getting them to sing and shout along. He sat on the stage, jumped on the drum kit etc. The performance was full of energy and passion – a rarity in a world full of too-cool-for-school indie kids.

Come closer child, and I shall show you a beautiful think, so I will

After all the bands played The Draytones (who were supporting) and Holy Ghost Revival both got onstage and jammed together as a super-group for the last few songs. There was dancing, clapping and drum (not glo) sticks everywhere - it was mental. And amazing. After the gig I blagged my way backstage to find out more about where bands as weird, beautiful and well, glamorous as HGR get their gear from.

Conor 'displays' for us

DP: Where do you guys go shopping for stage gear?

HGR: There's this place called the Bins in Seattle. It's this giant warehouse where all the thrift stores get clothes from – like the ground zero of the clothing 9/11, only it’s the prices which are crashing!

DP: Do you think fashion influences music or does music influence fashion?

HGR: I think they're kind of one and the same - it's like Oscar Wilde said: "Those who see the difference between the soul and the body have neither". So if you see the difference between music and fashion you don't understand either – they just blend together.

Holy Ghost Revival promise to drop their new record Twilight Exit real soon. Meanwhile they have a vinyl-only album out called City Drugs. If you want to have a listen to them but aren't cool enough to own a record deck, check out their website for some samples.