#glasjaw

[muchtoooldtobreakfreeandrun]

[dan-hill]

Yep.

[solemusic-blog]

Fan Review: The Blackout - Glasgow 02 ABC - 24/08/11

When I found out The Blackout were scheduled to play the ABC, I was actually a little dubious. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Blackout, but last time they played Glasgow, it was in a venue called the Garage which is a lot smaller than the ABC. So, I was nervous for their show, knowing that even though they’d play a half empty room like it was Wembley, it would maybe hurt the band’s feelings a bit.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about! By the time the first band The Carnivores had finished playing, the room was full and buzzing. Flood of Red, a home grown band not quite as famous as Twin Atlantic but just as good, do get a lukewarm welcome, but it’s nowhere near the hysteria that greets The Blackout.

TBO are one of the bands that actually won me over through seeing them live countless times (I saw them four times on the MCR tour!) so it’s safe to say, they’re brilliant live. Tonight was no exception. They jumped straight in at the deep end with a rousing run through of “I’m A Riot? You’re A F*cking Riot!” before launching straight into Hope track “Ambition is Critical”.

The set list is a diverse mix of older tracks and songs from Hope, and is well balanced. As usual the band builds a good bit of banter between songs which has everyone laughing.

New single “You’re Not Alone” is played live for the first time, easily becoming one of the most magical moments of the night, and Sean Smith admits he wasn’t sure it’d work live but the Glasgow crowd have proven him wrong.

All through the show, the band seem unusually humble, but it’s easy to see why; this show is easily the biggest they have ever headlined in Glasgow and the reaction is overwhelmingly positive throughout.

One of the coolest parts of the set though has to be when the band closes on “Save Ourselves”. During their recent tours, the band has encouraged the crowd to crouch down as the bridge of the song builds, before everyone jumps to their feet when the chorus kicks back in. Even though the band doesn’t prompt the crowd to do it tonight, most people do anyway, and it’s quite a sight to behold.

I hope the Blackout closed out the show feeling as proud of themselves as I did of them. They may not be the biggest UK band around at the moment, but in my opinion, they are easily one of the best.

Vicki Kinnaird Vicki is a CADET. She earnt 10 fan points with this submission and has 50 points in total.