Last gig of their extremely short tour, and Welsh post-hardcore band The Blackout turn up in their skin tight jeans and vests at The Empire, Middlesbrough. Weather conditions disrupted peoples travel to the gig, however that didn’t prevent hundreds of eager rockers from turning up to rip the lid off the venue.

If sweaty Welshmen don’t float your boat, then I’m pretty sure the inclusion of heavy riffs and sensual singing will do the trick, followed closely by a bass drum loud enough to jump start a hospital patient in theatre. The set opened up with their biggest recorded song “Children of the Night” which is available on their newest album “The Best In Town”, followed by a string of songs which had the crowd bouncing and singing from the bottom of their lungs. To mix things up again, the Welsh frontman Sean Smith then dedicated a cult classic to their unfortunate ex-tour mates We are the Ocean who couldn’t make it, by playing “You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party”, obviously made famous by big shots, The Beastie Boys.

The interaction with the crowd was expected, especially from a band who lit up the Festival Republic Stage at both Leeds and Reading 2009. The bond between the band and the crowd was phenomenal to say the least, however I wish the band put more effort into their motivation than they do with their music. After finishing off their final song, the band abruptly left the stage and refused to appear again, therefore ending the show earlier than thought, leaving many of the audience members in doubt as to whether the band put their heart and soul into the performance.

All-in-all a great show, with an outstanding set list and a great sense of interaction with the crowd and stewards, however perhaps the tour took its toll on the band. The band can be seen supporting fellow Surrey rockers You Me At Six in their UK tour.

Sean Farnsworth

Stunning photographs, once again courtesy of the magical eye of Dave Hudspeth  www.reverseimage.co.uk and facebook page here!

By CarlP on December 16, 2010