It’s Halloween and everyone in the Empire is in the party mood. From where I am standing at the bar and I can see witches, skeletons and a gingerbread man (eh?).
I arrive at a ridiculously early 7:20 and the first support band,
Prego are already on stage. Even at this early hour the place is packed and the young crowd are rocking out and no wonder. Prego are extremely tight and have some great songs, some cynics might think the only reason they are on the bill is because Edd Simpson, lead vocalist is Charlie’s brother but in my mind they should be higher up the bill. These guys are the ones to watch and could be headlining the Empire themselves someday soon.
Next on stage are
Young Guns who resplendent in bloodied tee-shirts work the crowd even harder with their Lost Prophets style rock. The lead singer has the energy and charisma to whip the crowd into a frenzy, which he does in bucket loads.
By the time
Saving Aimee get to the stage people are feeling a bit impatient for the main act which is a shame as these guys have a lot to offer. Their sound isn’t quite as heavy as the last two bands and are bordering on indie-rock, which is probably why they don’t go down quite as well as the other bands.
The lights go down, dry ice is pumped across the stage and
Fightstar arrive in scary Halloween masks and skeleton outfits. The crowd go bonkers and the band stand still, starring at the hundreds of cheering faces looking like extras from a horror B-movie lapping up every moment. From the opening chords of Tannhäuser Gate, these guys never put a foot wrong. They look like they are having the time of their lives and this more than reflects on the audience.
The new album, 'Be Human’ steers the band to a more mature sound complete with fantastic orchestration. I am slightly disappointed that is not reflected tonight. It would have been great to see a quartet on stage. Unsurprisingly the set is riddled with material from the album plus a few oldies thrown in for good measure.
These new songs really come alive tonight and they rip through cracking versions of 'Colours to bleed’, 'The English way’, Mercury summer’ and ’Until then’. My particular favourite, 'War Machine’ makes the crowd mosh harder than ever. As the last chords ring out they leave the stage with the crowd baying for more.
They come back on to loud cheers and for their encore play a blistering version of Deathcar and then they are gone.
Charlie has really found his niche in
Fightstar. These guys can only go from strength to strength. Their energy and enthusiasm is highly addictive. Go and see them at a venue near you now!
Photos by Dave Thorpe
