Tuesday 26th Januray 2010 @ Academy, Bristol
Featuring Performances From: My Passion, Young Guns, The Blackout, All Time Low

Sounding like the bastard son’s of Gary Numan’s Nu Model Army trying to rebel against daddy, dance-punk outfit, My Passion, take the tough gig of opening a Kerrang! tour. Crunching guitars, pulsating synths combined with pounding drums and bass contribute to a credible and mostly crowd pleasing performance to the half of tonight’s attendance that have got here early enough to take them in.

As the room floods with more sweat and hormones, Kerrang! magazine’s “Best New Band of 2009” Young Guns enter the fray and following two successful EPs, the live show displays real promise. Tight guitars and pounding drums are sealed by Gustav Wood’s soaring vocals and set closer Winter Kiss proves the band have real promise in the alternative rock scene that we only hope can be realised with their debut album.

If our first two acts tonight show promise but lack of experience, they need look no further for an example than next act, The Blackout. The post-hardcore 6-piece’s show oozes with the style and energy you’d expect from a band that has been honing their craft for 6+ years. From opener Children Of The Night, the show really feels like a work out. In fact the night actually becomes one as the band encourage the crowd to run on the spot, stretch, squat before finally ordering them to “Jump the f**k up!”. While having crowd pleasers such as Save Ourselves in their catalogue, you can’t help but feel The Blackout are still just one great hook away from hitting the dizzying heights of peers and previous Kerrang! Tour veterans Lost Prophets.

As this night starts to draw to a close get ready because it’s about to start raining bras in Bristol Academy! All Time Low are clearly the band most people have been waiting for tonight. For some people, the jury’s still out on these guys but whether you see them as the foul mouthed Jonas brothers or the next New Found Glory, one thing’s for sure, with this formula they’re probably going to be here for a while. The set is punctuating with all the crowd pleasing pop hooks, catchy riffs and toilet humour you’d expect from a pop-punk band; throw in a little acoustic number for the ladies and you’ve got a winning formula. And based on tonight’s performance you’d have to say that love them, hate them or sit on the fence in the future you certainly aren’t going to be able to ignore them.

www.kerrang.com

Adam Hooper
Photos by Laura Palmer