dimanche 31 Jan 2010, 5h02m

Sat 30 Jan – Kerrang! Relentless Tour 2010
After being excited for weeks about this one, I couldn’t wait for Kerrang Tour to finally hit Birmingham, after making its way across the country. Birmingham was one of the middle dates in this heavily publicised tour which focuses on bands popular in teenage magazine culture but also highlighting up and coming bands that journalists alike have highlighted as promises for the future.
Even though I started queuing half an hour before the time that doors actually opened I still managed to miss the bulk of the opening act’s set, the band being Young Guns. This is a band that have previously toured with successful bands such as Lostprophets and We Are the Ocean, so already has some awareness amongst some of the audience. I for one am a fan and tonight am in fact sporting one of the band’s t shirts. With this in mind and a brilliant debut EP entitled Mirrors, I thought that the band would be a great live experience. Unfortunately as the queue made its way up to the venue, I could hear the sound I was dreading. They were already playing. So, as I entered the venue a wall of death was just taking formation, meaning that the band must have been very good at getting the crowd on side, and for the songs that I actually watched I was very sure that these are a sure band for the future.
As the tour had revolving support acts, the next band to grace the stage were My Passion. I hadn’t experienced much of the material from My Passion before the concert, but I have to admit I didn’t have the highest hopes for this band. The rock and electro style works for bands such as Enter Shikari and Pendulum, but this sounds just doesn’t do it for me. Although I have to confess that live the songs really came into their own, as the band delivered them in a much heavier fashion. With a very over glamorised clothing department and bounce able tunes, the band really impressed as a live band.
Next on was The Blackout, from Wales, who on their latest album The Best in Town have been getting some airplay from mainstream stations such as Radio 1 meaning the audience were obviously very much familiar with their work. Overhearing some of the conversations in the queue, The Blackout were the main reason that many of the audience were present tonight as was it in my case. With great sing-along choruses and heavy breakdowns they are the perfect band to just let yourself go and have a mosh to. And boy did they mosh. The crowd went wild as hits such as Children of The Night and Save Our Selves (The Warning) came out thick and fast. Double front men Sean Smith and Gavin Butler, really knew how to get the crowd going as was demonstrated during the song We’re Going To Hell… So Bring the Sunblock in which they got the female section of the crowd to pretend to be zombies, as the song is based, and for the men of the audience to show off their guns in the pits. It’s showmanship like this that really makes a show memorable.
Finally, after an all UK line up, came American band All Time Low who follow rumours to be quite party animals. With hit songs such as Weightless and Dear Maria, you’d think the crowd would go mental. And boy they sure did. Personally the stamina was gone, after using a little too much of it for The Blackout, however I gave my body and mind to the band to do as they please. Pogo jumping was the main sight of All Time Low’s set with the majority of the set spent 2 foot in the air. Despite All Time Low wanting a huge party, in my opinion they struggled to deliver this as the script seemed much too practiced and repeated rather than specific to the individual concert. Along with this, the people of the balcony were just not allowed to party as staff of the venue was stopping them from even standing from their seats. Although despite these minor faults they delivered a fun and light-hearted set.
All in all, the night was a very pleasant experience with band of the night status going to the mighty Blackout who was just so professional and seemed to be just loving the experience they had been blessed with. I for one can’t wait for Kerrang Tour 2011, and if 2010 was anything to go by, then it’s going to be crazy.