Considering the set-back The Blackout encountered having to cancel the remaining shows of their tour last October, due to vocalist Gavin Butler being beaten by a hemiplegic migraine, the band came back fighting, and stronger than ever as they stepped on stage at Sub 89 in Reading.

The Welsh rockers wasted no time in getting started as they encouraged the fans to go crazy by screaming "lets get a circle pit going!" during the song This is why we cant have nice things. The crowd showed no sign of hesitation as they cleared the middle of the floor ready to create the first moshpit of the night. The crowd were already buzzing and raring to go mental after being ably warmed up by support acts Rat Attack and Lost Alone, both of which attracted the crowd towards the front of the stage ready for the headline act.

Fans were captivated by tracks from the band's second studio album The Best in Town as they shouted in unison the lyrics to‘Said & Done. They remained in good voice to follow the screeching vocals from Sean Smith and Gavin Butler during Higher Higher.

‘Welcome to the band’, vocalist Sean Smith shouted before launching into Running Scared, from their latest record Start the Party. It was obvious from the crowd's reaction that the new material had gone down a treat with their dedicated fanbase. The gig lasted almost an hour without any accidents until front man Sean Smith announced to the audience: "I've managed to chip a tooth!" The crowd were in hysterics as the band searched for part of the tooth on the floor before stating, "Nope that’s glass".

An interesting re-work of the song, Save Our Selves saw the band gradually blend the upbeat rock track into the well-known pop song, Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani, before the band closed the show with the first song released from their latest album, Start The Party - which they more than had.

EMMA SHEPPARD